The Life of a Woman Found Guilty of a Crime under Sharia Law - Research Paper Example

The Life of a Woman Found Guilty of a Crime under Sharia Law Abstract Some Islamic states recognize Sharia law in their constitution. Sharia law, by definition, is the code of conduct for Islam. Muslim believers contend that Sharia law is divine because the precepts set forth in the Islamic Holy Book Quran, constitute the content of the law. In addition, law derives its example from Islamic Prophet Mohammed. While many Muslims believe that Sharia law depicts the will of God, many fail to agree on its interpretation. Islamic countries, which practice the law, usually conduct their judicial processes while referring to the provisions stated by the law. Just like the secular law, Sharia law deals with issues touching on crime, economics, and politics as well as issues affecting an individual, such as hygiene, prayer, diet, fasting, and sexuality. Primarily, the provisions on sexuality within the law subject women to in specific manner in the society. The law gives death penalty for women found guilty of adultery charges through stoning. In this paper, I am going to explore Sharia law, its effects on women, while reviewing what their lives are like after they have been found guilty. Islamic nations embracing the Islamic law dictate the conduct of women in the society. The law, primarily, prohibit sexual activity outside marriage. In most cases, women usually face difficulties in defending themselves against this law. According to the provision of the law, the public has a jurisdiction of monitoring the conduct of women. This condition deprives women from making free choices over what kind of men they should marry. The case of Malaysian woman Siti Zan binti Kamarudin against Public Prosecutor, held in 1979 for example, found the woman guilty without subjecting the man who impregnated the woman guilty. In essence, while the law intended to protect the society from moral decadence, it failed to handle male counterparts who contributed in equal amount to moral decay. In the sentence remark, the judge of the case indicated, the Siti had the right to sex; however, her parents had to take an active role in getting a man for their daughter. In Nigeria, Amina Lawal’s sentence did not only attract international condemnation but also challenged the liberty law promoted globally. Although Amina was guilty of Zina as proved in the courts, the death sentence through stoning was cruel than the crime she had committed. Ironically, men in the same saga did not have a case to answer. In most cases of women convicted by the law, the evidence adduced in the case by the prosecutor usually show that women had an extra material affair because they have given birth to children. This attribute makes the law selective. The provision in the law may subject women to sentence such as receiving strokes along side a jail term depending on the gravity of the case. Largely, the sexual desire that women harbor is not under their control but under the desire of men. It is the will of the man to choose when to have sex. In this sense, women act as minors who seek the guidance of a man in the society. The Sheria law prohibits a woman from entering into a relationship with non-Muslims. For instance, the case of Sakina binti Husain v Public prosecutor of Malaysia found Sakina guilt after she argued in the court that she had been cohabiting with a non-Muslim (Otto, 2011). Reading the convicting statement, the judge noted that Sakina had walked out of the precepts of the law by engaging in a relationship with a man who did not belong to his faith. Women convicted under Sheria law face public humiliation because the provisions of the law demand that the execution of the sentence has to occur in public domain. Women suffer psychologically under the Sharia law. It is traumatizing to think of the atrocities committed to women without choice. Largely, human values do not apply in countries that administer Sharia law. Women testimony does not fully count as that of a man in court battle. This phenomenon is not only disturbing but also heart breaking. It is arguable that when ones testimony in court counts half as much as the testimony of the opponent, the likable chances is that the woman battling the case has to succumb to the cruel judgment. The provision of Sharia law allows men to beat their wives, enter into polygamous relationships and divorce women. Ironically, the law does not have the same room for women to make similar choices or admire to enter into similar relationships. Ideally, wife beating is a manifestation of domestic violence because in marriage, as provided in the secular laws, women and men have similar shares. On the contrary, the Sharia law project women as children capable of correction through beating. In addition, the feeling of women does not count because the man can chose scuttle the relationship and would walk freely. According to the Sharia law, rape is a crime. The law condemns the act and the party found guilty is subject to the provisions of the law. Surprisingly, in most cases, women usually fall as the convicted victims in the rape cases. In most documented rape cases, men forced women into sex, but would walk freely after conviction. In such instances, the law does not consider a woman. In addition, it adds pain to the existing wound because rape lowers the dignity of a woman. Genital mutilation is another effect of the Sharia law. The mutilated