28 March, 2024

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When Victims Are Blamed

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

A story titled, ‘Are Women to be Blamed for Rape?’ was published on Colombo Telegraph on May 26 and was written by Muhammed Fazl, ‘an independent social/political activist.’ The article provides a simplistic analysis of a complex problem and is also a chauvinistic and patriarchal take of a social issue.

You are relaxing by a swimming pool when you notice a female in a bikini. You look at her long enough to remember how her body looked when it was so scantily clad. A month later, you are walking on a street when you notice a different female. Her attire doesn’t matter, she could be covered head to toe in two layers or more, but you remember that bikini-clad female you saw by the pool. You rape the female walking on the street and the most you get as a punishment is counseling, because you have the defense of provocation. The lady in the bikini so obviously provoked you to rape a different female.

Sounds absolutely crazy, doesn’t it? And yet, this is a belief held by some, for instance the writer of a story that appeared in Colombo Telegraph recently. The author questions why females feel the need to wear thongs, bikinis or anything that’s not knee-length at a swimming pool.

Bikini Fasion show

The writer also speaks about the objectification of females and writes, “Adding insult to injury is when ‘educated’ ladies in the advertising sector objectify female models by making them don sexually arousing attire and for insisting on suggestive poses to sell wares and services of their clients.” First of all, it isn’t only females who work in the advertising sector, and it isn’t only the fault of females, educated or not, that people are objectified.

Even today, there are people who firmly believe that when in public females should be dressed modestly. A female walking on the street while wearing a short skirt and a sleeveless blouse is said to be ‘asking for it.’ However, the author takes this to another level by expecting females to be in knee length clothing even at swimming pools.

If wearing bikinis make females vulnerable, don’t Speedos and cycling shorts make men vulnerable? Then shouldn’t people, regardless of their sex, be clad head to toe night and day to make sure they don’t ‘ask for it’?

“It is no secret that when skimpily clad woman or in a two piece bikini flaunts herself, it is always another vulnerable woman living somewhere else who ends up paying the ultimate price,” Muhammed Fazl writes. There is something radically wrong with a person if he can’t be in the company of females in swim wear and not stop himself from raping another female.

Most people would expect others to keep their emotions in check and think before they act. If you have an overwhelming urge to have sex just at the sight of a female, regardless of her outfit, you need to find release in a way that doesn’t violate or hurt anyone. The author writes, “the act of rape needs to be considered as a violation of a woman’s (in most cases) right to her body and honor, and not just as a forced sexual act…” and thus gives the reader a glimpse of hope that the writer will present a good case against rape only to later disappoint and disgust the reader.

Muhammed Fazl goes on to blame women themselves for being violated. One of the preventive measures he suggests is, “Would it also not be sensible/practical for women to be modestly dressed when in public as against educating or expecting the entire male species to ‘look-but-not-touch’?”

Muhammed Fazl mentions a weaker sex whose rights and honor should be protected. At first one would assume he is talking about females. However, once the reader reaches the end of the article, he/she begins to wonder if the weaker sex is in fact males, for Muhammed Fazl’s writing implies that they are too weak to stop themselves from raping a female. If by any chance, the writer was talking about males when he says, “Possible regular media campaigns in protecting the rights and honor of the weaker sex,” one also wonders why the guilty parties need to have their honor protected, especially when they didn’t hesitate to violate the honor of another.

The writer also speaks about the objectification of females and writes, “Adding insult to injury is when ‘educated’ ladies in the advertising sector objectify female models by making them don sexually arousing attire and for insisting on suggestive poses to sell wares and services of their clients.” First of all, it isn’t only females who work in the advertising sector, and it isn’t only the fault of females, educated or not, that people are objectified.

And even if models in arousing attires and suggestive poses are used in advertisements they are not a reason to rape. Such advertisements may affect how a female is viewed and men may disrespect females due to these advertisements but as has been repeated numerous times, a female’s attire is not a reason to rape her.

The author also contradicts himself by saying, “Data collected over the years from research statistics shows us how almost 80% of the victims knew their offenders. In this scenario, would it not make it a fertile ground for rape when women freely intermingle with little known male strangers especially when there does not exist a pressing need to do so?”

He says that 80 percent of the victims know their offenders and then go on to say that females shouldn’t intermingle with little known male strangers. The writer seems to believe that females should not associate with males, which is absolutely ridiculous. During a time when people are encouraged to mingle with people from other cultures, it is shocking that Muhammed Fazl believes that segregation is necessary between the sexes.

Throughout the article, the writer seems to blame females. Muhammed Fazl writes that a contributing factor to rape is “infidelity in relationships (on the part of their women).” It isn’t that men should know to behave and respect females, but females must dress modestly. It isn’t that people should stop raping others, but that females should stop associating men. While Muhammed Fazl seems somewhat critical of the death penalty, he seems to believe in, “enacting laws against immodesty in dress codes when in public and the possible implementation of laws against nudity and objectification of women for commercial gain on all formats of the media.”

Such patriarchal attitudes lead to sexism and gender bias, but they also continue to make females not only the victims but also the real guilty parties.

“Criminals are not born… they are made. Let us not have anything to do with that process,” Muhammed Fazl writes. It is truly a pity that with less than 2,000 words he has managed to show that despite his own words about the nature versus nurture aspect of criminals, he too contributes to the process and blames the victim instead of the criminal.

