The rape victim's family actually forced the rapist to marry the poor girl. If he hadn't, who knows what horrors the victim would have gone through: the Malaysian Islamic reformist group Sisters in Islam has pointed out:
In Pakistan, it is reported that three out of four women in prison under its Hudud laws [these are the laws of what it forbidden and permitted by Allah himself], are rape victims. Because rape is equated with zina [unlawful sexual intercourse] under Hudud law, rape victims are required to produce four pious male witnesses. It is of course nearly impossible for the rape victims to produce the four male witnesses required to prove their allegation. Therefore their police report of rape was taken as a confession of illicit sex on their part and they were duly found guilty.
This story took place in India, but the laws of Islam are the same there as they are in Pakistan. So if this girl couldn't marry her rapist, she could have ended up being honor killed. But the NY MTA says that it is insulting to call this "savage."
Uttar Pradesh: Fear drives rapist to marry victim India Today (hat tip ROP)
Amrita Pritam's 1950 novel Pinjar - subsequently turned into a Bollywood flick with Urmila Matondkar and Manoj Bajpai playing the lead roles - portrayed the condition of women in the sub-continent.
Set in the backdrop of Partition, the novel is about a young Hindu girl who was kidnapped and raped by a Muslim man. But when the time comes for the girl to leave, she decides against it and continues to stay with the Muslim man, who shows genuine regret for his action and love for the girl.
Was it a case of Stockholm Syndrome is open to debate! But one thing is certain; the condition of women prevailing during that time is not much different from what it is today. Take the case of Sana, who was being repeatedly raped by a man living in her neighbourhood close to Noida's Sector 20.
The victim faced sexual harassment for over four months and it was when she became pregnant that the girl's family came to know about her ordeal. The family approached the police but the fear of spending life behind bars forced the man to marry Sana.
"The girl became pregnant after she was raped by the boy, who kept in touch with her on a regular basis. On being questioned by her family, the girl broke down and narrated her ordeal, following which she was brought to the police station," Sector-20 police chief R. K. Shishodia said.
"When she narrated her story, the family got enraged. But the members of their community intervened and brought both sides to the discussion table. Initially, the boy agreed to marry the girl," he said.
A few days later, however, the boy turned reluctant and it was only after the girl's family threatened to press charges that he agreed to marry her.
"The police told him that if he doesn't marry, he would face life imprisonment. The boy's family agreed to the wedding which was held in the police station according to Muslim tradition," an eyewitness said.
