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NEWS & LETTERS, June 2002
OUR LIFE AND TIMES: Rape victim faces deathA 26-year-old Pakistani peasant woman, Zafran Bibi, has been sentenced to death by stoning for admitting being raped by her brother-in-law. Bibi, who was raped many times by her brother-in-law after her husband was imprisoned for murder, had previously complained to her in-laws, who had remained silent. She was forced to make the accusation public when she became pregnant. According to the Sharia (Islamic Law) court in Pakistan, Bibi's admission that her brother-in-law raped her, and her refusal to disown her new child, are proof of Zina (adultery). Her rapist, however, has been set free without charge, since under the laws of Zina four male witnesses must testify to having seen a rape take place. The testimony of women is not admissible. The case of Zafran Bibi has become the subject of many editorials in Pakistani newspapers and will now be reviewed by a higher court. But according to Pakistani women's rights activists, even if the death sentence is reversed, Bibi will still be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Eighty percent of women in Pakistani prisons have been convicted under laws that ban extramarital sex. Half the women who report a rape are charged with adultery under Zina laws. —Sheila Sahar |
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