People who are talking about Afghanistan and how we shouldn’t expand our military involvement in that country are ignorant of what women in many of these countries across the Middle East, but also into Central Asia experience. Hell of a deal the Taliban made in the Swat region of Pakistan that imposed Sharia.
Meanwhile, the Saudis continue their brutal 15th century treatment of women.
A 75-year-old widow in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for mingling with two young men who are not close relatives, drawing new criticism for the kingdom’s ultraconservative religious police and judiciary. …
State spokesperson Robert Wood was asked over and over again in yesterday’s briefing about the issue of possible Taliban negotiations and how the Obama administration will reconcile this with Clinton’s commitment to women’s civil rights. Wood wouldn’t answer the question in any meaningful way, stating simply that the policy is under review and that Clinton’s passions towards Afghanistan women is steadfast.
That’s undeniable, but it’s a real issue as people review our Afghanistan policy and the reality of having to negotiate with the Taliban. It’s what got Steve Clemons and I into a debate recently, when he agreed with an article Dana Priest had written, agreeing that tunneling out women from Afghanistan may be our reality. I took him to serious task for his statements made in an interview with Rachel Maddow. Steve and I talked about this at the Middle East forum I covered recently, as he mentioned my criticism several times that day, agreeing that it’s not only a difficult subject but one worth discussing. The door is open for more debate between Steve and myself in the future. But others against a stronger military presence in Afghanistan, even as we negotiate with the Taliban, don’t seem to get the price that will be paid by the women. I also wonder how anyone expects to keep that country from becoming a failed state, as is Obama’s goal, without addressing the issue of women’s rights. You can’t have a stable country without them.
It will be interesting to see if Secretary Clinton weighs in on the 75-year-old woman whom the Saudis have decided to punish in a manner (I’ve got a call in) that is as barbaric as it is flagrantly against Clinton’s core belief in women’s rights being human rights.
When the Internet took off years ago (remember Compuserve and Prodigy?) – I saw immediately how it would push outright globalization into high gear. Thanks to it, we can now be *very* aware of events (some simply outrageous) in other parts of the world.
I spent a few years in (generic) chat rooms and made many friends from all over the world. I talked to 30 year old South African whites that told me they were taught in grade school Blacks were, “Animals that leave human footprints.”
Perhaps the most memorable was a discussion of Marijuana with a young gal in Singapore. When I asked if kids used grass there, she got a good laugh. “Obviously you’re not aware, possession of grass in Singapore is punished with the death penalty.
Thanks to the Internet, we may cure, and care about, many ills of the world – and Sharia is tops on that list.
so is fundamentalist Christianity.
justlen says:
10 March 2009 at 10:49 am
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You’ve got that right. Christianity like Islam has been totally perverted and corrupted by those who use religion as a weapon for control of others. It’s misinterpreted and abused all to keep those who are ignorant and uneducated in line.
My former colleague is Syrian and Moslem. During the years I traveled and worked with him he educated me on Islam and the Qur’an(and I don’t pretend to be an expert on Islam of the Qur’an). It was particularly important for me to understand what restrictions and prohibitions were placed on abortion and the use of contraceptives because I was working in Moslem countries. According to my colleague there are none. He has been and remains horrified at the way the Islamic fundamentalists have used the Qur’an against the people of the Islamic faith,especially women. As the father of 7 daughters, no sons, it sickens him to see that the fundamentalists are harming women instead of protecting them, something that is very much a part of the Qur’an. He believes that many Moslem men harbor a great fear of, and hatred of women because of what they have been taught or not taught about sexuality. But we can find this in the history of Christianity also. All we have to do is study the Inquisition of the Dark Ages and we see how men, especially of the clergy, were terrified of their attraction to the opposite sex. They blamed women for their passion and were convinced that women were the devil incarnate.
The only solution to the kind of abuse against women in the Moslem world is to educate and that is going to take several generations. You can legislate laws (which may be a beginning as the US did with civil rights) but unfortunately you can’t legislate attitudes or belief; you can only teach until these beliefs and attitudes become extinct in future generations.
I hope that SOS Clinton takes the Saudis to task on lashing for this woman; as someone who is almost as old as she I’d be lashed every week for the number of young men I talk to on a daily basis. I’m not being facetious when I say this. This whole concept makes me shudder for what I consider to be an innocent behavior.
I want us to remember the women in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan reverts back to total Taliban control, it is the women who will suffer horribly, especially those who have been brave and courageous enough to go to school and throw off the burka.
This poor 75 year old woman – who in their right mind could do this to her? It’s just beyond horrific. It really sickens me. I don’t see how the Middle East can rise or prosper without the women being a part of the human rights issue. Hillary should make a strong statement on this. If she can’t/won’t, who will? I’m glad you put a call in regarding this, Taylor.
You think we are the world’s saviors?
Why?
We can’t even keep our own financial system afloat.
Heck, we apparently can’t even translate well in Russian.
*arrrrgggghhhhhh*