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Latest comments

  • 17
    4

    Leaving my front door open is by no means an invitation to clear out my house of all my belongings. Leaving my car engine running is by no means an invitation to drive off with it. Dressing one way or the other by no means constitutes implicit consent to any action whatsoever. It is unbelievable how this is not clear to everybody. If I dress in rain gear, you may not target me with your garden hose. If I wear a motorcycle helmet, you may not whack me in the head with a bat. What a woman wears in no way implies what she does or does not want to do with any man, unless she makes eye contact with you and you find her arms around your neck.

    Societies punish the starving who steal food on display in the market, some harsher than others. The “temptation” defence doesn’t work there – why should it ever be considered in the case of sexual assault?

    • 7
      0

      Theoretically, these arguments are right.
      Yet, was Vithya gang raped by men who were sexually provoked? Was Saranya gang raped in March to die in hospital by men who were sexually provoked? The string of murders in Kahawatte where some women were raped happened not on roads or during day time, but all while they were sleeping in their homes.
      There is something awfully and fundamentally wrong in this society that has lost social values, have seen too much blood, lost respect for human lives, lives on a culture of power politics and “nothing is beyond what I decide” mentality.
      And let’s not miss the fact, almost all rape and murder are in rural society.
      So these theorizing are far away from what we are living through.
      AS

      • 5
        1

        I am not sure how that rebuts my argument, but I agree with you.

        There are two things here: (1) A crime happened, (2) the victim was blamed for the crime happening to her. I was only addressing the victim-blaming. Preventing the crime, which you address, is a separate, equally important issue.

        I am sick and tired of certain men of certain societies trying to paint me as a potential rapist because their parents, father and mother, did not teach them how to interact properly, decently, and compassionately with their fellow human beings.

    • 4
      0

      Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

      Listen to what Anura Kumara Dissanayake is saying.

      Daily there are 8 Rapes in Lanka, one every 3 hours.

      https://www.facebook.com/anurakumara/videos/vb.267207983433656/462944947193291/?type=2&theater

    • 2
      0

      Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

      Please Listen to this Video.

      Go to the core of the problem.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7Ugokb4GAY8

  • 12
    8

    Thanks Shailendree for this rebuttal. I have some times heard some muslims say the reason for making women wear the abaya is because their bodies, if exposed in public, will be “too tempting” for males and would lead for men to commit sin! Who is responsible for his acts? The scantily clad woman or he himself?

  • 9
    5

    I fear that I have to dive in at the deep end in a Speedo! I read the original piece, (let me be honest) immediately noting that it was written by a Muslim. Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya, you are right. Muhammed Fazl “gives the reader a glimpse of hope that the writer will present a good case against rape only to later disappoint and disgust the reader.”

    The point is that Fazl is clearly a very decent man. I do hope that he ponders on all that has been said above, and in response to his article. It is a cardinal rule of polite society that politics and religion should not be discussed – and I’m too scared to. May I just limit myself to saying that Muslims worldwide should wake up to the dangers that they face. I’ve read the Koran. It’s too dogmatic for today’s multi-cultural world. Persons brought up as Muslims are liable to go overboard in some respects.

    This is something to be thought about seriously; I hope not too many people start screaming that I’m a BBS!

  • 6
    10

    “If wearing bikinis make females vulnerable, don’t Speedos and cycling shorts make men vulnerable?”

    No,mMen rapes women, not other way around. And men kills women.

    Bring death penalty for rape, and women should dress modestly. Men can be provoked sexually easily, ask any man.

    • 4
      0

      “Men can be provoked sexually easily, ask any man”

      Let me assure you that while we can have all kinds of punishment including the death penalty, torture and anything else we may like to add, the number of rapes – of males and females- by males will continue to increase in number as well as ferocity. Often these rapes will end in the victim being murdered.

      It may be that most likely hypothesis is that of a “persistent generation of a deadly hostility within “men” – who may be better described as ‘gender structured’ or ‘gender encapsulated’ males – the release of which is triggered by any attitude or action even remotely resembling what at any given historical moment has been culturally, psychologically or physically defined as ‘feminine’ “.

      While the conceptual basis underlying this hypothesis appears to be quite sound and its overall articulation gives the appearance of being reasonable, its establishment with a reasonable degree of certainty would require randomized controlled cohort studies that would have to run for at least twenty (20) years and include the full time participation of parents and children under controlled conditions. While this is not impossible, it is hardly likely to happen.

      What is much more likely to occur – and could be completed over a period of about five (5) years – would be the detailed articulation of this hypothesis along with all available documentary support. This would at current costs involve a sum of at least thirty million (30,000,000) Sri Lankan Rupees.

      The outcome will be a deeper and better understanding of the driving forces behind the phenomenon of rape, and the consequent opportunity to make certain behavioral changes within the species Homo sapiens that may lead to the rapid reduction of incidents of rape. These behavioral changes will also bring about certain changes in the dynamic interface between male and female individuals, known as “gender” and will cause the dynamics of the reproductive relationships between male and female individuals currently found within the species to change radically. It will also lead to the removal of the complex of rationales for the sustenance of attitudes and patterns of behavior that constitute “sexuality” and consequently to its de construction and disposal.
      Cultural and psychological changes are the easiest evolutionary changes that can be brought about and they lead, epigenetically, to physiological ones that given time may lead to changes in secondary morphological characteristics and if the species survives for long enough, to anatomical ones as well.

