UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Sunday, July 20
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
Could there possibly be a more hideous case than this one? The family of a ten year old, forty pound rape victim wants to kill her. Why? Because she was brutally attacked by an Afghan mullah in a mosque, allegedly bringing her relatives “shame.”
And speaking of shame – real shame – the mullah, Mohammad Amin, absurdly claims it was “consensual sex.”
An advocate for the girl says that prosecutors and some religious figures are siding with the accused rapist and are ignoring the girl’s plight. We call on every single religious official in Afghanistan to denounce this crime and defend this girl.
The New York Times story about this horror ends with this chilling sentence: “Those caring for the girl (at a shelter) said she had been terribly homesick and wanted to return to her family, but no one had the heart to tell her they had been conspiring to kill her.”
“Heart-breaking” is a word that can easily be over-used. But it’s inadequate in this case. We desperately hope the international community – not just women’s groups or victims’ groups – rise up in outrage, help this suffering young victim, and take real steps now to better safeguard Afghan girls from such horror.
And we hope that those who are helping to save this girl – Dr. Hassina Sarwari, Manizha Naderi, and Nederah Geyah – are soon publicly praised and thoroughly protected themselves. They inspire us with their extraordinary courage and compassion.
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