SHARIA'H LAW
Under Sharia’h Law, unmarried women who engage in sexual acts or are impregnated are liable for the crime of fornication or adultery. Punishment for the two acts varies depending on the judges and whether the person is Muslim or not. Usually, persons found guilty of fornication are flogged. Men are flogged standing and women while sitting. Punishment for adultery, on the other hand, varies depending on the circumstances. If the guilty party is married, he or she is sentenced to death by stoning, beheading, or shooting. Proof that a person has committed this crime must be established by confession or by four witnesses to the act. Likewise, rape victims must have at least four Muslim-male witnesses or else the victims risk being charged with fornication or adultery.
The family of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who claimed to have been raped is asking for help after she was sent to jail by her employer in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Dennis Neri, an OFW based in Doha, Qatar, told GMANews.TV that his 36-year-old sister Nerissa was raped last August by unknown men in Dammam where she works as a janitress. “
Nung August pauwi siya galing ng trabaho, bigla siyang nilagyan ng panyo sa mukha, tapos ayun nangyari na (Last August when she was on her way home from work, somebody suddenly put a handkerchief on her face, and then it happened)," he said in a phone interview on Wednesday. He said Nerissa did not tell them about the incident right away. This month, however, her sister suddenly had the urge to return to the Philippines. He said his sister’s employer obliged, on the condition that she will undergo a medical examination. “
Pinamedical siya, nalaman na buntis siya, dinala siya sa kulungan sa Dammam (She was asked to undergo a medical examination, it was found out that she was pregnant, her employer brought her to a jail in Dammam)," he said. Under Sharia’h Law, unmarried women who engage in sexual acts or are impregnated are liable for the crime of fornication or adultery. Punishment for the two acts varies depending on the judges and whether the person is Muslim or not. Dennis said his sister has been in jail since September 11. Nerissa has since told him and their mother Deofila in the Philippines about what happened to her last August. “
Ang tagal kasi niyang hindi nagsalita, nagpilit din kasi siyang umuwi (She took too long to tell us, she also persisted in going home)," Deofila told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview on Wednesday. She said they have already brought her daughter’s case to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and to Senator Manuel Villar, who has been helping repatriate distressed OFWs. Deofila said Nerissa’s agency, the Alhabeshi International Services Inc., has said they could not contact the OFW’s employer. On the other hand, Vice Consul Paul Saret told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Wednesday that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Al-Khobar has already been informed of Nerissa’s case. “They have already learned of her situation and they will be sending people there," said Saret.
- GMANews.TV 
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