      So it is not that the species is unable to respond to the phenomenon of rape and bring about its extinction but rather the problem lies in the shortage of individual swilling to commit their lives to the careful and painstaking work that is required.

      Moreover this kind of work tends to generate deep seated anxieties within the species and this is why I choose to remain within the relative safety of asylum in order to avoid the psychophysical assaults that are inevitably attempted at some point or other.

  • 13
    2

    Fazls’ logic
    A skimpily clad woman can influence a man to rape another woman. Therefore, the woman should dress more conservative.

    If apply his logic to the BBS
    A Muslim can influence the BBS to incite riots on other muslims. Therefore, I should not be a Muslim.

    However, I am glad that CT posted the article because people should be free to express their opinion no matter how radical.

    There’s some good and bad in everything. You can’t appreciate how bright the colour white is until you know how dark black can be is what I say. Articles like Fazls’ make us question our own feelings on these matters and that’s never a bad thing.

  • 7
    1

    Isn’t it now enough blaming this one man with Muslim name as he is the cause of all sexual discrimination in the country? Lot of ideas Fazl said in his opinion are well rooted in the minds of people. As I know, still mothers and grandmothers decide what teenage & adult daughters should ware and not. SB monks are very strict on what women should ware in their presence. Lot of monks, do not bless women with strings, because they refuse to touch sinful hands of women .(my teenage daughter is very angry about this)…. If a woman wares a beautiful dress, all the young, mature, and old males just stop, turn their heads completely in that direction and stare at them couple minutes, no shame on themselves or no respect on these girls.(outside Colombo?).
    Lot of things Fazl said are in the very root of Sinhalese Buddhist culture. According to a well known Sutra which is taught at schools says, if one (male?) do adultery and some other sins, those will become “women” in your next birth. I saw these are printed and display in some temples..How foolish? . Aren’t you girls get angry on this? Is this Fazl’s fault too??..
    Now stop attacking a single man who pointed out these ugly thinking in the culture, go find the root causes, educate your mothers, elders and Buddhist monks…

  • 6
    4

    Fazi’s rubbish is like Taleban ISIS, Wahabi Salafist ideology. Saudi men are hypocrites. They force their women to wear black and they come to sri lanka to look for Russian hookers massages for sex and booze. ! FACTS So you are correct to set that backward boorish male chauvinistic pig straight. Well said and well articulated. Challenge these backward cavemen.

  • 5
    0

    Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

    RE: When Victims Are Blamed

    “A story titled, ‘Are Women to be Blamed for Rape?’ was published on Colombo Telegraph on May 26 and was written by Muhammed Fazl, ‘an independent social/political activist.’ The article provides a simplistic analysis of a complex problem and is also a chauvinistic and patriarchal take of a social issue”

    Thank you for bringing this DOUBLE STANDARDS issue to the surface.

    The Victims are to be blamed, when

    1. A Man or a group of men rapes a women or girl, and the women or girl is blamed. It is called DOUBLE STANDARDS.

    2. A minority community (Muslims) is attacked or killed by the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist (BBS, assisted by the state and their goons) and the community or the women in the community are blamed because they are partially or fully covered. It is called DOUBLE STANDARDS.

    3. A minority community (Muslims) is attacked or killed by the LTTE Chauvinists (assisted by ….) and the community the community, the victim, is blamed for the Ethnic cleansing and war crimes by LTTE. It is called DOUBLE STANDARDS.

    DOUBLE STANDARD

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_standard

    A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for similar situations.[1] A double standard may take the form of an instance in which certain concepts (often, for example, a word, phrase, social norm, or rule) are perceived as acceptable to be applied by one group of people, but are considered unacceptable—taboo—when applied by another group.

    The concept of a double standard has long been applied (as early as 1872) to the fact that different moral structures are often applied to men and women in society.[2][3]

    A double standard can therefore be described as a biased or morally unfair application of the principle that all are equal in their freedoms. Such double standards are seen as unjustified because they violate a basic maxim of modern legal jurisprudence: that all parties should stand equal before the law. Double standards also violate the principle of justice known as impartiality, which is based on the assumption that the same standards should be applied to all people, without regard to subjective bias or favoritism based on social class, rank, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age or other distinctions. A double standard violates this principle by holding different people accountable according to different standards

    • 4
      0

      Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

      RE: When Victims Are Blamed

      “A story titled, ‘Are Women to be Blamed for Rape?’ was published on Colombo Telegraph on May 26 and was written by Muhammed Fazl, ‘an independent social/political activist.’ The article provides a simplistic analysis of a complex problem and is also a chauvinistic and patriarchal take of a social issue”

      Thank you for bringing this DOUBLE STANDARDS issue to the surface.

      Basically, Fazl Mohamed is decent man with a Common Sense. He has his norms. However, the opinion he expresses, is the general Wahhabi Opinion of many brainwashed Muslims. However, this was not the case in early Islam, during the Prophet’s period.

      The Wahhabis and clones opinion of women, is that they tempt man. So, keep them out, keep them away, and there is no women to tempt them. Same with alcohol. So, women are not generally allowed in the mosques, even though they were allowed during Prophet Mohamed’s period.

      However, there is some truth to what Fazl Mohamed is saying. If there are two women side by side, one scantily clad, and the other modestly dressed, it is likely that the scantily dressed one will attract the attention of more men. however, it gives NO RIGHT for those men to jump on that women, gang rape her, and kill her.

