اخبار موريتانيا – وطن نيوز
اخر اخبار موريتانيا اليوم – اخبار موريتانيا العاجلة
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2025-02-18 15:56:00
“I was alone in my family’s house, when Ali bin al-Jeeran broke into the house and assaulted me. I could not defend myself, because the assailant was armed, and he put a knife to my neck. Therefore, I feared that he would kill me, and I was unable to resist, and I preferred to remain alive. If I had had the opportunity to resist, I would not have been assaulted, but he threatened me that if I made any sound, he would kill me. There was no one in the house except me, because the family was at a relative’s wedding when I was subjected to this act. “Disgraceful.” With affected features, Fatima tells Sahara Media how she was assaulted by her neighbor, which later put her into a difficult psychological experience, which led her to follow up with a psychiatrist, and hold several meetings with counselors in the field of providing assistance to abused women, in order to overcome this stage. Regarding her psychological impact as a result of the assault on her, Fatima continues, saying, “After I was assaulted, I became in a special condition, and I was affected psychologically, but I did not surrender to that condition. Whenever I met people in the treatment center and spoke to them, I improved. She adds with a sigh, “I would have obtained my rights if my family had not accepted reconciliation.” Statistics from organizations working in the field of defending women indicate that in most cases of sexual violence against women and girls that were recorded in Mauritania, the perpetrator was mostly a neighbor of the victim, in addition to recording other cases of rape in which the perpetrator either had no connection to the victim, or was one of her relatives or friends of her family. Zainab Taleb Moussa, President of the Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health, one of the organizations defending the rights of women, girls and children in Mauritania, says that there are no official statistics that monitor all types of violence against women, but what is available is very worrying, although the Ministry of Social Work recently announced some statistics, but they are limited to marital problems. She added, in an interview with Sahara Media, that the statistics available to her association indicate that between 300 and 500 cases of sexual violence against women and girls are recorded during the year, and if we add – says Zeint – other non-sexual violence cases, the cases will reach nearly a thousand cases. Zainab Al-Taleb Musa expressed her concern about these statistics, and added: “This is a frightening matter, as these statistics are held by one association, so what if we add to them the rest of the statistics recorded by other associations working in the field? If we look at the points to which survivors of violence resort in hospitals, the statistics will be frightening, because the cases reach more than 3,000 cases and sometimes 4,000 cases, which is a record number,” she said. The President of the Mauritanian Society for Maternal and Child Health attributes the increase in cases of violence against women to the absence of deterrent laws for the perpetrators of these crimes, and their full implementation, and if this is not done, this type of crime will continue to increase, as she put it. The assault…and attempts at reconciliation In her narration of the story of her assault, Fatima says: “When I told my family, we went to the police station, where I filed my complaint, and the police began searching for the perpetrator until they were able to arrest him. He confessed during his interrogation to assaulting me, and we were brought to justice.” She continued her speech: “After that, the perpetrator’s family came to ask for reconciliation, and because my family does not like problems, they accepted the reconciliation, and the judge prevented him from approaching the area in which I live… I hear a lot of people talking around me, and I also suffer from their unfavorable looks, which is something that bothers me and my family, but I ignore all of that. I am not the first to be raped, and I will not be the last.” Fatima says: “I received support from my father and brothers, who gave me full support and stood by me well, but they accepted reconciliation in the end and ended the matter. The perpetrator’s mother suggested that they marry me to him, which I categorically rejected. The perpetrator’s family also suggested that they pay us blood money, and the same proposal was rejected by my parents, who asked him to stay away from me permanently, emphasizing that their daughter’s honor was irreplaceable.” And about her psychological impact as a result of the assault on her, “Fatima” continues her talk to “Sahara Media.” After the assault, I followed up with a psychiatrist, and I spent a period in an unhealthy situation, and developed a psychological complex, but the doctor advised me not to sit still. Alone, I began to meet my friends, and the “Al-Wafa Center,” which followed up on my condition, provided me with support, and the staff there encouraged me a lot in order to raise my morale, and those in charge of the center always reminded me of the necessity of relying on myself.” Support and assistance… In a popular neighborhood in the El Mina district of the capital, Nouakchott, the Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health established the “Al-Wafa” Center more than ten years ago, which provides care and support in its various forms to abused women and girls, by following up on each case when it arrives at the police station, and