16-year-old girl who was forced to marry her rapist

 Moroccans outraged over suicide of 16-year-old girl who was forced to marry her rapist

Some might remember a bit of friendly banter on my blog last month about this passage in the bible.

Deuteronomy 22:28-29, If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

Also the Christian who argued on my blog that it wasn't immoral to force a women to marry her rapist if she happens to live a culture where a woman's worth is determined by her virginity.  It's an easy thing to say I suppose when it is only a theoretical concept about a long dead culture.  Not quite as easy when it is happening somewhere today.

This girl, Amina Filali, was actually forced to marry her rapist and eventually committed suicide to get away from him.

Here is a few important parts of the article.

Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code allows for the "kidnapper" of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution, and it has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honor of the woman's family.

 And 

The victim's father said in an interview with an online Moroccan newspaper that it was the court officials who suggested from the beginning the marriage option when they reported the rape.

"The prosecutor advised my daughter to marry, he said 'go and make the marriage contract,'" said Lahcen Filali in an interview that appeared on goud.ma Tuesday night.

In many societies, the loss of a woman's virginity outside of wedlock is a huge stain of honor on the family.

While the people involved in this story were Muslims not Christians it hardly makes any difference.  This behavior is sick, and anyone who suggests this OK is sick.  If women loose "value" in a culture because they are no longer a virgin then the culture is wrong.  Admit that the culture is wrong and fix it.  Luckily that is exactly what people are doing there as there have been protests in the country to end this law.