women usually suffer during childbirth and some may develop complications. However, women do not have a voice in defending fellow women because of fear of reprisal. Ideally, the cultures promote the numbness of women at the expense of their rights in the society. It is common to see men wedding without taking marriage vows. This absolves men from issues that may subject them to commit to their marriage life. Sharia law limits the interaction between men and women as well as there dressing codes. Egypt, for example, is one of the Muslim countries with modern laws, but her people demonstrate limited interaction. The most painful issue with the Sheria law is that women are always on the receiving end in any crime committed against them. In conclusion, the provisions in the Islamic law consider women testimonies in legal trials as weaker to those of men. Women fail to raise their voice because most provisions in the law put a man above a woman thereby influencing the determination of cases. In addition, the choice to get into marriage or reject a given person belongs to a man but not the woman. It is evident that due to the nature of the law, women do not have the opportunity to disapprove allegation or fair trials against them. Literature Review The coding of Sharia law has often proved that men should regulate the conduct of women in the society. The clause on sexual affairs outside marriage does not include the man involved in the affair; instead, it gruel the woman caught in the fair before a preferred punishment. The Nigerian woman convicted of affair outside marriage, did not have to name the man involved. Moreover, the death sentence by stoning to a Muslim divorced or in marriage largely undermines human liberty. Evidently, the woman has to remain coiled in his relationship without outside guesses. While intent of the law is good, getting rid of moral corruption, it leaves one of the corrupt parties unpunished. Countries administering the Sharia law give different penalty. In Nigeria, for example women found guilty of adultery (zuni) are punishable by stoning. In Malaysia, the penalty may hundred strokes and jail term or stoning whereas in Sudan the punishment given to a pregnant woman found guilty is death despite her pregnancy. Death sentence to a pregnant woman means killing two people. This demonstrates how inhuman the law can be when the society fails to reason with the provision of the law. Limited interaction between men and women is a common aspect of the law. This attribute hampers any social interaction that a woman may engage with another man. In addition, the provision of the law promotes social fear among women because they constantly live in fear. Peiffer, E. (2005).The Death Penalty in Traditional Islamic Law and as Interpreted in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. William & Mary Journal of women and the Law. Retrieved 25 June 2012 from http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1132&context=wmjowl Peiffer has conducted an intense research on administration of the Sharia law in various Muslim countries. In this article, Peiffer concentrated her research in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, comparing the interpretation of the Sharia law in the two nations. It is observable that, while Nigeria has Christian and other secular religions Saudi Arabia observes the Sharia laws across the all nation. In her review of cases in both nations, she concluded her findings by noting the following in relation to administration of the law in the two nations. The law is inhumane and brutal. The sentencing of a Nigerian woman to death by stoning amounted to the inhumane of the law. The two nations do not have any procedures that can enable the suspects to get a fair hearing in their cases. In addition, the application of the law has several dogmas, which tend to question the close relation of the law and the provision in Islamic religion. Nesrine, M. (2012). Sudan’s haphazard sharia legal system has claimed too many victims. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/06/sudan-sharia-legal-system The article provides information about Sharia law application in Sudan. Particularly, it accounts for events in which Sharia law has led to lose of lives of many Sudanese women. The article indicated that the government does not have procedural methods in grueling of the accused. The conservatives (hardcore Islamist) play instrumental role in influencing the lives of people in the nation. The cases highlighted in the article, projected violation of the Sharia law in the judicial proceeding of the accused. For instance, the lawyer of Instra Abdulla sited ten violation of Sharia law during the proceedings of his client. Author concluded by arguing that Sudan has engaged in forcible injection of Sharia law although it does not procedural mechanisms of dispensing justice. Nasir, M. J. (2006). Sharia Implementation and Female Muslims in Nigeria’s Sharia States. