Saturday, December 3, 2011

but woe to all women; how unfortunate, how unlucky

Some years ago while stationed in a foreign country I was told how lucky I was to be born an American.  The plight of the average citizen in that far away place was not exactly comforting...and as I witnessed similar conditions in other countries throughout my travels those lucky words echoed through the chambers of my mind. It wasn't until years later that I realized it was not only the country of birth that mattered; it was the religious mindset of the country. In America, the body politic of our Founding Fathers followed the principles of Christianity and as luck would have it, I was born a Christian.  Now, no one has control over which religious sect that awaits them at birth nor, for that matter, which country.  But how unlucky it is for those poor souls born into a repressive governing body that follow the even more repressive principles of Islam.  Men may dominate these repressive regimes, but woe to all women; how unfortunate, how unlucky...  ~ Norman E. Hooben
The following from: NPR
For Afghan Women, Rape Law Offers Little Protection
by
This week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the pardon of a 19-year-old Afghan woman who was imprisoned for adultery after being raped by a relative, in a case that has attracted international media coverage.

But what happened to the woman, Gulnaz, who has been in prison for two years, is not an isolated episode.

Many other women have suffered similar fates. A recent U.N. report suggests that laws to protect women in Afghanistan from rape and forced marriage are still not being enforced — with devastating results.

That much is evident at the Badem Bagh Women's prison in Kabul. It's a desperate place, made worse by the fact that many of its inmates are there for being the victims of rape and assault. Women are regularly imprisoned for refusing to marry, for running away from their husbands, and for "adultery" when they are raped.
That's what happened to Gulnaz.

"The Afghan government says I have committed a crime. That's not true. My rights have been violated yet I am being punished as a criminal. All I want now is to get out of here," she told NPR in a prison interview before her pardon was announced.

Gulnaz — like many Afghans, she goes by only one name — says her cousin's husband found her alone at home one day when her mother had taken her cousin to see a doctor. He tied her hands and raped her. She was afraid to tell anyone, but two months later her morning sickness gave her away: She was carrying the rapist's child. When she went to the police they arrested the rapist, but they also arrested Gulnaz for adultery.
Gulnaz's baby girl, now 9 months old, was born on the floor of the prison. Story continues here
See also: ...enslaving and raping captives is a permitted & approved practice of Islam.

1 comment:

Mathias said...

It's sad to think that in many parts of the world still no full freedom, just manipulation, human rights violations, abuse and injustice ... Utopian thinking is world peace ...

matus - recetas faciles