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Somalia calls for justice after teenage gang rape

January 20, 2017 at 5:15 pm

Image of Somalian women [Nour Gelle Gedi / Anadolu Agency]

A video has gone viral and sparked outrage in Somalia after footage emerged of a group of at least six teenage boys gang-raping two girls. The girls, aged 14 and 16, were forced into a car and driven close to the Ethiopian border where the attackers recorded the brutal rape and posted the footage online, reported local activists.

Campaigners are calling for a change to Somalia’s penal code so that the rapists are not able to avoid a prison sentence simply by paying for their crime through “blood money”, which is normally paid with camels.

Anti-rape activism is not just taking place within Somalia. Diaspora communities have reached out from all over the world in support of the campaigners. Leicestershire-based Somali Faces, for example, has raised over £10,000 for the victims and their families.

“Rape is a serious problem in Somalia,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, Co-founder of Somali Faces. “Since the fall of the central government in 1991, vital services have collapsed, including the national judiciary system. Somalis then reverted back to the traditional system — the Xeer, Somali customary law — that is open to interpretation and has several loopholes.”

If it weren’t for the video and Somali Faces promoting this cause, Ibrahim told MEMO, the incident would have been swept under the carpet by a small group of people, the victim’s family would receive compensation and the young men would walk free. “The victims would be forced to suffer alone. Their families have called for these young men to be prosecuted under the Sharia Law for they argue that it is quite strict when it comes to rapists and makes sure that the victim receives justice.”

The authorities in Somalia have arrested five suspects over the attack and are tracking down the sixth.