After lobbying from international groups, an Afghan woman who was raped by a relative and given a 12-year jail sentence has been pardoned by President Hamid Karzai. The idea that rape victims are being jailed for adultery is already sickening, but brace yourself because it gets worse: She's only being released because she's agreed to marry the man who raped her.
19-year-old Gulnaz (NPR notes that like many Afghans she uses one name) became known across the world after she participated in an EU-funded documentary about women's rights in Afghanistan. The film was never released due to fears for the women's safety, but the details of her case have come out: Gulnaz was sentenced to 12 years in jail for adultery after her cousin's husband raped her. Her sentence was later reduced to three years, just as her rapist's 12-year term was cut down to seven years. Gulnaz became pregnant from the rape, and for the past two and a half years she's been in jail, raising their daughter.
Earlier, Gulnaz refused a judge's offer to free her if she'd agreed to marry her rapist, but apparently she's changed her mind. Now the Afghan government is insisting the marriage isn't a condition of her release, but it's not like she's in a position to exercise free choice.
In Afghan culture unwed mothers can "legitimize" a birth by marrying the child's father, even if he's a rapist. In the film, Gulnaz says she'll never forgive her attacker, but adds, "I don't want people to call [my daughter] a bastard and abuse my brothers. My brothers won't have honour in our society until he marries me."
Gulnaz is the most high-profile incarcerated Afghan woman, but her story isn't unusual. As theWashington Post reports, about half of all female prisoners in the country have been jailed for "moral crimes," i.e. horrible offenses like being raped or daring to flee domestic violence.
Source:Jezebel
