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28 March, 2006

From victim to culprit?

Oh dear oh dear. The headline really says it all:

Lawyer wants gang-raped woman to be tried for having illicit affair

Dubai: A lawyer has asked the Dubai Public Prosecution to reconsider the case of a gang-raped flight attendant and charge her with drinking and having an illicit relationship.


See lads? Rape a girl with your mates, and not only are you likely to get off very lightly (if you're even charged at all) but you may have the fun of seeing her ending up in the dock instead - just like Madame Tiouli! What superb sport. Perhaps they should introduce it as a new event when the Olympics finally come to the sandlands.

Labels: ,

39 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just curious: Why comment on the rhetoric and hyperbole of the defense attorney at all? Isn't that just "what they all do and say" in matters like these?

28 March, 2006 03:53  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It also sounds as if women, in particular, need to be VERY careful about whom they associate with, how they travel and the situations they allow themselves to get into. It also sounds as if the men in positions of authority in Dubai have very little respect for women who end up in such situations. Do most women in the city seem to be aware of this? Shouldn't they be?

28 March, 2006 04:05  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No one can deny that rapists are criminals regardless of any circumstances, but they are not 100% responsible, in most cases victims are also sharing responsibility even to a very little extent. I am neither defending the guys, nor the attorney, so don’t get me wrong!
Just an advice to the ladies, please check this link:
http://petty-larseny.blogspot.com/2005/11/rape-responsibility.html

28 March, 2006 05:19  
Blogger trailingspouse said...

Two points:

Rape is all about one individual exerting power over another and has almost nothing to do with sex. It is an act of violent domination not an amorous encounter. That is why it is now referred to as "sexual assault" - emphasis on "assault".

While it is stupid for a woman to get into a car with a strange man/men ANYWHERE, the UAE cannot advertise itself as being such a safe place and then criticize someone who actually believes it.

28 March, 2006 08:08  
Blogger Tim Newman said...

From reading the article, I have to conclude that the girl in question was monumentally stupid or she knew at least one of the men.

She is a Brit, and there is little excuse these days for British girls not knowing that getting into a car with four strange men is unbelievably stupid, and I am struggling to believe that she did so.

I'd be more inclined to believe that she knew at least one of the local men, and trusted him enough to get in his car. It is probably the opinion of many girls in Dubai that this is almost as stupid as getting into the car with complete strangers.

Still, a crime was committed for which the victim is not at fault. Not so happy that the sentence for gang rape seems to be a mere two years though. At age 19-20, they'll be out before they're 25. The girl's life is in ruins. And when she goes home the belief that UAE locals are allowed to get away with raping Western girls will gain more credibility.

28 March, 2006 08:40  
Blogger Al Ain Taxi said...

This is a sexist society.

It doesnt matter how you dress it up, woman are considered second class citizens in this country.

28 March, 2006 10:20  
Blogger trailingspouse said...

Kingkaiser: It is called sexual assault because the nature of the assault is sexual. Forcing sex on someone is an attempt to humiliate/dominate that person and violates the mind as much as the body. Many rape victims are neither young nor pretty which suggests that sexual attraction has little to do with it.

28 March, 2006 11:47  
Blogger al-republican said...

The woman would be really stupid to have gone in the car with strangers. There is a lot unknown here. Perhaps she knew at least one person and she trusted to be with him and his friends.

I don't keep company with women, but I have often found myself in situations where my friend gets her female friend along and all the other guys are strangers. She steps in the car on the trust of whom she is coming in with.

Having said that, I remember being in a situation in my University in the US (Indiana). I was driving back home from a night shift with a couple of friends and at a traffic light junction next to a bar/club on our campus, 2 girls who were drunk pretty bad came up to me and asked me if I could drop them back home. One of those girls just sat inside (and later vomitted in the car, too!). But, we left them back home safely (I guess).

After that incident, me and my friends (who all come from decent backgrounds and had no prior experience as such) were shocked how these women could have just trusted us without even knowing us! I could then understand why we would hear of rapes regularly at our campus, so much so that we had these posters all around the campus for women (743-RAPE)!

