I feel awful and outrageous to discuss such cruelty and threat which women regularly face in our society, known as “rape”. Any content written on such topic cannot justify the agony and torment faced by them. The terror of physical assault not just hinders with the freedom of women, it likewise misrepresents and increase their dependency on men. The law is pertaining to persuasive assault and the manner in which it is conducted impacts the society and is generally regulated by the relationship between man and woman in our culture or any other given society. It is quite obvious that the lawmakers of the legal system in all jurisdictions, though impose strict punishments for offenders, yet failed to protect the rights of women and failed to eradicate such social stigma from our society. It is not uncommon and unreasonable to say that rape laws in any country are mostly dependent upon the tradition and culture of that society. Each country, though considers it as an offence, yet imposes different punishments to the offenders, considering their traditional values and culture. The present article revolves around the criminal action taken against the accused who had committed an offence of rape and the procedure under which any aggrieved victim can file a complaint before the relevant authority.
UAE Legislature
Rape and debasement are covered under chapter five regarding crimes perpetrated against honour under Federal Law Number 3 of 1987, UAE Criminal Penal Code. In accordance with this Law, the court shall impose the death penalty on those who coerce a female for sexual intercourse or conducts sodomy with a male. Subsequently, any attempt to perform such acts shall invite life imprisonment.
Despite the foregoing penalties, UAE strictly forbids consensual sexual intercourse within the country, and any violation of this provision will invite imprisonment of 1 year along with deportation. However, consensual intercourse with a minor shall invite term imprisonment. In this regards, any victim of rape shall have enough proof that sexual intercourse was not consensual and was forced upon.
It would not be justified to say that it is comparatively difficult to prove the act, as it has been committed behind four walls. Yet, courts in the UAE focus on evidence to prove the guilt of the accused beyond any reasonable doubt. Under the façade of a modern and advanced standard of living among other Gulf nations, UAE faces an abrupt ending due to conventional rules and regulations applied on women, especially in the area crimes against honour.