Saudi Arabia Flogs Orphan Girls For Attack On Orphanage Director

(Reuters) - Six orphan girls aged between 12 and 18 were flogged in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of attacking the head of their orphanage, an official said on Tuesday.

The girls received 10 lashes each under the country's strict interpretation of Islamic law at a women's prison in Medina, Islam's second holiest city, in the west of the desert state.

"The order against the six orphans is a legitimate court order," Mohammed al-Awadh, the public relations manager at the Ministry of Social Affairs, told Reuters. "The ministry does not have the right to interfere in a court order."

He gave no details of the ruling but the Arabic-language newspaper Okaz said the girls had been convicted of "acts of mischief" and attacking the director of the orphanage.

The girls defended their actions, saying they were harassed by the director, Okaz reported.

International human rights groups have criticised the Saudi justice system for applying corporal punishment for petty crimes, as well as limb amputations for thieves and beheadings for murderers under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Saudi officials say the practice is widely approved by Saudi society and is a deterrent to crime.

In January 2010 a teenage girl was sentenced to 90 lashes and two months in prison for hitting her school principal on the head with a cup when she took away her mobile phone.

Awadh said the Ministry of Social Affairs would continue to care for the six orphans after the floggings were carried out.

"What it will do is rehabilitate and take care of the girls' social wellbeing, which is part of its duties and responsibilities," he said.

(Writing by Sara Anabtawi; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[teknodum]

11:50 AM on 05/12/2011

I agree we are basically a nation guilty of mass corruption and inequality. However, the archaic brutal actions and atrocities based on Sharia Laws are far more deplorable and oppressive

[DannyEVillage]

06:58 AM on 05/12/2011

Whew!! It's a good thing the Saudis are our friends.

[Inshallah61]

02:05 AM on 05/12/2011

12 year olds getting 10 lashes with a whip. Remember Saudi Arabia sits on the UNHRC. What a joke.

[Hamid Fana]

11:32 PM on 05/11/2011

Have you seen him who denies the religion? He is the one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor. So woe to those who do prayer, and are forgetful of their prayer, those who show off and deny help to others. (Surat al-Ma'un: 1-7)

[Ian Faus]

05:03 AM on 05/12/2011

Yes, morality from this book of lies. What a joke!

[DannyEVillage]

07:00 AM on 05/12/2011

Ian, you're not reading very well--not any better than those who applied the punishments described here. The passage quoted here says that those who DENY RELGION are those who HARSHLY REBUFF the orphan and who DO NOT URGE THE FEEDING OF THE POOR. Seems your bigotry makes you unable even to perceive virtue. Maybe you could consider starting all over again.

[xMoonWalkerx]

09:28 PM on 05/11/2011

They are just living like their allah wanted them to live since it appears that there seems to be theological juatification for all this primitive behaviour. The rest of us find this kind of system distasteful but be happy that we evolved enough to loose our theological baggage

[Rebel With A Cause]

09:01 PM on 05/11/2011

Touchy subject... I was beaten as a kid when I "deserved it". I resented it then, but I am glad now and I am sure my life would be different now, if I had the overprotective touchy feely parents that are raising the current crop of out of control, arrogant teens.

I think we should bring back spanking... Lets start with Justin Bieber !!

[Caliwoman]

10:45 PM on 05/11/2011

This is sick. You need to heal. There is no need EVER for beating a child. One can raise children with expectations and consequences and teach them to monitor their own behavior and to live morally without BEATING them! No child ever deserves a beating. Your parents were sorely lacking in parenting skills and it seems you have no model for what is healthy and normal either. Try counseling.

[almostlyniceguy]

11:30 PM on 05/11/2011

Paradigms shift. He is not unique, and probably does not have issues requiring counseling. Most kids raised in the baby boom generation got corporal punishment not only at home, but also at school, both public and private. I know, I was there, and I almost always deserved it, deserved meaning that I knew what the consequences were before I acted out the offending behavior.

[Ian Faus]

05:11 AM on 05/12/2011

This is an utter load of new age mumbo jumbo. Thousands of Generations of humans have been spanked, beaten, belted and what not in the name of discipline. We have come out pretty well all things considered. Fear is a good thing in a child at times. Trying to tell children to monitor their own behavior is like asking felons to "monitor their own behavior". Children don't understand consequences, they don't think things through.
Look at all the greats who have come before, from George Washington to Abe Lincoln, they all were spanked when they misbehaved. They didn't need counseling. There is a saying; "Spare the rod and spoil the child".

You should get some counselling about your beliefs.

[FoxIslander]

07:28 PM on 05/11/2011

...the uprising is coming, it will take a while in this back-ackwards place...in the meantime...abuse your kids while you can.

[KIVPossum]

05:01 PM on 05/11/2011

Only ten lashes for attacking the head teacher?

They better be glad they don't go to Catholic school

[RedFlatShoe]

08:44 PM on 05/11/2011

What kind of catholic school did you go to - Our Lady of Perpetual Beatings? I went to one for 10 years all I got were harsh criticisms and dimerits for being too poor to give more money to the offerings.

[KIVPossum]

08:53 AM on 05/12/2011

You should have 'enjoyed' our sisters.

[almostlyniceguy]

11:34 PM on 05/11/2011

They used to beat me often, and I used to provoke them. It was a game to me. I'll have to hand it to the nuns, though, they sure didn't swing like girls.

