Tale of two women<\/p>\n
Two villagers with almost identical backgrounds were pursuing
\na common dream for a better life. Fate would have it that they
\nunderwent a traumatic experience that forced them to commit
\nmurder. Yet, they could not have met more different fates. One
\nwas quietly beheaded last month, and the other has just managed
\nto escape the axe after a public outcry in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Soleha Anam Kadiran and Nasiroh Karmudin were two young women
\nwho joined the hordes of Indonesian villagers fleeing from rural
\npoverty to try their luck in a far away foreign land: Saudi
\nArabia. They were among those who left through government-
\nappointed labor export agencies to work in the oil-rich kingdom.
\nTheir presence in Saudi Arabia was legitimate, and they were
\neligible for the full support of the Saudi justice system.<\/p>\n
It is hard to envisage why two simple villagers who were
\nseeking a better life would want to destroy their dreams by
\ncommitting murder. That is unless they had been provoked.
\nSoleha's story was never told, and we will never know the truth.
\nBut our guess is that her story is not all that different from
\nNasiroh's, who committed murder in self-defense against
\nunrelenting abuses from her Saudi employer, or employers.<\/p>\n
But why should their fates be totally different?<\/p>\n
Soleha's case only surfaced after she had been executed last
\nmonth. Nasiroh would have met the same fate, had it not been for
\nthe public uproar here, and the subsequent diplomatic lobbying
\nand the assistance of the Indonesian embassy in Saudi Arabia. On
\nWednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the
\nwife of the victim in Nasiroh's case had decided to forgive her
\nand asked the court to spare her from the death penalty. Nasiroh
\nstill needs to serve a five-year jail term and will go free in
\nSeptember next year.<\/p>\n
Before news of Soleha's execution was first reported by the
\nSaudi press, nothing was ever heard of her, or her case, in
\nIndonesia. Even the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh learned of the
\nexecution from the Saudi press a day after it happened. The
\nembassy said its officials had tried to contact Soleha during her
\npolice detention and subsequent trial, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
Very few people in this country question the harsh Saudi penal
\nsystem which is based on the strict application of Syariah, the
\nIslamic law. Under this system, the punishment for murder is
\nexecution by beheading. As the world's largest Moslem country,
\nmost people in Indonesia do not quibble at the use of capital
\npunishment, which after all, is also used in this country.<\/p>\n
What provoked the public outcry was the fact that Soleha was
\nexecuted, with little, if any, assistance from the Indonesian
\ngovernment, in this case, the embassy and the relevant consulate
\noffice in Saudi Arabia. It begs us to question the function of
\nconsulate officials, whose chief job is to protect the lives and
\ninterests of all Indonesians, irrespective of their social and
\neconomic backgrounds, abroad.<\/p>\n
They should have made sure that Soleha was given full due
\nprocess of law under the Saudi justice system, which includes
\ncounseling, legal defense and the right to appeal. This is
\nstandard procedure for any consulate, and they would not have
\nbeen considered as interfering in the justice system of a foreign
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
It is a well known fact that foreign courts don't usually look
\ntoo kindly on migrants who commit crime. This is what most likely
\nhappened to Soleha. A simple village girl, all alone in a foreign
\ncountry and without anyone to turn to for help. She was tried and
\nconvicted in very unfavorable conditions.<\/p>\n
Justly or unjustly, Soleha met her fate. We cannot turn the
\nclock back. But we know she will find eternal justice in the
\nhereafter.<\/p>\n
Her death has not been for nothing though.<\/p>\n
The subsequent public outcry led to the revelation of an
\nanother impending death sentence, that of Nasiroh. It brought
\nprotests, some directed at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta,
\nand others at the Indonesian government. They were peaceful
\nprotests, and the Saudi embassy duly noted the concerns
\nexpressed. The Indonesian embassy and consulate officials in
\nSaudi Arabia this time made no mistake and went to Nasiroh's
\nassistance. The efforts paid off with the good news on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The moral lesson of this tale is that the smallest concern and
\nattention, by the public, media or the government, could make a
\nbig difference, and could save a live, or lives.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tale-of-two-women-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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