      In a sense Fazl Mohamed is saying, an ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of cure.

      What is interesting is that, the Wahhabi Position that you cannot reform or control, the men. Therefore, let’s solve the problem at the women’s end, and dress them up properly and keep them out of sight of men.

      So, it is like a jungle. The hunters are the men. The prey is women. So, what should be the rules in the jungle, to be imposed by the Maharaja of the jungle?

  • 5
    2

    “When Victims Are Blamed” is the culture of Sri Lanka as far as Tamils are concerned:

    As victims, whenever they demanded democratic rights, pogroms were let loose on them – not once – several times.

    One section of the society does the same with women, when it comes to rape.

    They did the same to Welaweriya residents, who were victims of industrial pollution.

  • 6
    4

    SWA, Thanks for the well written article. Fazi’s article did not respect any response at all from the intelligent so your effort has to be applauded. Fazi showed what a sick individual he was misdirected by his beliefs or by guiding he has received. Remember he was not born that way ( we assume!) so lets thank his parents and teachers for the lovely product left on earth. “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

    Unfortunately there is a small minority of people in this same camp of his, who still insist on pushing all blame on women and using anything a woman does as the defense for their weakness of not being able to keep their tools in their place and use them without any respect to the opposite sex. They are not men but individuals who are so sick that they are fighting inside to understand what they are and what they stand for. Fazi has just shown the world which camp he belongs to.

    What I am ashamed is that Colombo Telegraph publishes articles without any moderation. While the article was titled “Are Women to be blames for rape” there was no balanced and objective discussion in his one track record to lengthen the skirt beyond the knee to solve the issue of rape.

    “They say Even death can’t cure an idiot” – Ririn

    • 1
      1

      eHPee,

      Your name HP was an acronym during my school days for those who did ‘that’ and lost, paraduna!!

      Interesting you have voluntarily adopted that pseudonym.

  • 3
    5

    We punish the person who did the crime. Some times the person who is tempting another for a crime is more responsible for the vulnerable act though practically he/she cannot fixed for guilt.

  • 3
    4

    In the context of the three Articles that appeared on the subject during the last few days, discerning readers of CT may wish to consider who benefits most by the orchestrated campaign to brainwash the young and restless generation to believe they have the absolute RIGHT to choose what they will wear, how they will speak, what they will eat and drink, and how they will conduct themselves.

    If you Google the phrase “list sex-enhancing drugs” you will be handed a passport to Delirium, the land of unlimited pleasures. You graduate from moderately expensive over the counter drugs to the more ‘advanced’ and naturally more expensive stuff through shady ‘person to person’ ‘distributors’. The artificially induced ‘delirium’ will destroy you financially and more seriously your family and social support system. By natural progression you will start selling your biological wares, to maintain your residence in ‘delirium’.

    The drug and alcohol mafia are ably supported by the Tourism, Fashion, Hotel, Leisure and Journalistic industries. Both male and female members of the younger generation are the fodder for the drug and alcohol mafia industry – supported by legitimate and illegal marketing and distribution facilities. It is mainly the mafia that benefits financially. It is in their interest to suppress sane counsel. The Mafia and their supporters do not care.

    The most important contribution from the Journalistic fraternity to the financial well being of the Drug and Alcohol Mafia is to rubbish the traditional advice available to the young, AND brainwash them to believe they have an inalienable right to choose their dress, drink, food and social conduct / lifestyle. Once their work is done, it is all one way – down – for the innocents. What kind of chance does a young man have against a combination of sex-enhancing drug and the kind of woman in the night club photograph? Rehabilitation is available, but that too in the main is financed by the Mafia. Salvation though is rare.

    Knowingly or unknowingly Deepthika Appuhamy, Hayanthi Peiris and Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya in the three articles published in the last few days are supporting the Mafia.

  • 4
    0

    Men are definitely the weaker sex. Apparently they cant control the animal
    instincts from which we are all supposed to have evolved. So… where to start? There is an interesting ad which appears intermittently on TV these days. ‘Start with the boys’! Educate them from birth re correct and moral behaviour-they need the extra educational boost!

    • 0
      1

      It is the men who have the animal instinct to procreate. If not for the urge to purge on the verge of a surge then this world will soon come to an end.

      Wonder what the monks in the Temples do when their feelings are aroused, with the feeling they feel, when they are about to feel, an orgasmic heavenly feel, a feeling they have never felt before. Crazy nuts. OMG no woman will ever stand a chance being anywhere close by, let alone the abiththa. Forget about celibacy, and sitting under a bo tree to attain Buddhahood. Forget their other commitments, to uphold values of decency, human dignity, and all of the niceties including respect for the weaker sex. No doubt, all women in general are most vulnerable. Even the Dhammapada rule books get thrown out the window. Then who is fooling whom? All bunkum, bullshit man fooling man – himself first, then fooling others with saintly ‘bana’ talking every evening, and entertain the flower trays and lighting candles, the public are so gullible. What can you expect and make of the rest of us. Blindly following the saffron clad pied pipers and dance to their tunes played from their flute, until everyone gets drunk on their fantasies, and ultimately drown in their shmuck.

