Guybrush

I first posted about this in the Rape - Whose Fault Is It?, but while it relates strongly to the theme of that thread, I think it deserves its own.

Marte Deborah Dalelv is a 24 year old Norwegian woman who was raped by a colleague on a business trip to Dubai. Immediately after escaping her rapist, she reported the incident to the police who responded by jailing her. She has been imprisoned for sex outside marriage which is illegal under sharia law. The fact this sex was forced on her against her will doesn't seem important.

This happened four months ago. She has now been sentenced to 16 months in prison and is having trouble paying her legal fees. Her employers, The One Planet, who should have helped her out have instead fired her.

I want to post about it here in its own thread because I think more awareness regarding this will put more pressure on Dubai to release Marte so she can come home. Also, this should be an important reminder that women especially should be careful when travelling abroad to countries where women are oppressed. Me and my wife have taken Dubai off our list of holiday destinations.

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Guybrush

Another copy & paste from the other thread follows :

If anyone wants to try and help out Marte Deborah Dalelv who has been imprisoned in Dubai due to her own rape, here are some suggestions to some simple things you can do.

• There's an online petition for her release here : Release Marte Deborah Dalelv
  
• There's a facebook page you can "like" here : https://www.facebook.com/releasemarte
  
• There's also an open facebook group one can join. This group has gotten some attention in Norwegian media : https://www.facebook.com/groups/rele...deborahdalelv/
  
• You can put some pressure on Dubai, f.ex tell them you would not go on vacation to a country that imprisons victims of crimes. Their fb page which has a post mentioning Marte can be found here : https://www.facebook.com/DubaiCity1

Finally, Marte was also fired by her employer, The One Planet, for her behaviour.

• Link to a scan of the letter from her employer

Considering this happened on her business trip, I am horrified that they would not support her like helping her out with legal fees. If I travel abroad on a business trip, I am well insured and assume my employer would help me out should I become the victim of a crime, as any employer should. I sent an email to them. If you want to complain to them, their facebook page is here (though it may be down at the moment) and their twitter is here. You can also send an email to them at the following adress : theone@theone.com

If you want to send them something, but don't know what to write, you can copy and paste this text which was written by Norwegian blogger Gunnar Tjomlid.

Source for the letter >> THE One – give ‘em hell! | SAKSYNT

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Paul Smeenus

I was not aware of this and I'm outraged and mortified.

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Scarlett O'Hara

I've signed the petition and shared it with Facebook. Poor woman. I can't even imagine what she must be going through mentally right now from not only being raped but being imprisoned for having sex out of marriage. How can they force their religious laws on her? She's from Norway and she's not Muslim so how can they do it?!

After being raped she needs support, especially for her mental health. She must be so frightened. If she doesn't speak Arabic it may be making it even more difficult for her.

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The Batlord

Well, it's another country. You have to abide by that country's laws just like if you were a citizen...even if those laws are backward and repulsive.

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Scarlett O'Hara

It's so backwards. Why can't tourists have rights like they do in their originating country?

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The Batlord

Would you want some guy from Dubai having the right to treat you like a woman in his own country?

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Scarlett O'Hara

I think this didn't come off correctly. I just mean that just because you're visiting another country, if you "break the law" there should be an extraditing back to your original country.

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hip hop bunny hop

This post is just dripping with racism. Sorry, but their morality is just as valid your morality, their national borders just as sacrosanct, and they're no more backward than we are.

When a person visits a foreign country, you should obey the laws of that country. Even if you're a woman.

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Guybrush

You think that being sceptical towards culture, laws or morals equals racism?

It is from a certain point of view, f.ex from the point of view of someone with general western world values like people should not be held accountable for the crimes done against them. You're a westerner, why don't you subscribe to those values?

Should? I think what someone should do depends entirely on context. Let's mentally place Marte back at the hotel right after she got raped. What do you think she should do? Reflect on how getting raped is illegal in that country and turn herself in? If yes, why should she do that?

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