Raghda El-Sayed
Egyptian journalist and media personal Emad El Deen Adeeb was asked in an interview with Lebanese journalist Hisham Haddad about his opinion on the current political parties in Lebanon.
While the question is harmless, since Adeeb is a political journalist, he decided to ruin his legacy in just one sentence.
Out of all the examples he could’ve used to explain his point of view, he chose rape as an example. And no, not in a positive manner.
The media veteran said:
“Even in rape cases, the rapist has an important role to play, but if the raped woman does not want to be raped, then she’s a partner in crime.”
His interviewer, who’s famous for presenting “light” art and variety shows, and just recently started presenting political content’s response wasn’t any better.
Haddad jokingly told Adeeb: “Now they’ll criticize you.”
Egyptian and Lebanese feminists started criticizing Adeeb for his comments, which we don’t think are clever enough to send his message across. Yet, Adeeb or Haddad didn’t react to any of it.
Anyone who is interested in politics, or work in media, probably have tremendous respect for Adeeb. He’s one of the few who are actually good at what they do, and even those who disagree with his opinions still respected him as a journalist, which makes these comments even more horrific.
You’d think a cultured and educated journalist like Adeeb would know the definition of rape, but apparently not.
Let’s get to the basics because we clearly need that.
The definition of “Rape” according to Merriam-webster:
Unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception.
Since Mr. Adeeb here either never checked the actual meaning of “Rape” or has trouble understanding and lacks comprehensive skills, obviously, what you said does NOT apply to rape.
What you’re referring to is consensual sex, which still should not be shamed, but we’ll leave that to another rant.
Saying “the raped woman does not want to be raped” is the literal definition of rape. THIS IS WHY IT’S RAPE. I don’t even know how this is something we need to discuss.
How is it 2023, and the literal definition of rape is still unknown to people?
More importantly, till when will rape victims remain overlooked in middle eastern societies?
At this point, is it even worth the fight? Just a food for thought.