  • 4
    3

    The purpose of my faith “christian” is to regulate myself not yo impose my values on others. I will also try to teach my children and nephews and nieces of this as well.
    My faith teaches me to self control and common sense so if I find that female attire is giving me thoughts I should not have then I should change my self by not hanging out with such women i should not expect them to change to my value system

    Unlike the ‘Are Women to be Blamed for Rape?’ authors religion expects everyone else to keep to his standards for him to practice his faith

    Then I kindly ask him to go to saudi or afganisitan or to Isis controlled iraq where he will be impressed by their treatment of women

  • 12
    2

    I want to state What I write below is not related to the incident which happened in North at all. If you all watched last Satana (I think 28th or 29th May) you will have a very good idea of what took place in Jafna. Vidya was a victim of an pre-planned revenge crime. The perpetrators had no fear of the consequences of their heinous crime, This is due to years of failure in our law enforcement. Many such crimes has gone unpunished. But for me most shocking is that they did not have iota of respect for the life of that innocent girl. when you don’t respect a human being then one will not hesitate to do anything to another human, just as what ISIS is doing.

    My comments are related to the PIC Only. An honest opinion.
    ========

    I am not looking at the lingerie on this pic. I am not in the business of buying and selling lingerie. A figure of sexy women who is showcasing all but her most private parts is attracting me. But just because of that I am not going to ask her out or seek someone like her to quench my desire by paying money or otherwise. But if one see the name of the model, that person may be tempted to search and see more pics of her. I think this is natural.

    However not everyone is like me or any other average person. In Sri Lanka most number of people are not average people. There is high chance of many trying to approach these models to ask them out, or just talk to them or even try to shake hands or bit more if possible. That’s the mentality of most Sri Lankans. after all we are in top rank for searching the word “sex” or related in Google for couple years running. Quite a record for nation which boast a population comprising deep followers of 4 major religions.

    When a women wears a saree showcasing 12 inches of her tummy and belly button and further down, no sleeves and bare back in a public place isn’t she sending a message to men asking them to look at her ? when a women wearers reveling cloths isn’t that person contributing to corrupt already deteriorated social mindset of our society ?

    Our country is not a western country, our society is not geared for such clothing. We cannot be called deeply Buddhist or strong Muslim or devoted Christian, Hindu and yet be very western in our clothing and behavior all this go hand in hand. A balance must be found if not everyone is responsible for what goes around. One section of the society is highly westernized while wast majority is struggling to make ends meet. There is a mismatch.

    The gang rape of a women in the night in Nugegoda few months back was not just an occurrence it was a result of an social sickness which we have cultivated over the years. Only by enforcing the law to fullest and educating all section of the society with years of effort we could minimize such acts.

    What is important is strict enforcement of law, only that could make a person pause and think of the consequences before committing the crime.

    Still there will be such incidents as we are not far from animals but it will be less.

  • 4
    10

    FAZL Mahommad is a muslim.

    They believe, that is what their Allah wanted them to do, that is women should be hidden to the world every way except to her husband who can use her any time he wants. If not that woman is a #hore or a prostitute.

    On the other hand, women servants are their (I mean muslim males) properties and, therefore, they can be raped at the masters’ will. That is what Saudi Arabian Wahabi muslims do to their servants coming from Asian countries.

    So, Fazl Mohammad tried to prove it. He very happily says that he is married to a buddhist woman. That is not true too. Because once a woman is married to a muslim, she has to become a muslim.

    Muslim must work only for Allah and every way they should spread that Cult. that is the wish of their prophet and they do it.

    Otherwise, Raping a young school girl, how can that be the girl’s fault except for the men who were animals who did not have grand mothers, mothers, sisters, and daughters.

    • 1
      2

      Jim softy

      “FAZL Mahommad is a muslim.”

      That is NOT a disqualification. There are a lot of others who happen to be Muslim or born to Muslim parents. A few Nobel Prize winners as well, Malala Yousef Ali, Karman, and a couple of Science nobel Prize winners.

      So. you need to Separate the person from the brainwashing and beliefs the person is subjected to that clouds, the person’s belief.

      “They believe, that is what their Allah wanted them to do, that is women should be hidden to the world every way except to her husband who can use her any time he wants. If not that woman is a #hore or a prostitute. “

      “Otherwise, Raping a young school girl, how can that be the girl’s fault except for the men who were animals who did not have grand mothers, mothers, sisters, and daughters. “

      There is a Difference between Iblis. Satan, Mara following Wahhabis and Allah Following Muslims. It is like MaRa follwing Lankans and Common Sense following Lankans.

      You are describing Wahhabism,The Tribal Tradition, which Prophet Mohamed Tried to reform, not Islam. Wahhabis are like Counter revolutionaries to Islam. Wahhabis Follow the Iblis, the Satan. Mara, Devil.

      That is where the Confusion arises.

      Remember Aristotle, the Church and Joshua, and the Sun going around the Earth? It is like that. Confusion.

      Remember Sinhala Buddhism and Buddhism? It is like that too.

  • 0
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    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 1
    2

    If there is no temptation it is not a natural Male animal. And there is no Kannahi in this world. All are Mathavi s.

  • 3
    0

    Ultimately rape is a pre-meditated act of violence. That’s it, no excuses.

  • 3
    3

    Muhammed Fazl’s inflammatorily captioned article Are Women to be Blamed for Rape, begins with an Islamic quote from the Quran. So let me do the same, this time from the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

    There is an incident mentioned in Bukhari volume 8, 74:247, when the Prophet was travelling with his kinsman, Al-Fadl bin ‘Abbas. The hadith goes,

    “…Al-Fadl was a handsome man. The Prophet stopped to give the people verdicts. In the meantime, a beautiful woman from the tribe of Khath’am came, asking the verdict of Allah’s Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face in order that he should not gaze at her.”

