Dr Mariya Ali

This article examines the challenges in protecting victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) in collective societies, as these acts continue to be viewed through an honour lens. Children, especially girls, are often exposed to such abuse, violating the rights afforded to them under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unlike the human rights paradigm – which is based on the premise that children are unable to give consent and that the sexual act perpetrated on a child is abusive – in collective societies children are seen as protagonists and the sexual act threatens the honour of the child and the family. Hence, restoring honour becomes the priority, and victims are forced to take the blame and are sometimes even killed by the family. When reported to the authorities, re-victimisation of the child within the system is inevitable, as the honour ideology colours the judicial process and is justified by conservative interpretations of the Shari’ah. This article engages with various approaches put forth by Islamic scholars to challenge the honour ideology as well as harmonise human rights and Islamic law. The objective of this article is to highlight the potential of a humanistic Islamic framework – the doctrines of al-maqasid al-shariah and maslahah – to challenge the honour ideology by illustrating the congruency between the two paradigms. Namely, that CSA violates the fundamental rights of the victim considered under maslahah, which mirrors the stipulated rights under international human rights documents.