Why Arab opinions of rape must change

It was not the Islamic State group nor the Houthis, not Syria, Iraq nor Yemen, which caused outrage in Arabic media this past week. It was Farinaz, a Kurdish-Iranian girl who committed after authorities ignored her statement that she had been raped by a police officer.

The city of Mahabad in Kurdish area of Iran was enflamed with protests and clashes with the police, and Kurdish political parties vowed that protests would not cease. The issue for Kurds in Iran is not only about the honour of a girl, but about Iranian authorities systemically turning a blind eye to violations committed against them.

For us as Arabs, Farinaz is the Iranian Bouazizi.

For the women of Iran, the story of Farinaz is a repeat of the story of Rayhaneh Jabbari, who was sentenced to death because she killed a police officer that had raped her. She had lost all hope of seeing justice done by the courts.


For many Arabs, Farinaz's story was an example of Iranian corruption and arrogance.

But what if Farinaz was not in Iran? What if she was Yazidi in Iraq or Assyrian in Syria or Druze in Lebanon? What if she was a Copt in Egypt or Berber in Libya?

Would Arabs have the same enthusiasm to put up pictures of a "non-hijab wearing" Farinaz? Would they be so united, on making her a hero and a symbol of revolution?

If Farinaz was in Egypt for example, we would see the female medical examiner tell medical students the first thing they need to do if a woman reports a rape is to examine her clothing to see if it is too revealing.

Second, is she wearing lipstick?

Third, the girl should be asked where and when she was raped, because respectable girls do not walk in dodgy areas late at night. The medical examiner forgets that millions of women have to work at various hours of the day and night to earn a living.

After investigating the victim as a suspect, and after using every opportunity to doubt her story, the medical examiner finally does their job and examines the girl.

I am not falsely accusing medical examiners in Egypt. This was in a documentary for French television, in which the female medical examiner explained to the journalist that most rape victims deserve to be raped and some of them report rape to explain losing their virginity.

If this particular medical examiner was to look at the case of Farinaz, she would have said that Farinaz has pouty lips, wears bright lipstick and her chest is exposed. The shame!

I write in the hope that you remember your support for Farinaz, the Iranian Kurd in Mahabad, when one of our girls gets raped.

She would look at where Farinaz worked: a hotel - do respectable women work in hotels? Finally, she might suggest that Farinaz's suicide is proof the girl did not believe in God, who forbids such an act.

If Farinaz had gone to this medical examiner, the examiner would have chastised and insulted her and she might have even sued her for defaming a "respectable" police officer.

The ongoing oppression of Arab women

Such a story and such a medical examiner is not limited to Egypt. Place the story of Farinaz in any one of our Arab countries and recall the incidents of rape that have become public.

I am sure that only a handful of people would have stood by the girl, while the majority would have insulted the victim and asked for God's protection for the women of this age.

I do not write these words to absolve Iran of the Farinaz case. On the contrary, it is time Iran held its security forces accountable before holding others to account. It is time for it to listen to the complaints of its women and stop issuing death sentences to terrorise other people from coming forward.

However, I write in the hope that you remember your support for Farinaz, the Iranian Kurd in Mahabad, when one of our girls gets raped. I write in the hope that you spare our women from your pre-conceived judgments as you have done with Farinaz.

I write in the hope that you open your hearts and listen to the stories of hundreds of thousands of victims who walk among us every day, who we wear down with our judgments, labels of shame, who feel our accusations against us, even if they remained silent.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.