    It is telling that the Prophet did not advise the woman to change anything about her dress or behaviour. She had come to see him to seek his instruction on a matter about her elderly father, so Muhammad (PBUH) had ample opportunity to guide her on preventing the unwanted attention of men. Undoubtably, women are required to dress modestly as well. However, the Prophet did not make her the cause of the problem, and firmly puts the responsibility of correctional conduct on the man who looked at her in the first place.

    This is in stark contrast to Fazl’s article, with his, frankly laughable assertion, that “skimpily clad woman or in a two piece bikini flaunts herself, it is always another vulnerable woman living somewhere else who ends up paying the ultimate price”. It is the ultimate in male entitlement to think that women are somehow responsible for managing the baser urges of out of control males. That they must pay somehow; if not the woman who caused it, then someone, anyone, somewhere.

    Fazl continues his misogynistic discourse with “the need for a single or for the deprived woman to attract a good man should be accepted as her universal right… she also has the right to show her cleavage or her legs as much to net the most eligible man around”. Any semblance of respect or concern for women is thrown out with those few derisively chosen words.

    As for, “Would it also not be sensible/practical for women to be modestly dressed when in public as against educating or expecting the entire male species to ‘look-but-not-touch?”. It is entirely reasonable to expect the male species to look but not touch. Women are not there for the gratification of men. If the sight of an attractive woman makes a man run amok like an elephant in heat, then HE is the problem.

    He argues that the lower number of rapes thirty years ago compared to today was because of the more conservative values of the time. It was precisely because of the kind of victim blaming and shaming à la Fazl that fewer rapes were reported then. Such attitudes are thankfully on the way out, but it goes to show that victim blaming is so deeply ingrained in the psyche of some that it can never truly die out.

    Fazl finishes his article with “Criminals are not born… they are made. Let us not have anything to do with that process.” The ‘we’ here, is of course, women. After all, according to him we women share part of the blame. If a man doesn’t like to see a scantily dressed woman, there is an obvious solution. He should take the example of Muhammad (PBUH), leave the woman alone, and lower his gaze.

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    Rape is a sexual, social, and violent crime that has been continuously on the rise as the morals of the society decline and the religious values deteriorate. The religion of Submission (Islam in Arabic), like all the monotheistic religions, looks down with disgrace on all kinds of crimes, including of course sexual crimes. Rape, being a combination of several kinds of crimes wrapped in one name is therefore, one of the worst.

    As we all know, rape is different than adultery or fornication where there is a consensual agreement on having sex. It is also different than prostitution where sex out of marriage is paid for. Rape involves an attempt to empower a weaker or a threatened person to accept unwillingly the sexual advance of the attacker. Most sociologists look at rape as a violent crime based on oppression of another person. Allah in the Quran , condemns all the elements that constitute the crime of rape, i.e. Sex, violence, and oppression.

    God also strongly condemns any kind of sexual relationships out side of marriage.

    [Quran 5:5] …….. You shall maintain CHASTITY, not committing adultery, nor taking secret lovers. Anyone who rejects faith, all his work will be in vain, and in the Hereafter he will be with the losers.

    [Quran 24:30] Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their CHASTITY. This is purer for them. God is fully Cognizant of everything they do.

    [Quran 24:31] And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their CHASTITY.

    In addition to condemnation of the sexual crime involved in rape as we can see above, God strongly condemns the oppression element of rape in the strongest possible language. God, in the Quran, describes oppression as “worse than murder.” This puts rape among the worst crimes committed by a human being in the sight of God.

    [Quran 2:191] …….. OPPRESSION is worse than murder. See also, [Quran 2:217]

    God in the Quran also did not save the words to condemn prostitution, especially when oppression and forcing the young girls is a factor and this makes it different than a prostitution practiced by consenting adults, and it would place it in the category of rape. Of course both kinds are condemned but adding the oppression factor changes its nature into a rape with its consequence of higher need for a stronger punishment.

    [Quran 24:33] ……..You shall not force your girls to commit prostitution, seeking the materials of this world, if they wish to be chaste. If anyone forces them, then God, seeing that they are forced, is Forgiver, Merciful.

    From the above Quranic position we see that Rape is one of the hideous crimes and one of the worst in the sight of God. It is considered a complicated crime that involves violence, oppression and sex.

    Islam treats both men and women equally and a woman victim of rape cannot be blamed for the crime that happened to her. There is no where in the Quran any indication to blame the rape victim instead of blaming the rapist. When and if this happens, it does not represent Islam but represents cultural understanding and man made laws, not God’s Laws or commands as stated in the Quran.

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    I salute all of those who vehemently objected to the article written by Muhammed Fazl. It’s really disheartening to read an article like this by a male in the twenty first century.The evolution of men kind has attained unimaginable altitude technically and intellectually in this century. But most of the men in our society have not the capacity to adapt to the changes of the world, one of them is Mr. Fazl.We are living in a world where changes occurs at lightning speed. The women of present era are liberated from the male dominant society of the past and are competing with men in every field we could possibly imagine.
    As the men are use to the superior authority over women in the past they are unable accept the modern women who defy their concept of women.so they try to degrade them by taking the side of men who bring disgrace to the modern women.

