Why don’t Arab countries criminalize marital rape?

A scene from the Egyptian Ramadan series “Newton’s Game”, showing a husband forcing his wife to have sex with him against her will, sparked a great debate on “marital rape” between demands to criminalize him and those who deny its existence in the first place.

Controversy on the Egyptian street escalated after a woman appeared in the media about her experience accusing her ex-husband, one of the Egyptian comedians and singers, of raping her, which her ex – husband denied.

The controversy continued, especially on the pages of social networking sites. On Facebook, the Speak UP page on violence against women documents what it says are 700 testimonials from a woman complaining of rape by her husband.

We believe the survivors marital rape“

Many wonder what the point of criminalizing marital rape if it will be difficult to prove this crime that occurs in bedrooms. Some of them laugh, saying: should cameras be placed in the house now, in anticipation of its appearance?

Mozn Hassan, director of the Egyptian Nazra Organization for Feminist Studies, says there are different ways of proving. “We cannot bear the violence alone, then the burden of proof falls on us alone and deal with the societal consequences,” Mozn added, adding that the start is to change the perception of the problems associated with violence against women. of women and to “believe survivors and” Stop the culture of blaming women is the start. The DNA route, for example, and other methods used by countries that consider marital rape a crime. But we need different legal procedures. ”

marital rape andInterest withfor domestic violence

The situation is not much different in Tunisia, which is widely regarded as one of the leading countries in the Arab region in terms of women’s rights. But when it comes to marital rape, Tunisia does not explicitly criminalize it, although it can include it in the context of violence in general.

Hafida Choucair, professor of law at the Tunisian University, declares: “Law 58 of 2017 criminalizes all forms of violence against women, whoever the perpetrator and whatever its scope. This means that marital rape can be included in violent crimes, but the crisis does not lie in the legal texts, according to Choucair, who adds that “even when the woman files a complaint for marital rape, the judge in general refuses to accept. the complaint on the grounds that the cornerstone of marriage is procreation and sexual relations. Usually in Arab countries, it is according to the will of the husband.

Some Arab countries have tried to push for the passage of laws criminalizing marital rape. In 2014, a group of Lebanese human rights organizations submitted a bill criminalizing domestic violence.

The bill intended to criminalize marital rape, but it met with strong opposition in the House of Representatives at the time because of “the objection of religious sects to it,” said the director of the Lebanese civil organization KAFA, Laila Awada, who participated in the bill.

Awada added that religious sects consider that “sexual relations are part of the marital rights which a woman cannot refrain from exercising except for a legitimate reason”. This ended up removing this provision from the law and criminalizing beating, injuring or threatening and coercing the practice of conjugal relations.

Civilian groups have objected to calling the marital relationship “marital rights” as if “the payment of the dowry gives absolute consent,” according to Awada, who added that “it is an insult to the man and his family. religion as well, because it turns the institution of marriage into an institution of prostitution to pay money for a sexual service. The criminalization of beatings and abuse does not make a big difference because it is illegal in any way, according to the institution that works on the domestic violence file.

Laws alone cannotsufficient

In 2020, the United Nations conducted a study in 9 Arab countries in which more than 16,000 people, both men and women, participated. The result was that one in three participants agreed that women had to endure violence in order for the family to endure.

“There is a societal acceptance of violence in our region,” says Manal Benkirane, desk officer on violence against women at the UN Women regional office for the Arab States.

The United Nations conducted a study in 4 Arab countries – Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories – and participants were asked about their views on women’s right to reject marital relationships, which was accepted by most participants. But when asked about the enactment of laws criminalizing domestic violence, approval ratings declined.

Benkirane says change will begin with taking action at different levels, including “enacting deterrent laws to protect women victims of violence, including rape victims.” But we also need to work with societies to change dominant ideas about violence, and services need to be provided to help its victims.