While walking to see her grandmother in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was raped by three men. She reported it to the al-Shabab militia, hoping for justice. Instead, she was accused of adultery under Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Koran, and was sentenced to die. None of the men who raped her have been arrested or brought to justice.
On October 27, 13-year-old Aisha pleaded for her life and struggled before being buried up to her neck in a hole in a stadium in the port city of Kismayu, which is held by rebels. A relative and others surged forward to try and save her and the militia opened fire, killing a small boy. A truckload of stones was brought in. Fifty Islamist militants threw stones at her while 1,000 people watched her die. She was removed from the hole three times and even when a nurse confirmed that she was dead, her body was put back in the hole and the stoning continued.
The UN News Service reports about this incident:
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, issued a statement condemning the killing and calling for better protection for children in Somalia, which remains beset by widespread fighting. “The incident highlights the extreme nature of violence against children and women in Somalia, which has been heightened by the increasing lawlessness,” she said.
Amnesty International reports this:
Amnesty International has campaigned to end the use of the punishment of stoning, calling it gruesome and horrific. This killing of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow demonstrates the cruelty and the inherent discrimination against women of this punishment.
The reports on this killing should be understood within the climate of fear that armed insurgent groups such as al-Shabab have created within the areas they control in Somalia. As Amnesty International has documented previously, government officials, journalists and human rights defenders face death threats and killing if they are perceived to have spoken against al-Shabab, who have waged a campaign of intimidation against the Somali people through such killings.
Since the death, a number of individuals have told Amnesty International they have fled from Kismayo out of fear of suffering a similar fate to Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.
I lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1979 and 1980. There was a contraband movie making the rounds about 19-year-old Saudi Princess Mishaal bint Fahd al Saud who was killed by her family to save the “honor” of the family because she had sex with her fiance. The people living in my compound got a copy of this explosvie movie and we secretly watched it. I don’t remember the details of the movie; I do remember that I was horrified and also frightened of being found watching it.
These are not isolated incidents, but what happened to this young girl is not sanctioned by Muslims. It is not honor to kill a young woman who has suffered terribly through no fault of her own at the hands of other people. This is an outrageous, heinous, incredibly disturbing, and senseless act of violence.
Let us remember Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and the many other women and children who suffer senselessly around the world at the hands of ruthless terrorists, insurgents, and even family members.
How much cruelty exists in the world, it is very sad.
We should organise a vigil outside each of our foreign departments on 27th October 2009 to remember Aisha and ask our governments to bring pressure in their bilaterals on the countries where stoning is a legal punishment to take it out of the legal code.
This would also give a signal to the oppressors in communities that conduct violence against women that it is not acceptable any more.
These are : Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria (about one-third among 36 states), Pakistan, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Please join one of the networks and bring this change about!
Aisha’s story broke my heart. The saddest thing is that her story is not unusual. Violence against girls is so common that most of the time it doesn’t even make the news. Girls need people like you to speak out and raise awareness. Your blog is great! Thanks for encouraging me.
Shocking, This is another of the many heartbreaking stories that go on in this world. This sort of thing goes on and on in countries under some religious justification laws. I read that a girl that reports rape has to have it verified by 4 professional men (ladies don’t qualify) if she can’t then to testify the girl gets beaten for adultery. This also usually entails being thrown out the family or sold for prostitution. This is why there are few reported rape cases. It is shocking that these people honestly think there is a god approving this behavior.
An abomination to be hold. Evil, the absense of light. Not one man present. If the lord does return as the lion, not lamb, my he seek those who embraced satan that day and deliver them too the ultimate darkness, the void where not an ounce of divine love pools. Utter darkness, one can see AGAIN the feverish malignancy delivered upon Jesus who rose above Satan and towered over him in his committment to the father. May this young girl dwell in the house of the lord forever.