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Speak out against women abuse

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Speak out against women abuse

by Abdullah Saeed

The Star-May 12, 2009 Edition 1

I refer to the article "Abuse of Muslim gets worse", (Star, May 04).
Violence against women is a human rights violation and is a behaviour that knows no culture, religion, race, tradition, social status or country. It is one of the biggest scourges in our communities and there can be no justification for it.
Blaming acts of domestic violence on religion and other factors serves only to conceal and distract us from the truth – domestic violence is a reality in every community and we have not yet dedicated the necessary resources to challenge and change this.
According to statistics, one out of every three women in the world has been a victim of violence in her lifetime, violence against women is one of the four major causes of death on the planet today and 30 percent of women are being physically injured by their partners.
We need to break the culture of silence and motivate victims to speak out against violence.

Pietermaritzburg

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Open letter to yasmin alibhai brown

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Open letter to Yasmin Alibhai Brown

 

Assalaamualakum

 

I read your article “Abuse of Muslim women gets worse” with interest.

Let us establish one thing at the outset. A Muslim country is not necessarily Islamic. I hope you understand that.

 

In your article, you quote numerous examples of Muslim women being abused by Muslim men. You may be correct, I do not know. Your statement that “female oppression in Islamic Countries is getting worse”, is manifestly wrong because there is no country in the world, Muslim or non-Muslim, that subscribes to Shari’ah law. Therefore, they cannot be referred to as ’Islamic’ by any stretch of the imagination.

The oppression of females is a world wide phenomenon and not confined to Muslim countries only. Remember the Austrian gentlemen? In our own country, the ‘Barbie-doll’ case? Italian Prime Minister, Berlusconi’s ex-wife about his “roving eye”? This is mental abuse. Oh yes, do not forget the Kwa-Zulu Natal school where teachers have been suspended for the sexual abuse of female students.  A female social worker was abused by an SAPS member while she lay on the ground in Pretoria. A taxi driver was sentenced to life- imprisonment for the brutal rape and murder of a young passenger. The ‘mini-skirt attack at Noord Street taxi rank? A 40-year old man was killed in a mob justice attack for rape. A 20-year old British girl was raped in a police cell in Laos and is now 5 months pregnant. She has been in prison for 8 months. A doctor is being held for raping 2 patients in hospital. The list is endless. What’s the point? You may ask. In all the examples I have quoted, nowhere, but nowhere is it reported that these crimes were committed in a Christian country!

May I remind you that the feminist movement has given rise to allied industries such as the day-care, fashion, fast food and pornographic enterprises? It is no coincidence that women have become worthless commodities in the market place and ultimately their enslavement by the capitalist elite.

 

If I understand you correctly, a mother and wife who serves tea to her husband and children, is slavery. If she provides this service to strange men, at the risk of their never-ending advances, in a restaurant, office or aircraft, she is emancipated, strange logic, don’t you think?

The “progressive” career woman has a flip side that is rarely talked about, for fear of being labelled ‘ancient’ or a ‘dinosaur’. The reality is that she has abdicated her role as a mother and a wife. The mother will always be the centre of a solid family and hence a solid nation. Family conflicts, mental disorders, depression and bulimia are often serious side-effects of the so called free and liberated society. This “successful” career woman often loses her God-given honour and introduces deceit and tension within the family.

 

Ms Alibhai-Brown, women in Islam are the creatures of modesty, the hijaab is their outer protection from the decadents of this life. Modesty and humility are part of the belief structure of Muslims. Women in Islam do not beatify themselves for the world to see. Attempts to force Muslim women to adopt your standards contravenes this sense of modesty.

 

Bibi Ayesha Laher

 

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Response to yasmin alibhai brown

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Response To Yasmin Alibhai Brown

In January, 2008 The Star  reported on senior British cabinet minister Jack Straw calling for Muslim women in Britain to ‘unveil’ another. Besides a few token scorn ful and dismissive Muslim responses in the UK and elsewhere to the call by Straw, one of those self-appointed western do-gooders who consider themselves the knights in shining armour awaited anxiously by ‘Muslim’ women like myself to “save” them from the  perceived drudgery and oppression inflicted on them by their male co-reli gionists, Straw’s straying onto the realms of centuries’ old Islamic traditions and val ues was considered a non-event and was totally ignored. Since there was not a single reported case of a veiled Muslim woman anywhere jumping up and proclaiming her new ‘liberation from ‘veil oppression’ because of Straw’s intervention the message from the other side was clear: Muslim women accept of their free volition and choice the need to don the veil, burkha or scarf as well as their role in Muslim societies as the modest, inwardly mobile home-makers a role many a western woman only now accepts is her lot..