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 from http://www.sharia-in-africa.net/media/publications/sharia-implementation-in-northern-nigeria/vol_3_4_chapter_3_part_III.pdf The article explores the implementation and the influence of Sharia law in Nigeria’s Muslim state. While prostitution and adultery are crimes under Sharia law, author describes the effects of enforcing Sharia law among the non-Muslims living in these states. The author observed that non-Muslim women suffer the draconic ideals of the law. While sitting the case of a pregnant woman on a motorbike harassed by adherent of the law, the author argued that some of the ideals that the law demands from the society are barbaric. In addition, the author noted that most Nigerians migrate into the cities that make the application of the law among the non-Muslim draconic. Largely, the author questions the audacity of the law in relation to the non-Muslim. The law promotes humiliation and weakening of gender rights. The article concludes by stating that the application of the law should not generalize conditions in the Nigerian cities. Wooldridge, F. (2012). HARSH TREATMENT OF MUSLIM WOMEN: MUSLIMS IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA. Retrieved 25 June 2012 from http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty757.htm The author of the article describes incidences in which Muslim men treat employ harsh treatment to Muslim women under the umbrella of the Sharia law. The incidences highlighted in the article depicted disillusioned women, fighting for their identity in the society. The most surprising incident that the author describes about the Islamic law is the killing of women who brought shame to the family. Men have the guts to promote abusive marriages because the law has deprived women their ability to instigate opposing to men. Most of the incidences that the author described depicted situations where, women lost their cases, divorce, for example, met rejection by the family members. In a summary, the author’s observation projected inhumane treatment against women that persisted despite the gains in the 21st century. The law allows the brutal killing of a woman under the pretext that she disobeyed the virtues of the family. For instance, the killing of the Amina Said and Sara by their father does not only spark outrage but also questions the virtues of the law. The strides that the society has made are distance far in the Muslim world especially the Muslim women. Human Right Watch (2012). I Had To Run Away” The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan. Retrieved 25 June 2012 http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/afghanistan0312webwcover_0.pdf The author of the article illustrates the lives of Muslim women under the Islamic law. The author of the article conducted a survey in Afghanistan where the Afghan women gave their opinion about the application of the law. The outcome of the study indicated that Muslim women longed for freedom but were afraid to spearhead the change because of fear. They interviewed women sited the Islamic laws as hindrance to achieving equal rights in the society. The article noted that divorced women did not get the opportunity to be the custodian of the children. The author also indicated that many women imprisoned under Sheria law had to choose between the abusive husbands or loose seeing their children in future. The instances identified in the article portrayed the Islamic law as barbaric and destructive to human values. Abuse in marriage was not a crime under this law thereby promoting abuse against women in the society. In concluding the article, the author contended that Islamic law did not promote any human values to women. Alfadi (2012). Women under Sharia Law – The Dilemma of “Wife Beating Protocol. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 http://thequrandilemma.com/uncategorized/women-under-sharia-law-the-dilemma-of-wife-beating-protocol The author of the article explores various verses in Quran, which defines the position of a woman in the society. The verses identified from Quran have illustrated that a man had a supreme authority against his wife. The author noted that the Islamic law regards the wife as a slave to her husband. In this sense, women had not choice but to be subject of their husbands. Thus, correction of women through beating is inevitable. However, the author pointed on the verses by stating the type of beating that a woman should receive. The author contrasted the present application of wife beating and other brutal actions committed against the women, stating that the law did not provide the extreme application of the same. The author also indicated that men had the right to ignore or abandon their wives for reasons they perceived right. In addition, the penalty of women found guilty was subject to stoning to death. In conclusion, the author wondered how the Islamic law had promoted the right of women when it had spearheaded their molestation in the society. Practically, the woman under this law does not have a choice but is subject to manipulation by the society at the pleasure of the husband. Rotberg, I. R. (2004). Crafting the new Nigeria. Colorado: Reinner Publishers. The author of the book described the place of a Nigerian woman under the Sheria law. Other than stoning of women found guilt by the law, he noted, women faced massive problems in the society. Women charged with crimes under this law succumbs the cruelty of the society as well as a fairing hearing. This factor deprives the accused from acquiring justice. The author noted that most sentences awarded to victims of Sharia law did not receive any appeal despite their cruelty. The author also pointed on the strange development such as men rejecting to board a bus or a car with convicted women. While provision in Sheria law describes the manner of contact that men and women should have, the application of the law had left nothing unturned for the women world. While