, 2006, a court in the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced Malak Ghorbany, a 34-year-old mother of two, to a brutal death by stoning after finding her guilty of adultery. Two men who were found guilty of murder in the same court were only given jail sentences of six years. The size of the stones used during the execution were required to be not so large that they would kill a woman too quickly, nor so small that they would fail to cause serious injury or pain." As tragic as this may sound this is only one of many newspaper articles, video and film footage of horrendous brutal acts towards women in Iran.These violent actions are called “honor killings” by the Iranian government. They are directed toward woman charged with having committed adultery. Human Rights Lawyer Lily Mazahery, and president of the Legal Rights Institute, states that in these types of cases women accused of adultery have no legal representation. They are under the Sharia legal system, their testimony is only worth half of what a man’s testimony is worth. Most of these murderous acts are not done by a single person. It is a town function and people bring their children to watch the stoning as a religious education. These same actions can be compared to the lynching of African American’s in the Southern part of the United States.
What is even more frightening is that women in other parts of the world who have been raped or sexually assaulted are charged with adultery and are stoned to death. As an example, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was a young 13 year old Somalia girl walking to her grandmother’s house who was stopped and raped by three men. She was later accused of adultery after trying to report that she was raped by these men. For actions not in her control, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was sentenced and stoned to death in a stadium full of over 1,000 people.
In Iran it can also be found that woman who have been married and are currently divorced, can be charged with adultery and be sentenced to stoning. In addition women who refuse to wear the traditional dress code, hejab, or if seen wearing makeup can also be punished. An interesting fact is that on the flip side of this same law men who have committed adultery are only punished by going to jail or being fined. Men are not stoned t
o death for adultery.I believe that women in the United States must stand up and do what ever we can to assist the women in Iran and stop the savage act of stoning. Women need to come together and have a voice for these women. Iranian women should not live in fear. The Iranian government states that these are “acts of God.” And stoning is apart of their ancient religion. It is said in the Bible that stoning is a way to kill someone for committing such crimes, but I believe that Iran has taken this brutal act too far.
A true Muslim is neither a radical nor murderer. I believe the Qur’an teaches tolerance and moderation in all things. Not violence and domination. However, Iran a Muslim country has chosen to be a sexist society. It can be found in their Penal Codes that a women’s life is valued as half that of a man. The men in the society want their women to feel inferior to them. Sadly, and because of these Codes, women will die this year from being stoned to death and people everywhere are choosing to do nothing. I believe we must stop this act of terror facing all Iranian women today.
