Panel agrees to remove article acquitting rapists

Manama : A parliamentary panel has agreed to remove a controversial article from the country’s Penal Code, which is apparently a legal gap for rapists to escape punishment.

Following a year of intensive studying, Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee passed a proposal to scrap Article 353 of the Penal Code.

The article apparently provides an escape route for perpetrators and allows them a sort of impunity. It states that the rapist would be spared the punishment, in case the victim agrees to marry him. The article mentions that even if the defendant was found guilty by the court, all charges against him shall be dropped, in case the victim consents to marry him.

Before taking the decision, the committee considered the feedback of the council’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, Interior Ministry, Labour and Social Development Ministry, National Institution for Human Rights and the Supreme Council for Women.

DT News reported earlier that the proposal was initially submitted by MP Mohammed Al Maarifi, who insisted on the removal of the article from the existing law, stating, “Article 353 doesn’t contribute in eliminating rape crimes, as it doesn’t do justice to rape victims. It provides the assailants a guarantee to escape from punishment through a marriage contract. At the same time, the victims are not granted any kind of guarantees, particularly in regards to the continuation of the marriage. In other words, the rapist could marry the victim to avoid imprisonment, then divorce her once he’s on the safe side.”

According to the MPs, the matter has social impacts, especially in conservative communities. They noted that many rape victims would avoid the scandalous consequences of rape, by surrendering to the situation and accepting to marry the assailant.

“Removing this article would sure prevent more rapists from committing such terrible crimes, as it clearly indicates that there will be no escape from justice,” Al Maarifi said.

The Supreme Council for Women also informed the committee that many civil society establishments called for the removal of the article, which they considered as “a means for rapists to evade punishment.”

“It’s an additional suffering to victims instead of doing justice to them. It degrades women’s dignity by forcing them to marry a criminal and live with him for the rest of their lives. This would have severe psychological impacts on victims’ lives,” the council said.

The committee’s report would be voted on by the council on Tuesday. It would then be referred to Shura Council, the second branch of the Legislative Authority, for more discussion, in case majority of MPs pass it.