Dear Editor,
In your Wednesday edition (28.5.08) there is a Project Syndicate article entitled ‘Wars against women.’ It informs us that “Under Shariah law” women who are raped are “prosecuted for adultery or fornication.” This is an unfortunate falsehood.
That such absurdity would have existed in a religion where matters of social and sexual relations are the subjects of an extensive legislation and commentary is unlikely, unthinkable. It is possible that the authors may have had in mind certain cases in Pakistan, one of the few countries to have established Shariah law. As in every other judicial system there is misconception and miscarriage of justice. The cases where women pleading rape became themselves objects of prosecution arise from particular circumstances and do not represent jurisprudence in the Muslim world.
