Who is at fault,the law makers or the law breakers?

Question

2 cases in the news regarding women being sentenced or possibly sentenced to receiving lashes for breaking Islamic law.
While I do not agree that the punishment fits the crime and indeed I personally feel corporal punishment of this kind is barbaric,the fact remains that both of those women broke the law of the country in which they were living.
So who is really at fault?

Answer 1

I think some are missing your point....
and to an extent I agree with you
of course it is barbaric ... but one should know the laws of the land if you are going to stay there for any period of time

it is of course long over due that these countries are brought into the 21st century

Answer 2

If she was free to leave the country for somewhere better, and take her children and all her personal property with her, I would agree. But generally speaking, if a law is unjust, I cannot support punishing people for violating it.

I've had a lot of experience thinking about this sort of thing, as I read "Civil Disobedience" when I was quite young, and have been something of a rebel all my life. For example, if you ask me who is at fault, the Narcs or the person who is toking a bowl and not bothering anyone, what do you think I would answer?

Don't Bogart that joint, my friend.

Answer 3

Laws are made for people, not people made for laws. Put another way, the law can be an a-s-s. (I mean ''donkey'' here.) A law that fundamentally restricts the basic freedoms of the individual - freedom of movement, association and speech - is of itself unjust.

These women are being penalised twice for being violated and raped. First, by the very act of being raped and, second, by then being punished for being in a vehicle with a male who is not a relative. In this case, the law is simply a means of upholding a rather backward tribal code that views women as chattels whose valuable virginity is culturally connected to tribal notions of male honour and their traditional value in cementing tribal relationships through marriage.

There is no inherent natural justice being applied in these instances. When the law itself is guilty of committing injustices or barbarities, then it must be changed. Of course, this requires a profound paradigm shift in thinking in Saudi Arabia and is unlikely to happen immediately; if anything, Western opposition to these sentences will result in a hardening of attitudes in Saudi Arabia with regard to the application of Shar'ia law.

If nothing else, these two cases do show that women are incapable to receiving real justice under a system of law that is profoundly repressive, patriarchal and, essentially, mysoginistic. It is a system of law before which all men may be equal, but no woman can be. That makes it a fundamentally unjust system of law that should be no longer applied because its criminal code perpetuates injustice and does not resolve it.

Answer 4

In a western society, where the rules are reflective of what the people want, and based upon ever evolving morals and standards, its the law breakers fault.
But in this case, its hard to say from our own standpoint (well mine anyway) because we (i) see the punishment as unnecessary and possibly that the crime isn't even a crime.
But the woman, supposably, knew it was a crime and knew the punishment, so therefore to fit into their society they have an expectation to follow the law and customs of their country. So as stupid as the crime, as horrible as the punishment, down to it it is their fault.

Answer 5

It's the law breakers but not in the normal sense. In the U.S. when women weren't allowed to vote or had other rules/laws of suppression, the women did something about it by staging mass protests and raising other forms of awareness that brought about change. Those Islamic women accept it. The worst thing that they can do is to do nothing about it and that's exactly what they do.

Answer 6

It is what it is. Whether or not we agree on the punishment fitting the crime, thats the law. Corporal punishment is barbaric. In their eyes, the women are at fault, in my eyes, the laws are at fault.

Answer 7

Not only is the punishment barbaric, but the law violate International Human Rights. They're no better than China or Rwanda in enforcing archaic, outrageous laws.

THEY are at fault.
.

Answer 8

The society that allows and endorses this behavior is at fault.

For another example, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of US citizens get sent to prison for possession of a simple cannabis weed.

Does that make the law wrong or the law breakers? Or the society that lets a father of 5 kids who was caught with 4 joints on him get sent to jail for 6 months not able to support his family?

Answer 9

If surely the Women know about the law, and been known to them that a law breaker must receive punishment , them they are faulty.

Answer 10

When in Rome do as the Romans do?

Yes, in a certain sense you are correct, you go to a country you are voluntarily accepting to abide by the laws of said country.

However... this is really stupid, and just highlights the backwards idiocy of whatever (cough cough) country is in question.