Discrimination against the unwed mother runs like a red thread through the history of Western civilization. It became blatant in eighteenth-century France (and Germany and, undoubtedly, in other European countries). It did not matter how the infant had been conceived, i.e., by way of rape, excessive pressure, prostitution as a means to stay alive; the father was only interesting as a source of money. Whatever punishable acts were committeed, such as abandonment or killing of a baby, the guilt was fastened exclusively on the mother, and the penalty was usually a cruel death ... the condemned woman was faced with a variety of death penalties, of which decapitation was considered the most merciful. Other means were burial alive, impalement, and "sacking" (drowning), which was frequently the penalty of choice.... The infanticidal mother was stuffed into a black sack together with a dog, a cat, a rooster, or a viper. The sack had to remain under water for six hours and the choir boys sang "Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu Dir." Then the deceased was interred.
SIRAH DALAM MENEGAK PERUBAHAN SOSIAL MENGIKUT PANDANGAN SYEIKH SAID RAMADAN AL-BUTI