They have a right to love

 

Some say that the law is reason free from passion. However, the right to pursue our passions has been the most legislated and debated issues in many legal systems around the world. Despite our intrinsic need to fulfill our burning desires and our self-charted destinies, barriers exist on paper that bind us to mediocre and uniform lives.

For instance, the rights to free speech, to an education, and to free enterprise are heavily bound by a net of bureaucracy, of rules and regulations, of minutiae and requirements. And these are basic rights. But how about the most intrinsic right, which is that of identity? Do all men have an equal right to assert who they are and what they believe in?

 The best prototype for this is homosexuality. On this issue, the divisions of religious and secular society run deep, and are reflected in the law. Such are the ironies of democracy that even in nations that espouse “tolerance” and “freedom from discrimination”, the right to marry is curtailed, the right to be a parent is stopped, and the right to be recognized by the law is prohibited. Society reacts in oxymoronic ways named with equally oxymoronic titles, such as the Defense of Marriage Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1996 which actually shuts down legal recognition of marriage from one state to another and by US federal government. Even the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that is supposed to “prepare young people to make ethical  and moral choices”, is currently in a row with Philadelphia over discriminatory screening policies. On the other hand, the bias against gay rights may not be as covert as these. They can be as outright and shamelessly direct as any other advocacy (like this petition), or use political propaganda such as linking homosexual advocacy to communism. Many have invoked religious reasons for opposing gay rights.

On the other hand, the gay and lesbian rights movement (the more politically correct term, though, is the LGBT movement) has reacted strongly to these assaults on their culture. In the long history of the rights movement, there is a sprinkling of successes among failures, including the striking down of anti-sodomy laws, establishment of anti-discrimination laws in the employment setting, the conferment of lesser forms of recognition (which they feel are still partial), domestic benefits, and even adoption rights. The number of same-sex marriage households is growing with the last census showing more than half a million in the United States. The numbers represent the clout of the LGBT community, which is important especially when it comes to setting the electoral agenda of presidential candidates ,who have to walk on eggshells to appeal to both the liberal and conservative commnities. Around the globe, there is a trend of liberalization of same-sex unions ranging from full recognition, to celebration in various media. In fact, these trends of normalization show how legal recognition of homosexuality has become less of a polarizing factor in different societies.

 So, how should state react to this? How should a liberal democracy handle the issue?

 

Of course, one has to consider the premises of the law first. Many countries already have conceded to the need for changes in the treatment of people in different social strata. The recognition of this problem is rooted in the belief that all men are equal, all men deserve equal treatment. Here, we establish the first crucial conclusion: homosexuals are human. As different as you or I may be from a homosexual, they exist in the same sphere of humanity as you and I. From here, it becomes easier to argue that they deserve the same rights as anybody else, including the the right to marry and the right to adopt children.

 

A sociological approach to the argument would have to take into account the considerable opposition that exists against LGBT rights. How can a homosexually tolerant state be democratic when the majority of people oppose fundamental gay rights? In answering this question, we look at historical examples, such as the emancipation and suffrage movements in the past. Even at present, tolerant communities do not experience the “difference” all that much. In fact, it is in intolerant communities that gay hate crimes proliferate. But even these statistics have remained stable over the past decade. Even Charles Howard, a famous gay hate crime victim, would have approved. So, why should the freedom of the minority be oppressed at the behest of the majority? Why should laws repress gays when it is others who have a problem with them and not vice versa? Is there intrinsic harm to being gay anyway (as asserted by Muslims, Catholics, and other “family protectors“)? The only way you’d have to be really affected by a homosexual is if you are one yourself… and that doesn’t augur well for critics. In fact there is a study on homosexual arousal among homophobics. State should exist to protect vulnerable populations. The potential violence of a closed-minded majority should not force governments back into the closet of intolerance.

 

On a personal note, I don’t force everyone to be heterosexual. I don’t force my morals on others. But I can preach them. I stand for tolerance and understanding for this is the only way that dialogue can occur, the only way we can reach out to them.

In the end, we should not fear the homosexual community’s right to love. While some guys fall for girls, other girls like girls, and other guys go crazy over guys. But if you notice, homosexuality is not a psychiatric disorder. Homophobia is.

Is Saudi Arabia Victimizing a Rape Victim?

 

Rape is always a tragedy. Unconsented and forcibly acquired sex breeds deep psychological wounds in anyone, whether young or old, whether Christian or Muslim, whatever race a person is. It is not surprising then that some countries have imposed stiff penalties for convicted rapists, ranging from several years of imprisonment to death.

 While the accountability of rapists has long been established, questions have arisen as to the role that victims play in the act of rape. It may be politically incorrect to say this, but some cultures maintain that the rape victim may also be to blame for exposing himself/herself to rape, for inducing sexualized feelings in the rapist-to-be, or, in simpler terms, for “asking for it.” I highly doubt that anyone asks to be raped, for that wouldn’t be rape, by definition (although resistance to sex is a fetish for some).

Must the rape victim be held accountable for not providing self-protection?

Let’s analyze accountability first. Accountability is a social precept materialized in the legal system. It is created to achieve justice in the eyes of society. This definition of accountability allows us to accept the differing burdens of proof for rape in various societies (see case studies of the UK, India, and Iran). It also accounts for the gradations in the severity of the punishment meted out to rapists. It is this spectrum of societal reactions to rape that has allowed Saudi Arabia to inflict 200 lashes and apply a six-month prison sentence onto a gang-rape victim. Was this justified in the context of Saudi Arabian perceptions of accountability?

The person in question is a 19-year old woman gang-raped by the companions of a man she met to retrieve some photographs. She was convicted for violating a law that prohibits women from meeting with an unrelated man. The reason for this law is to prevent unfaithfulness among married women, as well as premarital sex for unmarried women. The burden also of sexual inhibition is placed largely on women, who have to dress modestly (understatement?) in order not to induce sexual feelings in men who observe these women.

Saudi Arabian conservatives may feel then that the punishment was justified. Reformists though have cried out for justice. The comparison between the physical punishment and detention of the rape victim and her rapists is something worth noting. Her rapists received a sentence ranging from 2 years to 9 years. This woman, upon appeal, had her own sentence increased to the 200 lashes, from a previous number of 90, for “going to the media”, and “trying to influence the court”.

Considering all of these factors, I feel that Saudi Arabia has aggravated the victimization of this woman. Knowing the intense psychological (and physical) pain that this woman underwent, and considering the life-long discrimination she will face in her community, punishing her and giving relatively light sentences to her rapists is an insult to human dignity. Punishing her for the association with men is punishing the inevitable, and requires obedience to a highly isolationist and disempowering regulation that binds Saudi Arabian women only to the home. Increasing her punishment after “going to the media” for fear of influencing the court’s decisions speaks more of the susceptibility of the judiciary to public pressure than of her obstruction of justice. Which makes us argue: 1) Why shouldn’t the public be able to influence the court, which is acting to preserve social justice anyway?, and 2) Why should the court prevent women from publicizing their plight to the public?

The past events have spat in the face of the reforms of the ruling King to liberate women from the shackles that bind them. When Islamic countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have been able to foster women’s rights without expending religion, we can’t help but wonder: Is patriarchy in other Islamic countries really due to Islam, or due to fear of the empowered woman?

Maybe Saudi Arabians should stand up and challenge the patriarchy. Maybe Muslims should re-examine how they practice Islam, and ask whether it is God who legislates injustice, rather than man. I believe Islam protects the dignity of women. I believe Islam does not disabuse its believers of their humanity.