UPDATE: The Iranian government has announced that Ashtiani will not be stoned. But they have left open the possibility that she might be executed.
According to CNN, a 42-year old Iranian mother of two – Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani – will be executed by stoning for the alleged crime of adultery in the near future, in a court case upheld by Iran’s Shariah Supreme Court in 2007. Ashtiani speaks Turkish, not Farsi, and therefore her forced confession, given after receiving 99 lashes and later retracted, was based in part on not comprehending the court proceedings.
In his inaugural address Obama promised the world’s tyrants that “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” The administration’s hand is still extended; the Iranian fists are still clenched.
In the next few days, those fists will be throwing stones at Ashtiani until she is dead, unless the world intervenes. Amnesty International, among other groups, is strongly protesting the imminent execution. Our current State Department – not so much.
Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley stated Thursday, “We have grave concerns that the punishment does not fit the alleged crime … from the United States’ standpoint, we don’t think putting women to death for adultery is an appropriate punishment.” Crowley called Iran’s judicial system “disproportionate” in its treatment of women.
Apart from this tepid protest of a death by stoning, Crowley’s statement clearly implies that there is an “appropriate” and “proportionate” punishment for women for alleged adultery. The State Department needs to clarify whether this is Crowley’s personal opinion, or the official position of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration. This guidance would be especially helpful for women in Shariah-ruled countries, as well as for women in the US and Europe, where honor killings are on the rise (see Phyllis Chesler’s research here and here).
Exactly what punishment for women in cases of alleged adultery does “fit the crime” for this administration?
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