Syrian uprising: Imam tells rape victims they deserve to be honored

Women Under Siege, a group that documents rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war, launched a crowd-sourced initiative today to map instances of rape in Syria.

The group has mapped 21 instances of sexual violence in Syria so far. (Women Under Siege) As the group gathered reports, director Lauren Wolfe said, it found something striking. “Generally women are shunned when they are raped in war. They sometimes are not allowed to go home, and whole families can be dishonored,” she said. “But what’s really interesting is that we have a report that an imam called for Syrian women who were raped to be honored, for people to embrace them. He said they’re raped and so they are heroes.”

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syrian-uprising-imam-tells-rape-victims-they-deserve-to-be-honored/2012/03/28/gIQAewdEhS_blog.html