Rape victim offered freedom if she...marries her rapist??

[Macaela25]

Afghan rape victim

No matter how bad we think OUR society is, this is a reality check.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.

Karzai's office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge's offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.

Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.

More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man's child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.

A statement released by Karzai's office says that after hearing from judicial officials, the decision was made to forgive the rest of the sentence she received for having sex out of wedlock, a crime in Afghanistan. The presidential statement did not say when the woman was to be released or how much prison time had been pardoned.

The woman told The Associated Press in an interview last month that she had hoped that attention generated by the EU film might help her get released. With the film blocked, she said that she was losing hope and considering marrying her rapist as a way out. She said her attacker was pressuring her to stop giving interviews.

About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called "moral crimes" such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn't considered a crime in Afghanistan.

The EU welcomed the woman's release.

"Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights," the European Union's Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said.

He said the EU hoped the same mercy would be extended to other women serving similar terms. Usackas said he planned to raise the issue of Afghan women's rights at an international conference on Afghanistan Dec. 5 in Bonn, Germany.

Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.

[CW&M Mom]

That is horrific!!!

So she is getting a pardon cause she is marrying him...blech. Insanity!!!!

I hope they get her out..and some how can find a way to get her out of the country.

[christinamikayla]

So basically she is in jail for having sex that she did not consent to?

WTF..shouldn't he be the one in jail?

[meggers]

This is beyond belief.

[Macaela25]

Not only is SHE in jail, but so is her BABY.

[CW&M Mom]

Not only is SHE in jail, but so is her BABY.

What is sad is our country and the UN have to suck it up..cause it's an improvement to the taliban...blech.

Good crap how horrible..although maybe the baby is better off with the mother.. I imagine if not, they probably would of given it to the rapists family...blech again.

When will these countries pull there head out and put it into the 21 century.

[jeffcocouponlady]

Reading this just made me appreciate even more where I am from and the freedoms females have. I read this and it made me sad for the baby and the women. She has something traumatic to her and instead of being allowed to try to mov.e on and have some time to heal she not only gets thrown in jail but her only way out is by marrying the person that put her through the traumatic experience. I feel for the baby and the women, I am glad I am free here in this country.

[shashabell]

This makes me want to puke but first I thank God that I'm an American.