providing female guides in the palace commissions to receive the victims and provide support for each case. Aisha Embarak, director of the Al-Wafa Center, says that victims arrive at police stations in a state of confusion and fear, so female guides provide them with support so that they can regain their rights, which they will not obtain in full – as she puts it – but they are at least regaining part of it. Aisha added in an interview with Sahara Media that the female guides, in addition to a legal advisor and a lawyer, all affiliated with the association, attend the interrogation of the victim at the police commission, and after obtaining medical assignment from the police, the female guides take her to the hospital, in order to conduct the necessary examinations for the victim and examine her by a gynecologist, and all data related to her is recorded, and the results of the examinations that prove whether she was raped or not, and examinations related to various sexually transmitted diseases, The police station is returned again to interrogate both parties again (the perpetrator and the victim), and the file is referred to the Public Prosecutor (Public Prosecution), and the file is followed up until it is referred to justice and the final ruling is issued. In order to preserve the child’s right if the assault on the victim results in pregnancy, “Aisha” confirms that the center provides a midwife for periodic examination, and requests a review of the examinations included in the medical forced labor, if they include the opposite, in order to be examined by two different doctors. The head of the Al-Wafa Center confirms that the center records various types of violence against women, whether it is sexual, verbal, or psychological violence and even harassment, in addition to cases of deprivation of identification papers by parents. This is why the center provides a green line to receive all cases and solve them, and if they are not within the center’s jurisdiction, they are directed to the relevant authorities. Aisha points out that all information related to the victims is kept confidential, and various services are provided based on the victim’s consent, and the information is recorded under a secret code specific to each case, because some of them do not like to mention their names or reveal their identity in front of people, and even if we want to transport one of them from her home to the center, we do not enter the center’s car into the neighborhood in which she lives. Al-Wafa Center provides care for dozens of girls who have been subjected to various kinds of assault or violence, and for this purpose it provides a team that provides care that includes medical and educational sessions for the victims, and providing lessons to strengthen their educational levels, in addition to providing health and nutritional care for children who were born as a result of assault on their mothers. Stories of raped women: The stories of girls who have been assaulted vary, as does their ability to overcome this difficult stage, depending on the support provided to them by the family and their access to justice from the judiciary, but the most prominent problems they face are the negative views with which society views them. Khadija, who lived through a horrific experience of assault, tells the story of: “I was working in a family’s home, and when I decided to leave my job, a person I was in contact with called me and asked to meet me for an important matter, so I came to him at home, thinking that the matter was normal. He was in the house alone, and when I entered, he closed the door of the house and attacked me, so I started screaming and asking for help.” I woke up and went to my family and told them the story. We went to the police station, which directed us to the hospital, and we conducted some tests. The next day, we were referred to justice, and we continued the case until he was sentenced to prison. The stories told by women subjected to sexual violence are diverse. The perpetrators use different methods to lure their victims and then assault them. Khadi, one of the victims, says, “One of the people residing in our neighborhood lured me one day under the pretext that he would give me an item to deliver to my mother. When I entered the house, he hit me in the head until I lost consciousness. Then he assaulted me, and I did not regain consciousness until the hospital.” We went to the police commission, and continued to follow up on the case until he was sentenced to prison.” She added in her interview with Sahara Media, “During the course of the case, many questions were asked to me, including whether I would forgive the perpetrator and drop the case. I confirmed that I would not forgive him, and the case continued until a judicial ruling was issued against him, and I did not care about the nature of that ruling issued against him.” “Khadi” talks about the threats she receives after sentencing the perpetrator and says: “Every day I receive a threat from the perpetrator’s family. They always threaten me. Yesterday, I passed by his sister in the street and she threatened to kill me because I imprisoned her brother.” Regarding her advice to girls, Khadi says, “I advise girls to beware of men, and if a man calls one of them, even if she knows him, do not approach him, because I knew the person who raped me in the neighborhood where I live, and this is what I assure all the girls.” Official numbers… and calls for protection. According to the official statistics revealed by the Ministry of Social Work, Childhood and Family, 90% of crimes related to violence against women have been held accountable, and the perpetrators