The Muslim Woman

There are between 1,000 and 3,000 women in Israel who are subjected to sex slavery, and there is an intensive commerce in women in the country. Girls as young as twelve are being lured into the pretext of wealth and prosperity in the west but instead of making their dreams come true, they are held into the noose of sex trade, this is the ground reality that is taking place in Israel and the issue has been surfaced by Canadian journalist and social activist Victor Malarek. A report postulated that women are sold to pimps for as much as $10,000 each, work 14-18 hours a day, charge about $30 a client but receive only a small fraction of the money for themselves. Statistics have revealed that there are more than 10,000 trafficked women and at least 280 brothels in Tel Aviv alone, this is more than enough to assume the condition in whole of Israel. While talking to Jewish Tribune, Malarek said, Newspaper ads from modeling and employment agencies promise exciting jobs, but the women are duped. They must submit, or they are raped, beaten and tortured. The irony of the situation is that, the UN troops instead of acting as a peacekeeping force are playing the part of predators. They are actually molesting the girls sexually, in Kosovo to be more specific. Sex- slavery: A ‘budding trade’ in the nation The so called ‘business’ is churning around 12 billion dollars a year, compelling more than 800,000 women yearly to make a choice between prostitution and death. UNICEF too has given out a statement, according to which, nearly, 1.7 billion kids are swindled annually with a decrease in the age of victims every year. Malarek further added that government isn’t taking the issue seriously as it brings in money along with it. And who would deny such a huge capital? The women are shown false colors of good social conditions and hence they are motivated to fulfill their dreams but unfortunately, it was nothing more than a mirage. They land up in nightclubs and bars from there they are send to brothels where they become puppets in the hands of buyers. Upon questioning, authorities in Israel said that there is ‘no law against trafficking people, and no law against prostitution’, and also that they are not in a position to take any legal action against the perpetrators because the victims are too scared to speak out anything. While talking to Reuters, Rachel Benziman the legal advisor to the Israeli Women’s network said, It’s not a problem of finding the right section in the criminal code. It is more a problem of finding the women who will testify and finding the motivation. Now, the question of the hour is, will the women ever experience a day-light of freedom? What do you have to say? Image: [1], [2]

The fatty and bulldozer sized women folk of Mauritania are now coming out of age. They are shedding their biased ethos of being bulky and putting themselves in to exercise regimen to shape and size their bodies. Though, the thousands of women living in the rural areas are yet to be convinced of the health hazards caused due to their over sized figures, the welcome trend seems to be making inroads to different parts of this desert nation. The female obesity is a part and parcel of Mauritania culture. Feminine heaviness and masculine skinny figures are thought to be perfect matching for sexual intercourse and family reproduction. The bulkiness of women is also considered crucial to the wealth and prestige of the family. The obese brides are more sought after and rich people are willing to pay more bride fee to the family. The poets and ballads also glorify the feminine bulkiness as an epitome of beauty. Surveys have also quite often exposed the uncanny interest among the ladies to add fat to their body even by taking hormone-increasing drugs. The practice of system of gavage or forced feeding is also prevalent in rural Mauritania. Girls are forced to drink more and more camel milk and intake butter and oil containing enormous fat. There are incidents where special sessions in the village are held to make women folk take food lashed with fat. But, the growing awareness programme launched by the national government and supported by non-governmental organizations are paying dividend. Mauritanian women are increasingly adopting exercise practices to remain fit and shed fats. Now, they are well aware of the possible health hazards like diabetes, heart strokes, high blood pressure and other miseries. The slim-down campaign unleashed by the women’s ministry is well appreciated by the fair sex in the urban Mauritania. However, females living in the rural and interior parts of Mauritania are yet to be reached. Overpowered by the Islamic values and the male dominated society, they have no alternative, but to abide by tribal lust for flesh and fat. There are also incidents where girls died of torture when they refused to add fat to satisfy their male folks. Image1 Image2 Via: NY Times

A section of poor Muslim women often face the brutality of a male-dominated society. Women and girls all over the world(of all religions and nationalities)are not safe from violence and exploitation in the so called ‘age of globalization and information technology’. We still love to follow the cruel adaptations of our primitive lives that structured our religious and national identities. It pains me to read widespread reports of ‘Honour Killings’ among the Islamic society. According to old Muslim values, its the female who bears the family decency and the males are to defend it at any cost. In simple words, its the woman or girl who must pay with her life for any dishonor that befalls upon her family and society due to her actions. In most Arab societies, women are solely responsible for the protection of their virginity, the loss of her most precious asset in incidents, other than in proper marriage, would inevitably lead to death. Most honor killings are done by the girl’s own family members. Sometimes it is astounding when people justify honor killings in the name of Islam. I am absolutely sure that the Great Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would not have advised such horrific followings. The killings are extensions of old Arab and nomadic rituals that have been in existence long before Islam’s advent to this plane. Due to the raising of voice among many Muslim women with the help of media, we are coming to know the senseless violence that are being meted out to the women who knowingly or even mistakenly fail to follow the rigorous steps. These conservative religious teachings are results of personal radical ambitions and age-old beliefs of depriving the feminine society. Media is not the only way of relieving these poor women. The time has come for the heads of states to come up with modern ideas to combat radicalism and blind beliefs. Image: Hinduonnet Source: Boston Globe

A female, the most sublime creation of God, is merely an item of barter in Afghanistan. Although, the Taliban era has ended, yet the side effects remain. Debts are paid off, family feuds solved, murder accusation charges restrained, thanks to the daughters of the home who are exchanged for alleviating all such tension from their home. The brutal Taliban regime was an era of women harassment in which the women were forced to be only a decorative item of their households and never let to step out of the premises of their house. However, years after the brutal masters were thrown out, women in Afghanistan continue to suffer, now at the hand of their family. Unable to see their family through pain, few of the girls of the house offer to sacrifice their much-cherished freedom for the sake of rest of the members of the family. While others are forced into marriages against their wishes, in which they have to suffer as some are married to a person equivalent to the age of their father or in some cases the groom is their grandfather’s age. The poor and battered Afghanis have no option to pay off their long drawn debts, but to lend their girls in exchange to evade away their overdue amounts. Not only this, the girls are also used to mitigate any feudal differences, disputes and also to cleanse any charge of murder. It is really disheartening that even in this age, when women rights activists are on a high, females are traded off, forced into brothals, and married against their wish to live a life wiping their tears because of harassment at the hands of their in laws. Not only this, violence against the fair sex remains widespread in which they are beaten up to live a life of seclusion from the society. However, the lucky ones are those whose families have no debts to pay off or no disputes to settle. Only such among the poor Afghani families, girls can dream to step out of their homes and make a life of their own and not forced into marriages. Times can be expected to change, with the women rights activities gaining in importance, females themselves realizing and cherishing their freedom, and getting involved in activities from household chores to earning their livelihood that has helped in shedding the long drawn conservative outlook of traditionalists such as Shinwaris. And as time advances, educated Afghani youth have to take up cudgels against such traditional practices of bartering girls for any kind of activity. Only then the future of Afghani girls can be thought to be safe. Image Image2 Via: Usatoday

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

The West might rebuff it as preposterous while the East might defend it as its tradition, but arranged marriages nonetheless cannot be ruled out in the Asian culture. Marriages in these countries are more of a contract between two families and little of a choice between two individuals. With changing times and advent of technology, the Asian societies are becoming more liberal allowing more liberty in asserting one’s discretion in choosing one’s life partner. However, the Saudi society has not only maintained its centuries old belief of separation of sexes but any intermingling of the two genders outside marriage is interpreted as blasphemy. Even after engagement, couples are not allowed to meet each other. If a man is caught talking to an unrelated woman, he will be arrested and flogged for his audacity. Family honor is what the Saudi society stands for. If people in the West feel that the Saudi youths are extremely unhappy with the strict social norms then they are wrong. Despite of flash of rebellions now and then, Saudis by large accept their religious and cultural obligations. Like youthful indulgence, Saudi men and women try to contact each other through mobile phones and taking a cue from the West even plan their honeymoons. However, one question that remains to be answered is, are these strict social norms bringing real happiness to Saudi households. Divorces are rising at an alarming rate in Saudi Arabia. It has the second highest rate of divorces in the world. The marriage court registers 40 marriages and 20 divorces a day. According to a study conducted by Dr. Ebtisam Halawani at King Abdul Aziz University, main reasons for women, leaving their spouses was ill-treatment and violence. Polygamy was responsible for up to 55% of divorces while involvement of husbands in illicit affairs accounted for 38% of divorces. It shows that not allowing one to know the person who one is going to marry does not guarantee conjugal bliss. Source: Times Online Image

No doubt, the monster of terrorism is engulfing the world day by day but along with this, there is a creeping predicament that too is swallowing up human race but there’s a difference in this case. Here the victims are women, from ‘crimes of passion’ to ‘dowry deaths’, not to mention domestic violence, many types of aggression against women occur at the hands of family members. The so-called ‘honor killing’ of women and girls in some Muslim nations is one horrifying manifestation of this global phenomenon. Is there any kind of punishment which could be bestowed upon the people who bring about honor killings? The answer is in negation at least in Islam. However, a case has surfaced where such perpetrators have been sacked behind bars. Last year, Banaz Mahmod, a 20-year-old girl was throttled to death after brutally assaulted by her own father and uncle in Britain, where cases like these are not new. At a pre-sentence hearing it emerged that Banaz, 20, had been raped and tortured before being killed. Both of the accusers have been sentenced to life imprisonment in London after being found guilty of ordering the killing. The poor girl met such a fate after her elders discovered her love for a man who was not from their village. Banaz Mahmod was married off when she was 17 however she has fallen in love with an Iranian Kurd, Rahmat Suleimani, 28. And both of them were secretly seeing each other. Consequent upon which, the girl met with such a terrible fate. The killing surfaced when Hama, one of the doers, found boasting the act in front of his pal in the prison. Recounting vivid images of strangulation he said, The wire was thick and the soul would not just leave like that. We could not remove it. All in all it took five minutes (to strangle) her. I was kicking and stamping on her neck to get the soul out. I saw her stark naked, without wearing pants or underwear. He described how her body parts were sticking out of the suitcase, You know what it was, sticking out, her elbow, her hair was falling out so much. That was a stupid thing, a silly thing. After stuffing the body into the suitcase, they buried it in a garden in Birmingham, where it was found three months later. Think about it! Is it feasible to make place for such a religion into the terrain of societies that nourish such horrendous affairs? Words cannot describe the anger and hate I feel to those communities that condone such terrifying acts. Via: The Age

He was brainwashed, otherwise he was a very good human being, this is what Hasina Patel, the widower of the gang leader of the July 7 suicide bombings thinks about her husband. I pray for him because I feel there was a good person in there but feel he was probably misled and brainwashed by the wrong people said she. Although, she’s full of sympathy with the bomb victims yet she denies her ‘shauhar’, Mohammad Sidique Khan, to be in league with the evil perpetrators. She divulged that he had stocked up more than $800 to buy toys for their ‘children’ not knowing that the second and the expected one underwent miscarriage on the morning of the bombings. Musing over to the harrowing day of London bombings, she disclosed how she developed certain apprehensions about her second child (who was still in the womb). She ran from pillar to post, tried all her means to contact her husband, left numerous messages but all was in vain, finally, when she reached home (from hospital) she witnessed the aftermath of blasts which were flashing onto the television screens. Reminiscing her past she said they had love marriage and were sharing good days together but as time passed, he became more interested in religious fundamentalism and then active jihad. Being a radical Muslim, she never dared to question her husband, her master. She mentioned his staying out of house for long hours. But she insisted that she had no idea regarding his involvement with the extremists. And hence it was difficult of her to believe his chipping in the bombings. In an interview with Sky news, she said that in spite of being his wife, she fails to understand why her husband blew himself up aboard. she said, How you can be so calculated and cold and not have any emotions, how can people do that? She feels that she had lost her identity and would always be associated with the bombings. Image

All the religions in the world teach only two things- love and peace. However, human beings, for their selfish motives, mould the religion, and create discrimination and hatred. Islam represents a religion of humanity, love and peace. Unfortunately, due to the wrong deeds of some misguided Muslims, the entire Islam community has been blamed in recent times. Islamic political values have always been misunderstood. Is the Islamic political system a rival to democracy? The Islamic political system places firm belief in sovereignty of the Almighty, or Allah. The total Muslim Population in the year 2009 was 1.82 billion. Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco have the largest Muslim population in the world. The word ‘Islam’ refers to peace. Like all other religions, Islam teaches its followers to live harmoniously with fellow human beings. Islam does not practice any form of compulsion. This religion does not tolerate oppression. There are hundreds of successful people all over the world who follow the principles laid down in the Islamic religion. There are many cities that have large Muslim communities. The purpose of such communities is to promote the principles of Islam, and help Muslims get their due respect. One must understand that all human beings are equal in the eye of God. We must not, therefore, label a person as a Muslim or a Christian. Religions exist to help people become disciplined, and not to make them wage wars. The city of Boston also has a large Muslim community. Most of the Muslims in Boston originally belong to Asian counties like India and Pakistan. Hundreds of Muslims in Boston dwell in Boston, MA Apartments. Boston is a beautiful city located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is also the largest city in Massachusetts. It is the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Sound of thumping feet, the warming up sessions, dust flying into the air as members of a team pace round and round, followed by a ‘ritual’ of wearing boxing gloves, targeting punch bags. Doesn’t it seem as if some squad is preparing for a league of boxing? But wait there’s a bit alternation in here, women constitute ‘the team’ and astonishing part in the whole scenario is that, the place is Afghanistan. Astonishment yes! Nation where women are not allowed to take a single step without seeking permission are preparing themselves for such kind of situation indeed is a matter of bewilderment. Fraternity of new generation is fully equipped to explode the stereotypical notion of Afghan women, who were regarded nothing more than ‘shadowy figures’ concealed from head to foot behind powder-blue burqas. The fitness center, where these women are having this workout is in fact situated in a football stadium, which was quite a ‘fame’ during the Taliban years, as it was a place especially demarcated for carrying out public executions, including women. Idea behind such sessions is to give native women the much desired respect and to retrieve boxing as a sport in the strife torn country by making martial arts constructive than destructive, personifying it as ‘fighting for peace’. The boxers are in their late teens upon asking, one of them said that from recreational point of view, they are into it while there are others who want to take it as their lifelong profession. People who are working behind the scene are expecting to unite the Province which has been disintegrated by the ongoing conflict that keeps the nation ‘occupied’ in its own way. If you get involved in sport then you stay out of war. In the past there was war between different peoples in Afghanistan, but a sport like boxing brings people together. It’s not fighting. It’s a competition. It’s good to hear that women too are showing a positive response by indulging themselves in such sports. It’ll be instrumental in taking away the element of shyness from them making them more assertive and authoritative which they actually need in reality. Only then they may fight against the ‘jungle rule’ of male chauvinistic society. Go on ladies! Via: BBC