Rape Victim to Be Flogged Under Islamic Law

Police in the Republic of the Maldives, better known simply as Maldives, have charged a stepfather for repeatedly raping his 15-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, her troubles did not stop there.

In their investigation of the abuse case, authorities found what they claim is evidence the young victim had sex with another person. 

Under Maldives’ Islamic law, the authorities now intend to publicly flog the young rape victim. Public flogging is the penalty for “fornication,” though authorities usually wait until a minor reaches 18 to implement the punishment.

Even worse, the young victim was reportedly impregnated by the ongoing rapes, only to have her father murder the child once it was born.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) spoke with the Maldivian authorities, who stated the girl’s mother was aware of the pregnancy:

The child’s step-father is accused by police of repeatedly raping the girl and fathering a child by her which he subsequently murdered. The girl’s mother has been charged with helping dispose of the infant’s body, police said. “We completed the investigation (into the murder of the infant) and gave a report to the prosecutor general’s office,” Maldivian police spokesman Hassan Haneef told AFP by telephone. The local Haveeru newspaper quoted an unnamed official from the prosecutor’s office saying that the fornication charge was unrelated to the rape which had been separately dealt with.

The Maldivian legal system, according to AFP, is a mix of English common law and Islamic Sharia law.

The United Nations (UN) describes role of Islam in Maldivian society as “integral”:

All Maldivians are Sunni Muslims, and religion has been and continues to be an integral part of everyday life since 1153 when the Maldives embraced Islam.  The law is based on the Islamic Shari’a and even the main events and festivals of the Maldives also follow the Muslim calendar.