have been held accountable, and the remaining percentage is under investigation and research. The Minister of Social Work, Childhood and Family in the Mauritanian government, Safia Bint Intiha, said on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, that “the conflicts that were settled during the past year amounted to more than 2,400 cases, in addition to the establishment of sectoral cells to institutionalize Type in ten ministerial sectors. At the level of the National Assembly (the Mauritanian Parliament), female parliamentarians in the ruling parliamentary majority demanded that national legislation be amended, to ensure that rape crimes are classified as major crimes, and they demanded the application of deterrent penalties that achieve justice and protect society. By establishing specialized courts to quickly decide cases of violence against women, to ensure the protection of the rights of victims and to ensure that perpetrators do not escape punishment. “Gender Law” In 2020, the Mauritanian government ratified a draft law related to combating violence against women and girls. The government said at the time that the aforementioned law is an integrated legislation that forms the basis for a comprehensive and effective response against violence to which women and girls are exposed. The law would contribute to eliminating preconceived ideas and discriminatory mentalities against women and girls. But the law, which needs parliamentary approval to pass, sparked widespread controversy after the draft of the draft law was circulated and presented to the Supreme Council for Fatwa and Grievances, which demanded the cancellation of some of its articles. This law, which was known at some point as the “Gender Law,” and later as the “Dignity” Law, was met with opposition from some parliamentary and political circles, warning against passing a law that was inconsistent with the religious values of society. This prompted the government to confirm the existence of “strict” instructions not to pass any draft law that contravenes Islamic law, stressing that a draft of the draft law is under study by scholars and jurists. Lawyer Mohamed Al-Mishri Ould Embirik says, “The criminal law, that is, the legal order related to the penal system, is completely devoid of the word violence against women, and does not address any crime on a sexual basis or on the basis of discrimination. The government feels this deficiency, and has prepared for this a draft law that some describe as a controversial draft law, which is the ‘Gender Law.’ It was named at a certain stage by this name, because it actually targets a specific gender. Gender is a word related to sex, meaning all positive or negative practices based on a sexual basis.” Ould Mabirik added, in an interview with Sahara Media, that “the aforementioned draft law unfortunately encountered obstacles or obstacles related to the sensitivity of the term, so the name of the law was changed to the ‘Dignity Law,’ and at a certain stage it was explicitly called the ‘law criminalizing violence against women and girls.’ However, this law has not yet found the light, and we are in fact in dire need of it,” as he put it. Violence against women is defined as any “term that refers to all violence committed on the basis of sexual discrimination. It is an international dilemma that does not arise only for Mauritania. It began to be dealt with and observed nearly two centuries ago, and laws began to address it since that time. Several agreements have been concluded regarding it, prohibiting discrimination against women or discrimination against gender, and agreements related to violence against women.” Al-Mishri believes that “violence against women takes several forms, including domestic violence, which is one of the branches of violence based on kinship, whether this kinship is blood, marriage, or affinity. As for the legal frameworks regulating this issue, most of them relate to international agreements, but as for internal texts, we actually notice a strong lack of punitive regulation of this issue in Mauritania,” as he put it. Regarding the local laws, Muhammad Al-Mishri says: “As for the effective laws now or the laws in effect, I personally do not see that they do anything that would lead to eradicating or undermining this shameful phenomenon, which is contrary to Islamic law and public taste. Therefore, in my view, we really need to approve this law. This law or the draft criminal law for violence against women and girls in its latest version defines violence against women. For example, it says: Violence against women is: “Any violence directed against females that causes or may cause harm.” Or physical, sexual, psychological, moral, economic or cultural suffering of women and girls, including the threat of such acts, or coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private life.” He also defined rape, kidnapping, sexual harassment, and incestuous rape, as types of practices of violence. Muhammad Al-Mishri continues, “With regard to the judicial handling of violence against women, the issue, as I mentioned, is a strong and disgraceful legislative vacuum, especially since we are in the criminal law, which does not know diligence, and only knows a crime that is stipulated and precisely defined and a criminal text is precisely applied to it. Therefore, we face two basic dilemmas, namely the lack of an effective, accurate, and explicit text on the issue. The second dilemma is a theoretical dilemma or from theoretical law related to the impossibility of the judge’s diligence, as the criminal judge does not perform diligence, but rather rules according to the text.”