concluding the article, the author noted that victimization is a common trend that women had to endure in their society. Nalla, K. M. (2010). Crime and Punishment Around the World. New York: ABC-CLO. The author of the book argues about the application of the Sharia law in Malaysia. To describe the incidents in Malaysia, the author explored numerous articles with cases of people convicted under the law. The author observed that in from 2002-2006 six females lost their lives through hanging. Other offenses that he described in the book include indecent dressing code, adultery among other offenses. Unlike other nations, punishment for indecent dressing did not exceed six months. However, women convicted for any given crime were subject to victimization by the society as well as rejection by the society. The women serving various jail terms did not have a clear picture of the reception that they receive from their community. Many of them feared that their families were out waiting to reject them or subject them to beating (abuse) for the shame they have created. The author also observed that women did not have any right to make their owned choices. In conclusion, the author noted that Sharia law did not promote respect for a woman’s value. Otto, M. J. (2011). Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present. Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press. The author of the book explored the Sudan system of criminal law. In his research, the author noted that Sharia law was applicable in dealing with sexual offenses, apostasy, and unlawful accusation among others. The author noted that non-Muslim faced similar trails and received similar verdicts as the Muslim. Notably, the Muslim women did not have a voice in their society because they feared that the society might use Sharia laws to accuse them of apostasy. Sexual intercourse outside marriage was punishable by stoning. While sentence for widows was different from women in marriage, the law suppressed the interest of women in the society. Moreover, Sudanese women have experienced the stoning and intimidating situations provided by the law. The authors critical analysis of cases prosecuted under the Islamic law indicated that many flaws applied in dispensing justice. Many women suffered under the law and they did not get a chance to appeal their charges. In conclusion, he stated that Sharia law promoted the interest of men in the society because they could accuse a woman a walk away free. Hashmi, U. T. (2004). Women and Islam in Bangladesh: Beyond Subjection and Tyranny. Palgrave Macmillan. The author of the book explored women condition in Bangladesh under the Islamic law. The incidences that he described sparks public outcry. Women did not have the opportunity to give their version of the story before any legal proceeding. In addition, the law valued women testimony half way that of the men. This attribute denied women the opportunity to express their feelings. The punishment accorded through the Sharia law is astonishing. For instance, the stoning of Anjali Karmakar for chatting with a man shows how the law could go to the extreme. Public humiliation was a common norm in the Bangladesh community. The author noted that men could cane their women in public as a way of disciplining them. In addition, the family reserved the right to excommunicate a girl or a woman from his home because she had disregarded their family norms. Women voice in marriage was so bleak and none could rise to reject the opinion of their husbands. The author concluded by stating that men made selfish decisions in marriage because of the protection they got from the law. References Alfadi (2012). Women under Sharia Law – The Dilemma of “Wife Beating Protocol. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 http://thequrandilemma.com/uncategorized/women-under-sharia-law-the-dilemma-of-wife-beating-protocol Hashmi, U. T. (2004). Women and Islam in Bangladesh: Beyond Subjection and Tyranny. Palgrave Macmillan. Human Right Watch (2012). I Had To Run Away” The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan. Retrieved 25 June 2012 http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/afghanistan0312webwcover_0.pdf Nalla, K. M. (2010). Crime and Punishment Around the World. New York: ABC-CLO. Nasir, M. J. (2006). Sharia Implementation and Female Muslims in Nigeria’s Sharia States. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 from http://www.sharia-in-africa.net/media/publications/sharia-implementation-in-northern-nigeria/vol_3_4_chapter_3_part_III.pdf Nesrine, M. (2012). Sudan’s haphazard sharia legal system has claimed too many victims. Retrieved on 25 June 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/06/sudan-sharia-legal-system Otto, M. J. (2011). Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present. Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press. Peiffer, E. (2005).The Death Penalty in Traditional Islamic Law and as Interpreted in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. William & Mary Journal of women and the Law. Retrieved 25 June 2012 from http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1132&context=wmjowl Rotberg, I. R. (2004). Crafting the new Nigeria. Colorado: Reinner Publishers. Wooldridge, F. (2012). HARSH TREATMENT OF MUSLIM WOMEN: MUSLIMS IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA. Retrieved 25 June 2012 from http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty757.htm Read More