+ Reply to thread
Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: An Eye for an Eye

  1. #1
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Coulsdon Cat Basket
    Posts
    10,342

    Default An Eye for an Eye

    Pretty literally in this case.

    Iranian woman Ameneh Bahrami was blinded when she had acid thrown over her by a stalker Majid Movahedi after his appraaches were repeatedly rebuffed. She was not dressed provocatively and was a model citizen. Now she is blinded in both eyes with severe facial injuries.

    Under sharia law she is allowed to request either blood money to compensate for the crime or call for the same to be done to her attacker. She has called for her attacker to be blinded by the same method and the court has ordered that it go ahead.

    More on the details here

    So, is she right to call for this punishment?

    Do you think it will have any impact on cases like this, given the spate of acid attacks becoming more common, if the consequences were as severe as this?

    Would you do the same?
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  2. #2
    Prehistoric Bitchslapper Sarahfeena's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    5,891

    Default

    This is a hard question. I'd like to think I wouldn't ask for that kind of revenge, but on the other hand, I can't really imagine what she's gone through after what he did to her. I do think it might be a deterrant.

  3. #3
    Oliphaunt
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    5,174

    Default

    I can't imagine what Ms. Bahrami has gone through. I certainly can't blame her for her request - I imagine I'd have similar desires in her position. Still, I don't really think that eye-for-an-eye retribution is a good basis for a modern justice system.

    I'd like to think that it would be a deterrent, but I'm sure that there are plenty of women who are not "model citizens" under Sharia, who would not get the same treatment from the legal system if they were attacked.

  4. #4
    Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo What Exit?'s avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Central NJ (near Bree)
    Posts
    10,071

    Default

    Considering how little protection women have under Sharia law, I think blinding this dangerous criminal seems reasonable in this case. Clearly the even bigger crime is not having a modern society with modern laws to begin with.

  5. #5
    Oliphaunt The Original An Gadaí's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Nowhere
    Posts
    2,933

    Default

    It's a disgusting state of affairs. As well the possibility of innocence ( in the general sense, not in this particular case) and an irreversible, irrevocable punishment, IMHO states should not be allowed maim or kill their own citizens.

    It might well be a deterrent, but in times gone by when there were severe penalties for minor crimes, punishment didn't deter crime in Britain and Ireland etc. Improving the material lot of a society, improving community, and people's respect for each other, are all things that may well serve to minimize serious crimes. I'm not sure backward, barbaric punishments like this one do anything but make the society out as backward and put a dent in global human rights.

  6. #6
    Member Elendil's Heir's avatar
    Registered
    Sep 2009
    Location
    The North Coast
    Posts
    24,320

    Default

    Emotionally, I understand her response, and I might do the same in her shoes. But I doubt it will genuinely serve as a deterrent, given social norms in places where Sharia law is in effect, and as was noted earlier this really is an extreme and irrevocable punishment. If he were later to be acquitted, it would be a shocking injustice.

  7. #7
    Member
    Registered
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    97

    Default

    So where do you draw the line between imposing your own values on another society and respecting their traditions, as barbaric as they seem to us? I've seen a few of you argue on other threads that the repression of other cultures is bad. Our concept of modern is based upon Western morals, modified slightly for other locations. Thailand, for instance, had very few body modesty issues (legit, women walking around topless, not whores) up until the 30's and 40's, which corresponds to the expanded influence of the West. Same thing in Japan, with the destruction of "traditional" society there after WW2.

    In a subsistence level environment, long term imprisonment (ie, anything post trial) is impractical. Given that restriction, what do you feel a fitting punishment should be for this guy? Before the "Oh Iran is a modernized nation!" card gets played, remember there are many areas of Iran that aren't any better off than tribal areas in Pakistan. National laws have to be applicable to all areas of a nation, not just the richer areas.

+ Reply to thread

Posting rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts