The Muslim Woman

Lately, the Women’s Freedom Organization of Iraq has put forward an astounding report which projects the growing practice of public executions of women by Shiite militias. One such ghastly incident of lynching has come to the fore, where a young woman was dragged by a wire wound around her neck to a close by soccer field and hung from the goal post. Then they perforated her body with bullets. Her brother rushed to defend her but unfortunately he was shot dead too. According to the members of Organization of Women’s Freedom, nearly 30 women are put to death monthly for honor-related reasons. It further stated that in comparison with the present situation, Iraqi women are worse off than they were under the Baathist regime in a country where, the women enjoyed some freedom and rights, which were not destined to women of the Middle East. Lamenting before the scenario, they said that before the invasion of the US, the condition of native women were not so deplorable in fact, they were given certain privileges. However, the status of women changed after the incursion. The United States gave prominence to a new group of leaders, most of who were associated with ultraconservative Shiite clerics. Among the Sunni minority, Continue reading “Iraq: Growing practice of women executions by Shiite militias” »

Female circumcision is a ‘rite of passage’ for young girls from childhood to adulthood. This cruel practice involves the removal of the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia. Followers of this practice believe that it is an effective way to curb a woman’s sexuality. It is often referred as female genital mutilation by the Amnesty International and the World Health Organization. The word mutilation is used to reinforce the idea that this barbaric practice is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Though, locally the term used widely is the less judgmental ‘cutting’. After all, no parent likes to think that they are mutilating their own daughters. Apart from the Middle East, female genital cutting is widely practiced in African countries, especially in the region from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia on the East coast. But now, due to immigration this practice is not confined to any specific region and has spread to Europe, Australia, and even the United States. British police are of the opinion that in Britain alone 66,000 girls face the risk of genital mutilation. According to Amnesty International, approximately 130 million women all over the world have been affected by some form of genital mutilation or the other. Despite the practice being banned in most countries, it is still a very enduring tradition, and more than 2 million such procedures are being performed every year. A very large section of tradition-bound families make their daughters undergo this genital cutting when they are on a vacation in their home countries. By doing so, the people involved in this crime can cover up their tracks and the girls get enough time to recover. Unfortunately, till the time this barbaric practice is completely stopped, millions of innocent girls worldwide will continue to suffer physical and emotional trauma all in the name of culture. via: Y!News

Iraq has been in the news ever since 2001. With the country being in the state of a perpetual war, women and children suffer the most, both, in social and economic aspects. Amidst such a climate, the atmosphere in Iraq is not very friendly, especially for women, who face threats not only from the militants and frenetic gangs who go looting Iraq, but also from their own family. The recent news of a murder of nineteen year old girl by her in-laws, just because she had an unknown number in her mobile phone, for the sake of honor, shows how blatant their idea about religion is. All the more, since Sharia law is incorporated in the constitution, the government is only able to sit and watch such crimes. This is true not only of Iraq, but many other middle-east countries. We all have memories of Taliban. But many other Middle East countries face these kinds of problems. A reason for such incidents is degeneration of the country itself ravaged by wars and suffering from many social evils. There is an unending fear factor in these countries, for most of these countries never know what peace is, because of which they fear change and stick to old laws trying to implement it. Many women in these countries are denied education- Afghanistan is still reeling under pressure. Some of the sects of Islam even prescribe rules and conducts for women, which they have to compulsorily abide by like the dress codes; laws regarding marriage seem quite absurd and many such forbidden laws preventing social upliftment of women. Any women emancipation program is derogatory to these people, for they are fearful of their own society, religion and world around-that seems too progressive to Islamic fundamentalists. And politics is so corrupt that there are hardly any leaders to curb the hard core fundamentalists and fanatics who make laws as they wish to keep women under control, denying them even basic freedom. The governments should first try to absolve tribal Islamic laws. It is such fundamentalists who are responsible for such honor killings and gang rape, for they try to make it legal. Some of the political governments are either in alliance with them or are silent, too bothered about their own household and their votes. Pakistan – where women are supposed to be free (though many of them suffer), does not find any women activists who have recourse to power to change the tide and though India does boast of Women Emancipation, it cannot deny that there are thousands of women who die everyday fighting for their lives. Unless the fear factor is removed completely from the minds of both men and women, it is difficult that people in Iraq or elsewhere would stand up to guard their honor and dignity. Source: The Independent Image: BBC

The title may be a bit misleading, especially if one were to go by the Western interpretations of the equation between women and radical Islamist groups in Middle East. Obviously the ground realities do not portray a very cheerful picture and, to some extent, feed such negative interpretations. However, women empowerment and radical Islam is a complex equation, which is changing, and from the looks of it for good. True enough, women in more pluralistic and tolerant societies like Egypt, Beirut and Lebanon are seeking to enhance their roles in societies – demanding greater say in decision making and changing status quo on women’s rights vis-a-vis Islam. But the interesting fact is that it is not the secular and liberal groups that are providing a forum for women but conservative groups like Hezbollah (Lebanon) and the Muslim Brotherhood (particularly in Egypt). Hence, the ‘anomaly’ in title. And yet the reasons for such an inconsistency are quite understandable. While the conservative groups tend to derive support from the Western lobbies, radical groups try to garner support from amongst the masses. Hence the latter tend to be more legitimate and popular. Also, the liberal groups tend to side with the West on most issues (including terrorism and Islam), thereby eroding their support base in society, which is still of conventional mindset. However, the biggest reason for Shias to suddenly pitch in for women has to do with changing political scenarios. Over the past decade or so, several radical groups have stepped into political mainframe. Democratic setup has meant that these groups must actively solicit support of women to ensure a broader cadre and voter-group. The result is that several women have come to the fore as leaders. The women in such organizations are entrusted with the tasks of reaching out to female voters and even running for offices, if need arises. Enhanced roles in political outfits, albeit radical ones, has meant that women in general, too, are beginning to challenge their accepted roles in society. Read the story of Ghazwa Farahat, Hezbollah-affiliated woman who won municipal elections in Beirut, to notice how such groups can actively pursue women and ask men to abide by their decisions. As a matter of fact, Hezbollah recognizes and promotes women’s rights, more so than other fundamental groups. Similar is the case with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Such developments can go a long way in improving the lot of Muslim women around the world. These developments are sure to give a jolt to the rigid interpretation of Western commentators on the role of women in Islamist organizations. It is bound to make them give due regard to the cultural, political and economic backgrounds while embarking on any sort of analysis. But more importantly so, such developments will go a long way in ensuring a broad base for feminist movements in Middle East, something which the so called liberals cannot do alone. Via Image Watch

‘Honor killings’, mostly targeting Palestinian women, are on the rise across Palestine and prove that women all over the civilized world are vulnerable to social injustice irrespective of religion and caste. The senseless violence against women has particularly increased since the bitter rivalry between Hamas and Fatah began earlier this year rendering the official Palestinian Authority voiceless and too weak to take any action against the perpetrators. Not only in Palestine but across the Middle East, hundreds of women and girls are murdered by male family members every year for the perceived misuse of their sexuality. Honor killing has become a thorny social issue in the region. Women rights activists claim that many such crimes remain unrecorded given that the killings are regarded as private family matters. But, even more astounding is the fact that these particular killings do not have any relation to Islam which has a lawful procedure in dealing with adultery cases. Honor killing emerged in the pre-Islamic era. It was deeply related to primitive Arab society which had powerful and strict tribal family rules. In Arab societies family is the most important compared to individuals and feelings are very strong regarding any sort of dishonor of the family or group. The voice of males is the most important to the family and various human rights activists claim that even rape victims have been murdered for dishonoring the family. Even false rumors about a woman having an affair are regarded to be true and the inevitable punishment is meted out to the poor victim. According to many families in Palestine, virginity is something that the woman must protect at all costs whether it is a forced sex or a consented one. Due to the continuous violence between Hamas and Fatah and years of anarchy, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has not been able to develop a constructive and cohesive framework in dealing with honor killings or violence against women as a whole. Due to lack of expertise and finance, the PA, cannot encourage the victims to report the incidents of violence and protect them from a family backlash. With no institutional law in place the women are hardly protected and the killers walk freely on most occasions. Image Link: 1, 2, 3, 4 Source Link: Csmonitor

Qatar, an Emirate on the western shores of Persian Gulf has made headlines for the wrong reasons. A study on violence against women, ‘surprisingly and eventually’ the first of their kind in the Emirate ‘has made a new statement’. ‘Women in Qatar readily overlook, when they are exploited’ Abuse generally includes physical torture, divorce threats, name-calling, rape and deliberate pregnancy. A significance percentage of women do not even have access to basic rights. Violence and discrimination against women and depriving them of their rights are not something new in this world. What is new, though is, some women justify these abuses and accept them happily! Sadly, this has emerged from the Islamic world, where women are only considered ‘objects’ governed by ‘wrongly interpreted’ holy rules of women behavior. A study conducted by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Qatar has thrown some shocking results. The results are indicative of over 40% of young women overlooking domestic violence against them, the ‘leading abusers’ beings husbands followed by relatives. The study also goes on to show a forceful percentage suffering abuse since childhood and some since adolescence. Young Qatari girls also suffer abuses Opinions on the results are divided with some targeting husbands directly, while others, striking at the dreadful husband-mother-in-law combination. It is also true that, ‘Domestic violence goes unpunished in majority of the cases”. There is an urgent need to empower women socially, politically and economically. There can no longer be a gender-divide in this world. While this message resonates across the borders of artificial nations of our world, one can only hope that positive action on this message will follow. It is also important to note that Qatar has not ratified the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). Many ‘Islamic Nations’ try to put religious principles far above issues that have to be ‘addressed in common’ across religions. News Source: Scorpical Image Credit: [1] [2]