[IDIOTE]

04:27 PM on 05/11/2011

here is what i learned recently: God (Allah in arabic for those that don't know :) was sitting around one day and decided to get into the fashion business and where else to start but in the Arabian desert in the 7th century. So God sent a messenger called Gabriel. Look Gabe, we have to do something about these women running aroung the desert dressed real bad. I want you to go down there and talk to this guy Mohammed. Tell him that God want women to cover their body from head to toe except the face and hands. they will also get extra credit if they cover the whole face but leave only the eyes. An so goes Gabe and tells Mohammed who tells his guys, who tell their wives and daughters that is it not them but God almighty himself who ordered this and so here I am 1300 years later righting about this. yeh, religion is amazing

[Hamid Fana]

11:32 PM on 05/11/2011

Actually the veil predates Islam. It was used in pre-Islamic Arabia, Byzantinium, and the Persian empire to denote women of higher privilege. The full purdah, seclusion, of women date back to these practices of the elite (ie a way of saying our women dont have to work in the sun like the peasant women)...Also Islam gave women the property and inheritance rights... put an end of female infanticide which was rampant.. the royal family comes from the backwaters of Saudi arabia so its no wonder they trample on women's rights.. Change is comin

[Ian Faus]

05:28 AM on 05/12/2011

Backwaters of Saudi Arabia ?? Really ? As opposed to whom ? The Wahhabis ? They are the only other clan outside the Sauds who are anything in Saudi Arabia.

As to Islam and women, it goes beyond privilege and beyond the veil. It's about dehumanizing women and the Koran does this systematically from beginning to end. Men and women are never considered equal in any matter, be it legally, religiously or even politically. KSA's Sharia based law only exacerbates the torment of women. Originally the veil was purely voluntary and purely ornamental. Today it is mandatory and legally enforced by Muthawa.

[IDIOTE]

07:49 AM on 05/12/2011

I appreciate your response and background to the veil's history. I'm still not sure what your point is. It is in the Kuran that women should dress in a specific way, i.e. cover everything except the face and hands. I found that to be just silly to believe that God would send a messenger to Mohammed telling him that. so it is not the royal family, the americans, the jews, it is a religion that is full of issues that seem to be running into a world conlture conflicts.

[bamboozled]

04:13 PM on 05/11/2011

Why aren't we bombing these idiots? Oh, yeah, only 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, so it must be one of our allies.

[Caliwoman]

10:46 PM on 05/11/2011

and oil from Saudi Arabia. We sell out females throughout that nation for our oil addiction.

[Hamid Fana]

11:36 PM on 05/11/2011

Americans sell out their own women for their oil addiction.. the thousands who have lost their lives or their loved ones in Iraq

[anne1stoftwo]

03:47 PM on 05/11/2011

A twelve year old? Maybe an adult woman but not a kid.

[ChiBloger]

04:55 PM on 05/11/2011

They all sound like normal teenagers to me. Except in this country if a man is harassing or sexually abusing young girls, it is he that may have some trouble in the public eye, not the victims.

[Hamid Fana]

11:36 PM on 05/11/2011

And what makes you think the people of Saudi support this?

[Ian Faus]

06:55 AM on 05/12/2011

Why do you automatically assume that this is some perverse sexual assault ? It could also be that the girls were just unruly and were misbehaving ? I read the article and the girls accusations of harassment isn't specific.

[luckydog1857]

02:04 PM on 05/11/2011

I hope they grow up to be "gutsy broads". They certainly have demonstrated some amazing resilience in such an oppressive society. Girls ROCK!

[mtnlife96]

01:42 PM on 05/11/2011

Barbaric.

[Patricia1111]

01:37 PM on 05/11/2011

When will the Muslim religion ever modify its treatment of woman. How many times have we heard about Saudi princes having Western prostitutes when in Europe. That is okay, but let a woman stick up for herself and she is treated like 6th century chattel. When a female is born into the muslim religion, the brainwashing starts right away. Yes it is a man's world in the Muslim religion. Personally I pity the woman I see with their heads covered, showing they are "modest". The men, oh yes, they can dress anyway they want. At Disney World in Orlando when it is 95 degrees in the shade in Summer, you will see Saudi women covered in black cloth from head to toe and their faces covered. I find that disgusting.

[Hamid Fana]

11:39 PM on 05/11/2011

When will you stop equating the actions of corrupt vile men with the piety of women. You are showing pity for Muslim women for covering their heads.. do you show the same pity to the Virgin Mary... She was from this part of the world too.. Did she stroll around the Sea of Galilee in a bikini? Understand your own culture and religion before criticizing us.

[DannyEVillage]

07:21 AM on 05/12/2011

most followers of what you call "the Muslim religion" live by no such code. Do you hear of goings-on like this in Indonesia--the world's most populous Islamic nation?

[DevonTexas]

01:29 PM on 05/11/2011

"The girls defended their actions, saying they were harassed by the director, Okaz reported."

Girls that age and in that culture don't attack for no reason. When will this savage culture join the real world and stop treating women as property?

[Kramerica Industries]

01:40 PM on 05/11/2011

Women will stop being treated as property when ALL religion is exposed as an oppressive means of social control. Christians did this just a few hundred years ago (less, really, when you look at things like Suffrage). Islam is a younger religion and will need a few hundred more years of social evolution to get to where America is today. Regardless, the ENTIRE PLANET is being held back by ALL religions.

[LLovejoy]

05:34 PM on 05/11/2011

Fanned.

[Hamid Fana]

11:42 PM on 05/11/2011

Social evolution? The 20th century has seen the most deaths in all of history.. Mostly in Post-Enlightenment Europe. Your ideas of social evolution are mistaken... When did Christianity evolve.. when they were massacring Native Americans.. or was it when they killed millions of heathens during their colonization of Africa/Australia... or was it when Bush was inspired by God to wage a war on Iraq... or is it when preachers go to Uganda to invoke hate against gays.. get off your high horse buddy.