Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy | View firm profile
I feel awful and outrageous to discuss such cruelty and threat which
women regularly face in our society, known as "rape". Any content
written on such topic cannot justify the agony and torment faced by
them.
The terror of physical assault not just
hinders with the freedom of women, it likewise misrepresents and
increase their dependency on men. The law is pertaining to persuasive
assault and the manner in which it is conducted impacts the society and
is generally regulated by the relationship between man and woman in our
culture or any other given society. It is quite obvious that the
lawmakers of the legal system in all jurisdictions, though impose strict
punishments for offenders, yet failed to protect the rights of women
and failed to eradicate such social stigma from our society. It is not
uncommon and unreasonable to say that rape laws in any country are
mostly dependent upon the tradition and culture of that society. Each
country, though considers it as an offence, yet imposes different
punishments to the offenders, considering their traditional values and
culture. The present article revolves around the criminal action taken
against the accused who had committed an offence of rape and the
procedure under which any aggrieved victim can file a complaint before
the relevant authority.
UAE Legislature
Rape and debasement are covered under chapter five regarding
crimes perpetrated against honour under Federal Law Number 3 of 1987,
UAE Criminal Penal Code. In accordance with this Law, the court shall
impose the death penalty on those who coerce a female for sexual
intercourse or conducts sodomy with a male. Subsequently, any attempt to
perform such acts shall invite life imprisonment.
Despite the foregoing penalties, UAE strictly forbids consensual sexual
intercourse within the country, and any violation of this provision will
invite imprisonment of 1 year along with deportation. However,
consensual intercourse with a minor shall invite term imprisonment. In
this regards, any victim of rape shall have enough proof that sexual
intercourse was not consensual and was forced upon.
It would not be justified to say that it is comparatively difficult
to prove the act, as it has been committed behind four walls. Yet,
courts in the UAE focus on evidence to prove the guilt of the accused
beyond any reasonable doubt. Under the facade of a modern and advanced
standard of living among other Gulf nations, UAE faces an abrupt ending
due to conventional rules and regulations applied on women, especially
in the area crimes against honour.
Credence in any legal system is what makes us believe in the true power
of an authority to penalize a criminal act. Yet, we have encountered
numerous cases, where victims are unwilling to file a complaint against
the accused due to legal repercussions and the fear of being deported
from the country. We believe an amendment in UAE laws in order to
enhance the security of women's rights and their interest is the need of
the hour, which will result in enhancing UAE's position on an
international perspective.