Four years ago an Iranian woman, Ameneh Bahrami, was attacked by a stalking suitor with a bucket of acid. This incident left her blind and permanently disfigured all because she had refused to marry him.
Late last month, an Iranian court ordered that five drops of the same chemical be placed in each of her attacker's eyes, acceding to Bahrami's demand that he be punished according to a principle in Islamic jurisprudence that allows a victim to seek retribution for a crime. The sentence has not yet been carried out.
"At an age at which I should be putting on a wedding dress, I am asking for someone's eyes to be dripped with acid," she said in a recent interview. "I am doing that because I don't want this to happen to any other women."
In a part of the world where spouse or family ‘honor’ killings and corporal punishments allowed under Islamic law are not uncommon, I will no less be surprised if this sentence is actually carried out. The Middle East is a man’s world after all. Women have few, if any rights, but this particular case has sparked much interest within the country.
Perhaps if carried out, it will send a clear message. What message will that be I wonder? Attack a woman who is not related to you and suffer like consequence. Abuse, maim or kill your sister or wife for making a bad decision, like marrying someone she loves or daring to look at another man, and receive only a slap on the wrist.
Like I said, justice is a fickle bedmate in these parts of the world.
Do I think this man deserves his sentence? It’s not for me to say. I believe it should be up to the victim. And she has spoken.
An eye for an eye.
4 comments:
Wow. I guarantee his punishment is much more of a deterrant than our country's 'slap on a wrist' or restraining orders or possibly spend couple months in jail.
As much as I hate to admit it, I think I'm secretly happy for this girl. Victims rarely get any sense of victory. I know what revenge eventually is. Emptiness. In the end, she'll still be blind and disfigured. Nobody wins but future victims, in that the perps might think twice. I guess that's her point.
I wish our country would adopt more of an "eye for an eye" type sentencing. It certainly would make people think twice. Obviously their system isn't better than ours, but ours has certainly turned very weak. Ie. The current case in Portland Oregan where the County Judge ORDERED the Department of Human Services to post bail for a rape suspect so that he could go home and care for his son. Since when are our tax dollars used for bail. CRAZY!
The one thing I really wish they would do corporal punishement here is for child molesters- I wish they would cut their thingy off!
I really am glad I was not born in the Arab world- I guess God's justice will be sufficient in the end, but still...
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