Coming back to the incident at hand, I can understand the complexity of this crime. If it is established that this girl was raped (and I am pretty sure she would have been, although the law, unfortunately, asks for incontrovertible evidences) then all these 4 individuals deserve no less than the death sentence. This incident will just set a bad precedent for other people who might think they can get off the hook.

For all those who advocate men = women in all things, please try to understand this situation and BE CAREFUL! No matter how many rights or protection you get from the law, the fact remains that a man can overpower you. Please, DONT just trust anybody and try to avoid such places where you know women are vulnerable.

28 March, 2006 12:08  
Blogger al-republican said...

ERRATA:

"...friend gets her female friend along and all the other.."

her = his

28 March, 2006 12:09  
Blogger adevents said...

there is something called :
Anti-Rape Condoms for Women
I suggest to be distributed for free for women here
but women dont forget to takeit off when back home with ur man
you all can read more about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-rape_female_condom

28 March, 2006 12:22  
Blogger al-republican said...

Cokey-

You really need to stop spewing hate over here. Locals just don't get off the hook that easily. A local man was awarded the death penalty for raping a 12 year old girl in Sharjah. He was shot by multiple rounds of a machine gun by the ruler of Sharjah for his crime. Don't give this crime a face it isn't supposed to be having.

Yes, implementation of the law is sometimes found wanting in the case of locals, but for God's sake, you people somehow seem to miss the news (and when local men are convicted with HEAVY punishments, it somehow doesnt find any space in the papers) when they are given harsh punishments. Some of you should really try sitting or befriending a local lawyer!

28 March, 2006 12:38  
Blogger Harsha said...

there is something called :
iron Armour
I suggest to be distributed for free for citizens here
It could protect them from all kinds of harm and they will be free to walk on streets without having any fear of being attacked for possible murders by weapons/bullets, etc
you all can read more about it here

28 March, 2006 12:42  
Blogger 1234dsfs said...

The laws involving rape are so relaxed these days - perhaps to suit the new image...

But this case has something wrong. I always felt theres something wrong with this case.

The girl drinks, gets into the car after she is 'repeatedly requested' - and then accuses the guys of gang-rape. I dont say the guys are innocent, but there is something terribly wrong with this case.


Can you guys smell it???

28 March, 2006 13:12  
Blogger samuraisam said...

al-republican:
"You really need to stop spewing hate over here. Locals just don't get off the hook that easily. A local man was awarded the death penalty for raping a 12 year old girl in Sharjah. He was shot by multiple rounds of a machine gun by the ruler of Sharjah for his crime. Don't give this crime a face it isn't supposed to be having."
Evidence plz kthx.


"The girl drinks, gets into the car after she is 'repeatedly requested' - and then accuses the guys of gang-rape. I dont say the guys are innocent, but there is something terribly wrong with this case.
Can you guys smell it???"

Not really. It doesn't sound very dodgy to me. Rape is illegal, so don't do it no matter what the circumstances.
As for dodgy cases, why not ask about the oasis centre fire...

28 March, 2006 13:27  
Blogger al-republican said...

samuraisam-

You need evidence to believe it?? How come you never ask for EVIDENCE in cases where it suits like? For example, you had no problem believing that 90 vs 150 lashes was based on discrimination. Where is YOUR evidence that brought you to that conclusion?

I guess you haven't lived long enough in the UAE to know this incident! It was pretty darned famous and was reported by both Khaleej Times and Gulf News. Try hitting their archives.

28 March, 2006 13:35  
Blogger samuraisam said...

al-republican, I suggest you re-read my comments on that posting you moron.

Specifically...
Furthermore, this case is another one which is difficult to judge because there is no information available, we can theorize all we like, but there isn't enough information to form a judgment.

28 March, 2006 14:06  
Blogger Tainted Female said...

Wow…

I have so many conflicting arguments with so many of you, after reading this thread… I don’t even know where to begin or if I should bother.

