Fornication - common illegal interaction in our society

Almost 90 percent of the people found guilty of “Zinay” ( fornication ) and sentenced to flogging in 2011 were female, according to new statistics published by the Department of Judicial Administration on October 2012.

A total of 129 fornication cases were filed 2012 and 104 people sentenced, out of which 93 were female. This includes 10 under age girls (below 18), 79 women between age 18-40 and four women above 40 years.

Of the 11 males who were sentenced, only one was a minor, with the others aged between 25-40.

According to Maldivian law, a person found guilty of fornication is subjected to 100 lashes and sentenced to one year of house arrest or banishment while a minor’s flogging is postponed until she or he reaches 18.

The Judicial Sector Statistics Report 2011 highlights the sheer scale of the long-known and unaddressed issues of gender bias in the justice system.

A 2004 UNICEF study titled “Gender issues in the Maldives Criminal Justice System” raised serious concerns over cases of ‘Zinay’ – both consensual and non-consensual alike.

As rape was at the time and is still defined as “forced fornication”, as with any other fornication case, four witnesses or a confession is still required by the court to prove the crime.

“In these cases a woman’s accusations need to be verified by two men or four women, thus, rape and sexual violence remain impossible to prove in virtually all cases,” the 2004 study noted.