Raped by Father and Brother: Shocking Crime Prompts Palestinian Demand For Stronger Laws

Despite the Attorney General's non-publication order, Palestinians took to social media platforms protesting social and criminal laws they thought "aren't strict enough" especially against rape, in the wake of a rape crime that shocked the public.

Only a few hours after Al Hadath newspaper reported the story of a 12-years-old girl who took refuge at a neighbor's house before revealing shocking details about being a victim of rape for many years.

The girl, whose identity remained anonymous, explained that her father and brother have repeatedly taken sexual advantages of her for years.

Several hours later, the Attorney General Akram Alkhatib issued a non-publication order, saying that it's best to wait for investigation results and to not "harm the child any further."

Reacting to the crime, Palestinians launched the trending  hashtag #نطالب_بحق_طفلة_رام_الله (We demand justice for the Ramallah kid); calling on authorities to hold the rapists accountable and to issue stricter laws that can guarantee an end to such violations.

Translation: "Before anything else, we damand full implementation of the CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of the Child so our kids are protected from these monsters, who have been crying over their symbols and religions (pretending to be ethical) while they have no connection to humanity whatsoever. You've constantly claimed you're a conservative society while in fact, you've only been protecting your vileness."

Some commentators argued that such crimes wouldn't have happened if the Palestinian Authority responsible for domestic security in the West Bank had strictly signed and abided by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) it had committed to back in 2014.

For years now, representatives of conservatives in Palestine have strongly opposed the CEDAW treaty, claiming that "it threatens Palestinian traditions and customs."

Online people linked the increasing rejection of CEDAW to the growing number of crimes and violations against women in the Palestinian society. They also argued that "authorities shouldn't allow misogynistic voices to control civil laws in the country."

Translation: "At such times of true atrocities like the rape of the Ramallah girl, I wish I'd hear voices of those who keep crying over things like the family protection law, the CEDAW treaty, and Hijab. Where are the conservatives who would comment on every post related to CEDAW when such crimes take place?"

According to a 2018 press release by the UN, "The State of Palestine had failed to introduce an integrated legal system to reduce gender-based discrimination and eliminate all violence against women and girls, or to adopt policies to change traditional attitudes and modify social and cultural patterns."