I guess here’s as good start; I really wish some of you would stop voicing your opinions as everyone’s. I am a rape victim, and I do believe I was partially at fault for what happened to me. Now, that’s not to say that the victim is at fault in every sex crime; just that there are cases like mine where you can’t ignore your own mistakes that led up to the event.

A drunk individual is in no state to give consent anyway, so its meaningless.

Now, this is something I think says a little beyond what’s actually read by most. I couldn’t agree with this sentence more, personally. But then most people wouldn’t disagree; which is just the point. Those who drink and those who don’t, pretty much agree that ability to think rationally is at best ‘questionable’ while drunk. Which would explain the ‘stupid’ actions this girl may have taken by getting into the car with strangers, the story seems to show happened. Which also leads me to question whether or not she would have gotten into the car, putting herself in a position to be hurt, if she hadn’t been drinking?

I dunno. I strongly feel that proven rapists should be executed regardless of the circumstances; forcing sex on anyone is simply unforgivable and a sign of severe social dysfunctions that most likely can’t be corrected by even the best psychiatrist or most expensive drugs, and I don’t see any purpose in scientists wasting time or money researching ‘cures’ for such things, when there are so innocent, harmless people, lacking daily necessities where time and money would be much better spent.

Now, I’m getting off my soap box; knowing I’ve written this with no intent to upset anyone, but I’m sure lots of you are itching to tear something I’ve said apart and debate it with me.

And, I’m assuming I was too late and the deleted post is the ‘anon’ comment someone sent me an email about asking me if I was the author?!

28 March, 2006 14:18  
Blogger al-republican said...

samuraisam-

You quoted:

Specifically...
Furthermore, this case is another one which is difficult to judge because there is no information available, we can theorize all we like, but there isn't enough information to form a judgment.


Weird, I don't see that anywhere on your first post? Unless the deleted comment in this thread is yours and I missed it?? Weirdness.

28 March, 2006 14:49  
Blogger Harsha said...

al-republican scan through appropriate thread

28 March, 2006 15:02  
Blogger al-republican said...

Oh, I see! Thanks, Harsha :D

28 March, 2006 15:07  
Blogger Harsha said...

I could call on that number and sing that song for them, my singing is also very close to sounding like a parrot.

My cousins had the same parrot - who's favorite passtime when it came to my house was - sitting on the cieling fan n crapping all over the carpet.

I love pets but.. the parrot is probably happier now singing 'tujhe dekha toh ye jaana sanammmm' to some parrotni

28 March, 2006 15:38  
Blogger Harsha said...

oooh ironically the next line of the song is 'ab yaha se kaha jaaye hum' (where do I go from here now )


ok! ok! back to topic! back to topic!

28 March, 2006 15:40  
Blogger SIN said...

Shadow..(think it was u) who questioned the law on self defense here. While keeping in mind the scenario here, a woman (or a man) has a right to defend themselves bodily and if that includes harming someone else in the process, so be it.
That is technically the law of the land, heard from the mouth of the legal consulant/lawyer of Dubai Police. But gray area comes in as to who decides if it was self defense...it's just so damn murky here.
Items like pepper spray are illegal in Dubai, but cops themselves say that they turn a blind eye to it if a woman is carrying onne to protect herself.

28 March, 2006 15:53  
Blogger samuraisam said...

sin, she was in a car with 6 grown males.
Nothing short of a pancor jackhammer automatic shotgun would have done her any good.

28 March, 2006 16:13  
Blogger LizzieD said...

Tainted female: I just wanted to note your bravery in revealing that you have been a victim yourself.
Others: I don't think anyone can argue that being drunk doesn't impair judgement. That's a fact. But for those of you who insist that this woman did something to ask for being gang-raped, I just want to throttle you. Let's presume that yes, she's a slapper and she was horny and drunk and voluntarily got into this car. WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE? Rape is still a violent act committed by thugs who can only feel powerful when they are taking away someone else's power. Full-stop. Stop spreading backward, sexist rumors that something dodgy's going on. Think about it. If she did all this voluntarily, why did she go to the police? Why wouldn't she just have kept the whole thing to herself?