    The problem of our society is, men are prepared to adapt to the changes that are convenient to them but they are not prepared to allow the same liberty to their women folks. Because of that they get vexed when they see women in bikinis or miniskirts. If a man needs a woman to satisfy his sexual desires he watched in a film he should go to a woman who is willing to fulfill his requirements instead of it if he rapes a women and blame her for his act he’s not human he’s a stray dog which has to be eliminated to safeguard the society.

    We have had enough of arguments and read enough of articles about rape till now but it’s unfortunate still we are unable curb the physical violence against women.

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    When will these ignorant men understand that just because a women wears a dress of her liking does not mean that men have a right to invade her privacy. Men and women are equal. These sex pest should grow up and begin to respect others in society. Women and men should give informed consent to each other to conduct a sexual act in a relationship to a person in a marriage or in a permanent relationship. No one has a right to invade another persons body without such consent. The legal system should examine the facts if consent was given or not in a disputed incidents. The courts should take a very aggressive position if this basic rule is breached.

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    Why bother even replying to somebody like Muhammed Fazl? He is a man with the Middle-Eastern mentality and they are everywhere, they want sharia-law implemented to control women everywhere. I have students from Morocco who hold identical views and their names are similar to Muhammed Fazl too. In such a tolerant society like the British society, there are Pakistani and Bangladeshi families who oppress and even kill their daughters for disobeying the men, the supposed honour-killings. Distancing themselves and their religion from incidents when atrocious situations occur is what some from such backgrounds prefer but the underdeveloped brains stick with what has been believed globally in their setup.

    However, I disagree with the writer in that, those who commit these crimes are not necessarily from rural backgrounds but underdeveloped social backgrounds. In general the root causes are often to do with politics, rivalry, personal vendetta, certain upbringings, drugs and lack of education. But in the North, it is probably the poverty and lack of mutual respect due to lack of discipline after a prolonged war. Possibly Muhammed Fazl mentality could have contributed too.

    Neverthless, those who commit such heinous crime are often encouraged not by swimming pools or external factors, but by reasons within themselves. Anyway, Muhammed Fazl’s pathetic opinion doesn’t deserve any respect, shouldn’t have been given any publicity in the civilised society, instead he should have been sent to psychiatric rehabilitation.

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    Anyone who rapes [Edited out]

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    The world is changing whether we like it or not.Only the muslims don’t like the change.They Can keep harems in the middle east.They can marry seven wives.But women couldn’t commit adultery.They can blow up innocent people and hope to become martyrs.They kill cartoon artists and impose death sentence on writers.Still preach about morals.

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    In most other religions and specially in the West, sexual relations outside marriage are still in theory generally considered a sin or at least vaguely undesirable, but in practice no steps whatsoever are taken to reduce the very
    high incidence of pre-marital and extra-marital sexual relations, in spite of the soaring rates of illegitimacy and venereal disease. On the contrary, in films, television and certain sections of the media there is every encouragement to consider pre-marital experience desirable and extra-marital affairs quite normal. Contraception or abortion is expected to conveniently get rid of any undesirable side-affects of this way of life.

    In contrast with this uncontrolled situation, Islam advocates a number of specific measures to reduce the temptations towards sex outside marriage. To begin with, the Prophet encouraged and advised all people to get married if they could so that their natural desires should have a legitimate and legal fulfilment. Secondly, due to the permission for limited polygamy there is
    no necessity for there to be a surplus of unattached women in the society.
    Thirdly women are directed in the Our’an when they appear in public to cover themselves in a modest type of dress so as not to attract men. Fourthly the Muslim way of life excludes the boy-friend/girlfriend system, mixed parties, dancing between men and women, taking alcohol or drugs, and other facets of the Western way of life which are well known to provide the situation from which
    pre-marital and extra-marital sexual relations develop. Social entertainments in Islam are generally either within the family and close friends of the same family, or among men and women in separate groups. Fifthly sex outside marriage is considered in Islamic law notonly as a sin but as a crime which is punished under the law, in the same way as theft or murder. The punishment for it
    applies equally to the man and woman and is severe and deterrent in its effect.
    Let me now look back at some of these points in more detail since they are very relevant to the life style of a Muslim woman.

    Firstly the matter of dress. A Muslim woman may wear whatever she pleases in the presence of her husband and family or among women friends. But when she goes out or when men other than her husband or close family are present she is expected to wear a dress which will cover all parts of her body, and which should not reveal the figure. What a contrast with Western fashions which every year concentrate quite intentionally on exposing yet another erogenous zone to the public gaze!

    In the past few years we have seen the rise and fall of the minidress, the micro-skirt, the wet look, hot pants, the see-thru’, the topless and other garments designed to display or emphasize the intimate parts of a woman’s body. One may observe a similar tendency of late in men’s dress which has become
    almost skin-tight, although here the men’s fashion designers appear to have come to a temporary standstill until men are liberated enough to accept topless or see-thru’ trousers, which is fortunately not yet the case. The intention of Western dress is to reveal the figure, while he intention of Muslim dress is to conceal it, at least in public.

    The relevant verse of the Qur’an says:
    “0 Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw upon them their over-garments. That is more appropriate so that they may be recognized and not molested” (33:59).

    It is therefore required for a Muslim woman when she goes out to wear a dress that covers her from head to foot and does not reveal the figure. According to some scholars only the hands and face should be left uncovered, while according to some others the face should also be covered. There are therefore
    two opinions on this matter. The onus of modest behaviour however falls not only on women. The injunctions of the Qur’an are directed to men and
    women alike.