There is now the spectre of another self-appointed duo of saviours of Muslim women in the form of Claire Soares and self-hating Muslim (?) Yasmin Alibhai-Brown with their biassed and sensationalistic stories of alleged abuses of Muslim women ( 5  May ) with their sweeping generalizations against all Muslim societies as women abusers.

Shamelessly Soares, while conceding that Delara Darabi confessed to murdering her father’s wealthy cousin and was convicted of the crime, has the gall to condemn the woman’s execution as some form of targeting of only women for abuse. What the mur murderess’ paintings has to do with her sentence and execution is beyond reason.    

It has certainly not dawned on Alibhai-Brown, ranting about four distinct and isola ted cases ( of which the report sale by a man of his daughter in marriage needs the most virulent condemnation and demands that the father be locked up for life ) that “in the UK young girls are covered up in hijab as a matter of choice” and notwithstan ing it being disgraceful, backward, terroristic, savage, degrading and obscurantist ( all provocative appellations used by the author).

Roxana Saberi is a convicted spy who confessed to her crime and, as always happens with convicted – especially Euro-American – felons the confessions are withdrawn on ly when Alibhai-Brown type of journalists, on the lookout for sensationalistic stories about Islam/Muslims/Arabs, pull a case out of a hidden bag and pay the dollars for the stories. Justice must take its course and the convict must pay the price.

Not surprisingly Alibhai-Brown has had the good sense not to attempt to record any Muslim country where the law validates abuse of women. Perhaps there are such countries in the non-Muslim world. Pray enlighten us Yasmin Nightingale.

Of course abuse of women, children and men can never be and is not condoned in any civilized society and this includes the Muslim world. And of course it is offensive for any man ( or woman ) whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country to stare at a female with lust as happens every day and everywhere ( don’t the women dressing provocatively or semi-nude not invite this solicited attention? ) so why this sorry state of affairs in Muslim societies deservers special mention just does not make sense.  Perhaps Alibhai-Brown will ask herself whether she does not secretly desire a second from the roving eyes of the hundreds of sex-starved males the world over.

It is the notorious Muslim apostates like Tasleema Nasreen (of Bangladesh and now India), Salman Rushdie (of India and now New Zealand) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali (of Somalia and now the US after her illegal sojourn in the Netherlands) who base their whole notion of “freedom” for Muslims on one thing and one thing alone – remove and/or outlaw the veil in all its forms and voila their Muslim female charges will be free, free and free just like the freedom (?) brought to Afghanistan and Iraq. And notwithstanding that true western-style democracy means allowing the people to opt for a religious/theocratic state and practices – so why not let them?

I am a 41 year old professional Muslim woman. Like most Muslim females I don the veil and will not dream of leaving home without my whole body fully covered and ha ving at least a scarf over my head. This I do by choice and not under pressure from my husband, son or father. My friends and family members do likewise and do so out of choice. In my travels to Muslim countries I have met dozens of Muslim women with exactly the same views as I have. None of us has asked for or want the Nasreens, Rushdies, Ben Alis, Jack Straws or Yasmin Alibhai-Browns to “fight for our liberation” and liberation from what? Modesty in dress and adherence to age-old values.

No Messrs Straw and company:  you do not speak for Muslim women and we do
not want you to speak for us. All we ask is PLEASE LEAVE BE to suffer (?) as you so firmly believe we do by following our God-given shariah. Perhaps you should consider devoting your energies to liberating women in the western world from the self-invited oppression in the form of cheap flaunting of their bodies and beauty and jettisoning of age-old traditional roles and values which see more of our sisters (Muslim and non-Muslim) living out their lives artificially as pseudo-males to prove they are free.

If freedom means freedom of choice then why is my decision to veil my face or cover my head considered self-oppression?
Incidentally to Aluibhai-Brown – who cares whether you drink wine or whisky or shake the hands of strange men. Why the cheap shot at us “backward” Muslims who, unlike you, know the limits to our freedoms and are happy to lead our lives as ordained in the Holy Quran and as shown to us by the Holy Prophet Mohammed S A W. 

Yours sincerely

FAEEZA MOHSIN

 

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