In My Opinion

Vol XXVIII NO. 51 Tuesday 10 May 2005


By AMIRA AL HUSSAINI


"Amira, hasn't the GDN gone a bit overboard with stories about pimps, brothels and general prostitution?"

This is an SMS message I got on my mobile from a friend the other day.

In addition to being a dear friend, the sender is also a distinguished businessman and someone whose opinions I value and take to heart.

Instead of answering him in person, I chose to respond to it here, as I am fully aware that many readers find such stories disturbing.

As a Bahraini, I am shocked every time we hear about such incidents, even though they have become recurrent themes.

It hurts every time I hear about yet another woman being terrorised by thugs or a young boy or girl's innocence smeared by some human monster who thinks he can get away with his horrible act just because nobody is watching.

I am sorry we cannot change reality and the reality is that such things occur - even in our close-knit Muslim society.

Whether we like it or not, there are children being sexually abused, women raped and young boys sodomised and keeping quiet about it will not solve the problem overnight.

The latest story we carried in the GDN is about a muezzin, the very man who calls for prayer, who made sexual advances to a nine-year-old Bahraini boy at a Hamad Town mosque.

The case was heard in court and the judge jailed the 24-year-old muezzin for two years as a punishment for his hideous crime.

Did the GDN make up this story?

The answer is NO. We did not fabricate this story. In fact, it is not the first time that such a thing has happened in a place of worship and I am sad to say that it may not be the last time because there are hypocrites everywhere - even in mosques, churches, temples and government offices.

Instead of asking a newspaper to cover up on corruption in society, let's face reality and learn how to deal with it.

Maybe then we can come up with solutions and try and educate people about their rights and their responsibilities.

Covering up horror stories happening behind closed doors is not the solution. Sticking our heads in the sand won't take us anywhere and will definitely not take such problems away.

Not reporting those stories in newspapers will not mean that such ugly crimes are not happening in Bahrain.

Instead of blaming the GDN for carrying such stories, let's take a serious look at our society and see what it is that those perverts find sexually exciting in little girls and boys who should be left alone playing with their toys rather than be subjected to such life-damaging experiences.