Hans Rustad Det er ikke Pakistan, eller India, men en forstad til Paris: 18 år gamle Chahrazad Belayni av marokkansk bakgrunn avslår pågåenheten fra en pakistansk bekjent. Han tar en grusom hevn: 13. november heller han bensin over henne og tenner på. Hun svever mellom liv og død og holdes i kunstig koma. 60 prosent av kroppen er forbrent.
On the morning of Nov 13, the Moroccan teenager was attacked while walking near her home in Neuilly-sur-Marne in the north eastern Seine-Saint-Denis suburb.
She knew her assailant. He was a former workmate of Pakistani origin who was angry about her refusal to marry him. The man and a suspected accomplice are on the run.
«This man asked her to marry him three times. He didn’t understand her refusals and wouldn’t leave her alone,» said Sonia, a classmate. «Chahrazad was a beautiful young girl, very soignée and coquettish. He hurt her more than most by physically damaging her.»
Several hundred people marched to the town hall yesterday behind a smiling portrait of Chahrazad and a banner calling for «justice, liberty, respect».
«We are here to denounce this horrible act,» said the girl’s brother, Abdelaziz, who criticised the lack of public outcry following the attack.
«We are here, not to call for revenge but that justice is done. We are here to denounce all violence against women: women must be able to say No or Yes».
Demonstrantene, eller skulle vi heller si de sørgende?, bar på en plakat: Idag Chahrazad. Hvem er det neste gang?
The march was organised by women’s rights group «Ni Putes, Ni Soumises» (Neither Whore nor Submissive), a group fighting to improve the lot of Muslim women and girls in impoverished French neighborhoods.
There have been widespread reports of physical violence – including gang rapes – against girls and young women of North African origin.
Samira Bellil’s 2002 book «Dans l’Enfer des Tournantes» (In Gang-Rape Hell) gave France a rare firsthand, graphic account of the troubles women face, including her own experience of gang rape.
Another incident that highlighted the tragedies that befall women in the projects was the 2002 murder of 19-year-old Sohane Denziane, whose ex-boyfriend doused her with gasoline and set her on fire for breaking up with him.
Det er nærliggende å trekke en sammenheng med bilbrannene. Gjør vandalismen mot hus, skoler, busser, barnehaver, biblioteker, sportshaller, det lettere å overføre praksis fra Pakistan og India, der syreangrep og konebrenning ikke er uvanlig?
At dette skjer med jenter som våger å si nei, sender et sterkt signal til omgivelsene. Hvem våger å stå mot gruppepresset når straffen kan bli så forferdelig?
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At statsråden fordømmer forbrytelsen, høres ut som en fallitterklæring:
The French minister for social cohesion and sexual equality, Catherine Vautrin, described the attack on Chahrazad as a «horrible illustration» of male violence against women, which claimed the lives of 163 women in France in 2003 and 2004.