28 March, 2006 16:57  
Blogger Tim Newman said...

He was shot by multiple rounds of a machine gun by the ruler of Sharjah for his crime.

Bloody hell! A machine gun?!! That would've been a bit messy. Have they not heard of a rifle in Sharjah?

28 March, 2006 17:16  
Blogger al-republican said...

Timmy:

I actually meant an automatic rifle! Something like an AK-47 and not a full-fledged MACHINE gun as such.

Where I come from, an AK-47 is just refered to as a "machine gun" :P It certainly wasn't an M-16 or M-100 rifle so I guess it was a Kalashnikov.

OK people dont you all think I am a terrorist just because I know so much about weapons! Hahaha.

28 March, 2006 17:23  
Blogger CG said...

It makes me uneasy to see women/ladies etc out late at night alone. I have always believed that we have safety in numbers. I personally always use the valet car parking service at hotels to avoid loitering around. I do not like the way a lot of European ladies dress these days in Dubai. I do think a lot of them are asking for trouble dressed that way. BUT I must add, no-one has the right to rape another.
They committed a crime and should be punished appropriatly.
She MAY have committed some kind of offence in regards to dress code, I do not know for sure.
She was/is a flight attendant. My nephew was visiting me last year and wanted to go and visit some cabin crew lady friends. I told him to be home before midnite or stay out all night. He said it was ok, the girls had already said it would be ok for him to sleep over if they were late.....Emirates accomodation....3 girls in the flat....they had no problem with him staying there and only one of them knew him personally.
Fortunately he made it home at 11.55pm.....

28 March, 2006 18:47  
Blogger Tim Newman said...

Where I come from, an AK-47 is just refered to as a "machine gun" :

Heh! You guys need to learn to fire them things on a setting other than fully automatic! not that they're much beyond 20ft on single shot.

28 March, 2006 19:05  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ladies. (Especially the western ladies).

In just 2 mere weeks of being interested in the culture of UAE, I have read at least a few news accounts of rapes. In each situation, it involved a woman either leaving a bar and walking home alone, or leaving a bar in a car with people whom she did not know well. In each situation, she was taken elsewhere and raped.

Most of you come from countries where both nationals and foreigners have the ability to mold and influence the law AND the local culture. In the UAE, it is clear that western culture is merely TOLERATED by the government and locals. Your thoughts and ideas on how rapists and rape victims should be treated (especially rapes of western women) are not shared by the locals. They just aren't.

I think that before you go 10 degrees into expressing outrage, you really need to gain perspective about the PLACE and the culture of which you speak. Without that pespective, you can not have a productive conversation.

I understand the outrage you feel, but really, a lot of you are "pissing into the wind" (so to speak). If this were a conversation about how a similar rape should be treated in New York City, I'd be writing ENTIRELY different things.

Remember that in some "offically" Islamic nations, a single female would not even be allowed into the country without an attending husband or relative to look out for her. Most of us westerners probably think "wow, that's so discriminitory", but I can now see that it is at least partially for her own PROTECTION.

Many westerners seem to think they are entitled to travel the world and bring along their own "preferences file" and just plug it into the nation they are visiting, and their view of the way things work will simply happen for them. I would only visit an Islamic nation with the utmost humility and caution for local customes and culture. To do otherwise, in my opinion, could be dangerous, and perhaps even my end.

With this case, if you have not already noticed, you've actually seen a classic demostration of not only a terrible thing that happened, but also what appears to be a classic example of how the legal process works in this country to rectify such situations.

My parting question for the western ladies reading this thread: How will you/would you alter YOUR personal behavior after reading such a thing?

