There is another horrific report from Pakistan where village elders ordered a “revenge rape” as a punishment. After a man was accused of raping a woman in Pir Mahal in the Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab province, the village council formed and ordered the sister of the accused to be raped by the brother of his victim as justice. They all then reportedly watched the rape.

Twelve members of both families have been reportedly arrested.

These crimes are often ordered councils known a Jirga that enforce Islamic justice. In 2002, a jirga ordered the gang rape of 28-year-old Mukhtar Mai after her 12-year-old brother was accused of an affair with an older woman.

Notably, the victim of the second rape was also arrested.

Islamic councils have previously ordered revenge rapes. One such case occurred last year in Multan, Pakistan. Some 20 people were arrested after a 16-year-old girl was ordered to be raped by the brother of a 12-year-old girl who was previously raped by 16-year-old’s brother. Again, the elders and family watched the second rape. In that case however the mothers of the two girls filed complaints. In this case, the council appeared composed largely of the two families reaching an agreement on just punishment in using an innocent girl to be raped. These punishments reflect the horrific conditions faced by women and girls in traditional Islamic areas. The very notion that the rape of a woman or child could be an act of justice shows the twisted logic of these Sharia and jirga proceedings. It also shows why the West cannot ignore the plight of women in these countries, including some of our closest allies.

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