Hypocrisy Knows No Gender
I found it slightly outrageous that outrage over the sentence meted out for a Saudi female victim of rape did not seem to extend to the man she was with at the time of the attack, who was gang-raped along with her.
King Abdullah pardoned the woman, who had been sentenced to two-hundred lashes and six months in prison for having violated the law segregating the sexes. The man she was with was sentenced to ninety lashes, the same as the woman's initial sentence. ("When she appealed," according to The Times of London, "the court ruled that her punishment should be raised to two-hundred lashes and a six-month jail term. The judges reportedly decided to increase the penalties because of “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media”.)
Note that neither were being punished for being raped, per se, according to the court. The lashes were for violating the strict segregation of sexes in the Saudi Kingdom. The additional lashes and prison time were basically for contempt. The sentencing is still patently outrageous. I make the point only because both rape victims received the same sentence. The female victim was being punished additionally for appealing hers.
Most media outlets, with the odd exception of CNN, reported that both the woman and her male companion had been raped. The AP mentioned that both were victims of rape. The Times and the BBC reported on her male companion's rape, but said "It is not known if his sentence was also lifted."
I'm pretty sure that means it wasn't. Nor will it be. And I doubt it will spark especial outrage on the part of the international community, or condemnation by the President. This is the end of the story.
As for CNN. Their report on the case today did not mention the man's rape at all. "Seven men, convicted of abducting the pair and raping her, were sentenced from two to nine years in prison," is as close as they came. This is not strictly inaccurate, as the case in question involves an appeal for the crime committed against her, not him, and her sentencing in it, not his.
Personally, I don't think that acknowledging the male victim of rape in any way minimizes the suffering of the female, especially in a case like this, where it's clear that both were victims of unspeakable violation and brutality, followed by outrageous attempts to further humiliate and shame them. The mandated segregation of the sexes has consequences for both sexes. Our outrage, if we feel compelled to air it, should reflect some minimal awareness of this.


























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