28 March, 2006 19:55  
Blogger * said...

I have to completely agree with cg here.
Its not like by now we have not experienced this situation before in the press. It is becoming more and more common alongwith the adultery cases.
Having said that when I know there are SHARKS in the water will I go swimming? I think not. Will I go swimming with a bleeding cut when I know at what distance a shark can smell blood. Unless I have a deathwish I do not really want to become luncheon meat for Jaws.
The point being this, even newcomers come with their preconceived notions about women being treated like shit, harems, if any woman is liked by some SHEIKH she can vanish without a trace....do I really need to go on about the URBAN LEGENDS.
How many movies does HOLLYWOOD have to make to knock the point home.
My god even BARNEY teaches you not to TRUST strangers.

Take the case of Ms.Tiouli.
So you know someone a couple of hours, and you trust them because THEY are the "manager's" friends.
What is the credibility of a NIGHTCLUB manager. That of a PIMP.
What is the credibility of a woman hanging out at a nightclub,drinking, and accepting a lift home from strangers.

As for the flight attendant what was she expecting? Justice ?
In any WESTERNISED,EDUCATED,CIVILISED country, a good lawyer would have done the same anyday.
So whats the big HOOHAH.
Yes, RAPE is the nastiest thing to happen to a woman, agreed. In India now it is mandatory for the accused to prove himself innocent, and not vice versa. Nice system.

Let me just dip a little in history. Remember JACK THE RIPPER. A man who terrorised all of LONDON's prostitutes by hacking them into pieces. What was the instruction given out by the Police at that time. Not to venture out late at night, not to be alone,not to trust strangers..(obviously when one is a prostitute the above seems redundant given their working hours or clientle). So if a prostitute can be warned against doing her business or being slashed, then how many cases is it going to take for the WOMEN in DUBAI to wake up and figure it out.
But despite it all, go to any nightclub theres no end of brisk business there. IS THAT NOT SO?

Well then, don't expect to be taken home, read a bedtime story, given a glass of milk and tucked in with teddy.

28 March, 2006 21:02  
Blogger * said...

@ tainted
You may want to reconsider a case of TMI bigtime.

28 March, 2006 21:04  
Blogger al-republican said...

FloodTide:

The case I refer to happened somewhere in the mid 90's (1996/1997?). The male was a local from Sharjah who picked up a girl while she was waiting for her school bus alone at the bus stop. This local male was a married man with children and he had appealed against his death verdict citing his mental health (or lack thereof).

The Sharjah courts were not convinced and he was handed the death sentence. The girl belonged to a Hindu Indian family who were also interviewed a few days after the execution in KT.

I tried looking online, but there are no KT archives as such dating that far. I don't even think KT was online at the time.

28 March, 2006 22:00  
Blogger al-republican said...

KingKaiser-

I never contested the laxity of punishments meted out to locals vs. non-locals. It is a problem that is found all around the World to varying degrees: if it's not your race that gets you off the hook, it's your status; if not your status, it's your money; if not your money then your connections and so on. But, I do concur with the general trend of locals getting lesser punishments.

To tell you the truth, the little I do know about Judicial systems around the World, the most impressive I have found to be is the Pashtoon's. It is often referred to as "Loya Jirga" and there are many misconceptions about it as people confuse it with another judicial system (practiced in the surrounding areas) known as the "panchayat".

It is very cheap, very effect, amazingly independant (even though the Pashtoon's live in tribes just as the Arabs do) and it works on the principle of "Justice delayed is justice denied". You get quick rulings and cases are closed relatively quicker. It's history starts off from Jewish laws (the Pathans are said to be the lost tribe of the Jews and there is some excellent evidence for it, too). Later, after Islam came into the scene, the "loya jirga" incorporated Islamic laws.

28 March, 2006 22:50  
Blogger secretdubai said...

FloodTide - I read Dubai just recently, it was a fascinating and amusing book. There are copies available very cheaply all over the internet and Amazon. Well worth the read.

Though the "hero" was an absolute imbecile.