    In the Quran God says:
    “Tell believers to avert their glances and to guard their private parts; that is purer for them. God is Informed about anything they do. Tell believing women to avert their glances and guard their private parts and not to display their charms except what (normally) appears of them. They should draw their coverings cover their bosoms and not show their charms except to their husbands”,(24:30-31).

    Role Differentiation
    One of the other practices aimed at strengthening the home and minimising promiscuity is that of the seclusion of women.

    The verses of the Qur’an on which those who practice it base their custom say:
    “0 wives of the Prophet you are not like any other women. If you would keep your duty, be not soft in tone of speech, lest he whose heart contains malice may thereby be encouraged. Employ suitable speech. Stay in your houses and do not dress to display your finery in the way they dressed during the time of primitive ignorance; and keep up prayer, and give welfare due and obey God and His Messenger; for God desires only to remove from you abomination (of vanity since you are) the household (of the Prophet) and to purify you by a perfect purification” (The Qur’an 33:32-33).

    Literally these verses are addressed only to the wives of the Prophet, and some authorities maintain ‘that it applies only to them. Other theologians and legists however interpret it by implication to apply to all Muslim women, and this opinion is widely accepted in a number of Muslim countries where women
    generally stay at home, coming out only for some over-riding reason. Some of the people who agree with this may nevertheless take into account the other verses of the Quran exhorting women to cover themselves when they go out, and urgingboth men and women to lower their gaze and behave modestly in the presence of the opposite sex-implying that women could go out on their legitimate business. They may also consider the necessity of some Muslim women going out to study and practice certain occupations, such as medicine, nursing and teaching at all levels, which for Muslim women and girls ought to be done by fellow women.

    One may therefore note that the two opinions exist, and that in practice one may see various degrees of seclusion or otherwise in different parts of the Muslim world. In most parts of the world social functions among Muslims
    are either family affairs or celebrations by men and women in separate groups. To a Westerner accustomed to mixed parties with dancing and drinking this may sound an unexciting social life. However, the family circle in the Muslim world is generally a wide one, and the feeling of brotherhood is so strong and the
    hospitality of Muslims so warm and welcoming that alcohol and the presence of the opposite sex are found to be unnecessary ingredients of the enjoyment.

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    Love marriage (safe sex?) or proposed by parents is the dilemma. How to love if seeing is staring, touching is groping, hug and kiss is abuse? Consent turns to rape of minor once contraception fails and if not aborted the baby is for sale, adoption racketing, so many clergymen behind the trade!

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    The article is a thought provoking and intelligent analysis of the situation in Sri Lanka. There are several dimensions to this horrifying crime. Our glorious ex leader is shown in the photo shaking hands with one of the rapists. Most likely this rapist was one of the several goons and thugs that were helping the dictator carry out the crimes and thuggery that we all are aware of. During this scoundrel’s regime murderers, rapists and thieves were protected and allowed to act with impunity. They were not arrested or brought before the justice system because of political influence and thus encouraged to openly violate the laws. Particularly in Jaffna and the north/east people were traumatized and abused by both the forces and the goon gangs supporting the dictator’s strategies, and these criminals continue to operate in the belief that although the dictator has now lost his power, he is a God who will be back to sit on the throne again.
    We have a society that is basically selfish and only interested in furthering the wealth accumulation of the family and close relatives at the expense of the nation. For years we know how impoverished young women and girls working in households as servants have been sexually abused by both the master and sons. Violence against women by husbands is a common occurrence and is accepted as the norm because the man is considered superior as he may be the main breadwinner in the family. The work performed by the housewife is not recognized as a contribution to the marriage and do not we know the several instances where when the wife leaves the husband she has no legal recourse to financial entitlements. Drunken husbands bashing their wives and children is tolerated as permissible – chattels that can be abused by these uneducated , unenlightened, illiterate, pompous men by virtue of the fact they were born males. The magey putha syndrome created by depraved mothers plants the seeds of superiority and mental aberration in young boys which then blossom into generating depraved, mentally sick, obnoxious young men whose obsession with sex turns them into animals.
    Oh yes, we are a nation that is proud of our religious beliefs. Under every bo tree there is a statue of the Lord Buddha, catholic saints statues abound along our streets, and our beautiful island is dotted with temples, churches and mosques. We are taught religion in our schools and we respect the clergy. From time immemorial have we not heard the stories of young boys and girls being sexually abused by Buddhist monks and catholic priests and brothers. Isnt it an indictment on our society when we realize that not one of these rapists and sex offenders have ever been hauled before our courts and punished? What have the parents, teachers, the community done to address these issues?
    We are a hypocritical nation. We pretend to be virtuous and concerned about values and we take pride in our culture and civilization but our behavior reflects an attitude of tolerance and permissibility to all that is vile and evil. We go to an abattoir and buy a calf to save it from slaughter and feel at peace with our God, but we are yet to put our hands in the pocket to engage the services of our top criminal lawyers to act for the victims of rape. The flaunting of stolen wealth espoused by our corrupt politicians has permeated entire society and sadly what you see in Sri Lanka today is a complete breakdown of the rule of law and empowering of the criminal elements. What we need now most importantly is for society to unite to bring back those cherished values and decency which have been lost due to the poor governance and greed of the despotic family regime.

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    [Edited out] Please write instead of posting web links – CT

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