28 March, 2006 23:20  
Blogger CG said...

I recall the schoolgirl incident in Sharjah, it happened early morning. I do not remember the guys punishment.
The Ras Al Khaimah case I know of very well as the head of CID discussed it with me at the time. The girl was young, around 4 yrs old and her blood was found in the bakers room, along with her jewellery. He was killed by the firing squad not only for the rape but also for the murder.
The last one in Dubai was a local guy who faced the firing squad for abducting, raping and murdering his neighbours daughter in the goats shed, then dumping her body in a trash bin in the street. He left behind a wife and 10 or 12 children when he was killed....I cannot recall the year of that possibly around 1990. They killed him in Al Awir behind the army training place. The murder happened in Mizhar I believe.
One man was let off a rape charge (10 yr old girl) in RAK (ooooh are you surprised) because she was playing in her OWN back yard wearing revealing clothing when she was abducted.
I bet the RAK judges are very dissapointed that this airline stewerdess was not jailed for her wild ways.....

29 March, 2006 12:45  
Blogger SIN said...

Floodtide...i read Dubai and rolled over laughing my head off! Dead hilarious

29 March, 2006 14:35  
Blogger Jonathan said...

hmaarouf has put my blog, www.PettyLarseny.com in a very bad light, by grossly misunderstanding my post about rape. He claimed that "in most cases victims are also sharing responsibility even to a very little extent." The entire point of my post was to separate causal responsibility from moral responsibility. Women are not morally responsible for their rapes IN ANY WAY. They are only, partially, causally responsible for their rapes -- in the same way a mugging victim is causally responsible for his victimization by leaving the house when he did and choosing the street he chose to walk on. If you can't separate moral responsibility from causal responsibility, you are part of the problem. And please don't mischaracterize my words to make it seem as though I share your confusion.

31 March, 2006 16:37  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I met a Korean girl who had a maintenance guy come inside her apartment to check on her a/c inside her room. According to her, the maintenance guy brushed his arm across her breast like it was an accident, so she ignored it. Later on, he approached her and squeezed (not touch/ or even a brush)..Yes, SQUEEZED her private part when she was sitting on her bed. She claimed that he also did it to her flatmate at one time when he checked on her a/c. My eyes were literally bulging out in disbelief, my jaw dropped a mile. She told it to me in a way like it was just a weird experience. Moreso, she blamed it on her being ASIAN! I told her I am Asian, particularly a Filipino, and I or any of my friends would never allow this action to have gone that far (considering the fact that the accidental brush on the breast would already be disturbing), and if it did happen (God forbid), I would have made a scene, called the police immediately and go on all measures to get this guy behind bars and out of this country. This Korean girl nor her flatmate didn't report the incident because she was scared that the guy would be deported and that her mom taught her not to say anything because he can always come back for revenge. I have never heard of such weird mentality, probably not in my part of the globe! It was also useless for me to help her since this happened a year ago and the guy wasn't working at the building anymore. I felt like a parent at that time, teaching a kid on how to deal with strangers...that it's not bad to report a crime, that in any part of the world, you should always defend and protect yourself as a human..as a A WOMAN. I mean I could go on and on but deep inside I keep asking myself...isn't it just COMMON SENSE, all these things I'm telling her? I was utterly disturbed since I live in the same building. I've had maintenance come in regularly to check on my flat but I make sure that I call a friend to accompany me if ever I'm alone, or if not I talk to someone over the phone the whole time that they're in the flat. I dress appropriately and position myself distant from them, and near the exit.

I told this disturbing incident to my friends and acquaintances, and mostly the men thought that these girls probably wore something revealing or seemed to be easy preys that made the maintenance guy do this unacceptable act. For us women, no matter what, we do not deserve to be treated like this, in any circumstance. But in this big bad world we cannot predict what will happen no matter what you do and no matter how strong your personality is. Despite that, what we can do is make all safety measures possible. Know how to present yourself as a decent woman and show them that you kick butt and no one can mess up with you. Learn to appreciate your inner beauty, not indulged in the fact that wearing skimpy clothes mean that you're beautiful. It's all in the attitude, the circumstance and a lot of prayers for protection.

Lastly, this sweet Korean girl thanked me and told me if I meet other Korean girls in the future, I should give them exactly the same advise as I gave her. Ah-MAZING!

03 June, 2006 22:59  

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