Athena's Wisdom

Rice Calls for More Political Freedom for Mid-East Women

Just in…BBC is reporting that while speaking at a conference in Vienna, Condi Rice has called for more equality for women in the Middle East: 

"It's absolutely the case that unless women are fully participants of their societies, these societies cannot really be fully democratic, and that is something we're absolutely devoted to," Ms Rice said.

Interesting, given the recent crack down in Iran of some female activists.  iVillage also posted their interview with the Secretary of State. She ties women’s political equality with a more tolerant, democratic society:

SECRETARY RICE: It may sound strange for a Secretary of State to say, because obviously there are a lot of issues that I'm concerned about, but I'm more concerned than anything about freedom for people. I believe that individuals are only able to completely reach their potential in societies that are free and societies that are tolerant. And I have also come to believe that in places where you have an absence of freedom, you're going to have the emergence of extremism. That then comes back to haunt us in terms of national security, whether it's a place like Afghanistan, from which al-Qaeda came to haunt us on September 11th, or what could happen in Iraq if we do not see through the task of helping to secure a foundation for freedom there. I think freedom is very much at the core of both what is right and what makes us more secure.

So how much should the US push women’s rights as part of it’s overall Middle Eastern policy?  Your thoughts?

Got a Sibling? Pay Up!

The LA Times is reporting some Chinese villagers have had enough and are fighting back on the heavy fines imposed on them for having more than one child. It’s hard to tell whether the photos in the LA Times are from a labor protest versus a protest about the one-child policy. One of the captions says it’s a labor protest in Macau, which is in a different province from where the riots are being reported. However, it’s also being reported by Chinese media:

Seven towns in a rural part of the Guangxi autonomous region erupted in violence over heavy fines and other measures to impose tighter family planning controls in the area, the official Xinhua press agency said.The police in southwestern China arrested 28 people for instigating riots over family planning controls last weekend, but officials were dispatched to affected regions to "deal with complaints" about the area's strict measures to enforce birth control measures, state media said on Wednesday.

Local officials are all corrupt, they don't care about the ordinary people at all," said a woman surnamed Yuan in Shapi township where one of the earliest riots took place on May 19. "The only thing they think about is money."

In a campaign that began in March, teams of men dressed in military fatigues and wielding electric cattle prods and sledge hammers began scouring towns and villages. They imposed fines on suspected violators as well as looting and ransacking the homes of those that could not pay, Yuan and scores of others said.

Cattle prods?!

Fines of below 5,000 yuan (650 dollars) for a second child had risen to more than 12,000 yuan -- at least four times average annual rural incomes in the region -- locals said.

Work teams kept no records of the property taken or destroyed from families that could not pay, they added.

Most shockingly, officials detained pregnant women who had not been approved to give birth and forced them to abort, locals said, while both men and women of child-bearing age were forcefully sterilised if they had broken the law.

"They do not know how to handle the family planning policy, they never have, so now they are resorting to cruel and inhumane methods," Yuan said.

Oh, I get it now. If you’re rich, you can afford to pay the fine for a second child.  But if you’re poor, you’re out of luck. So much for your classless society, Mao.

Female Circumcision in Egypt--Ouch!

Think this is practice has gone by the wayside?  Watch the video on Egyptian villagers explaining it.

Photo Courtesy of BBC

So why do women still insist on doing this to other women?  Because clerics still justify it, as MEMRI shows.   Al-Azhar Cleric Farahat Said Al-Munji, which aired on Al-Mihwar TV on May 10, 2007 has this to say:

Farahat Sa'id Al-Munji: The Prophet said that circumcision is obligatory for men, and is noble for women. This means that for the sake of her honor, a woman can be circumcised. This noble act can be either carried out or not. Moreover, this noble act is subject to restrictions nowadays. I once had a discussion with a gynecologist, who said: "A man brought his daughter to me, and I told him she must be circumcised immediately." Why? Because he discovered that her clitoris was so big that it was bound to cause her pain or bother her when she reached puberty, and therefore, she had to be circumcised. He told me that other girls came to him, and he said they should not be circumcised. Why? Because their clitoris was normal in size, and did not bother them. It would be crazy to deal with such a clitoris, which does not protrude to an extent that might bother the woman, when it rubs against her clothing and so on...

Guys, all these things appear in Islamic law. Don't think we are making these things up. It all exists [in religious law] and is determined...

Glad he cleared that up for us.

So can this be justified as male circumcision is largely practiced in the West?  There’s very little to compare since with females, there are adverse short and long-term effects. Not to mention the impact it has on if women can enjoy sex (it’s that whole men control women theme again). The World Health Organization condemns the practice for these reasons, but points out that male circumcision may actually protect against the HIV virus and other forms of infection.  Science again, sheds some light on this issue.

Who Dressed You in That?

Remember folks, women have to dress as unattractively as possible in Islamic societies.  Iran started arresting women at the end of April for a “bad hijab” or head scarf. Photos courtesy of BBC news:

ABC shows another women being detained:

MEMRI shows an interesting video of self-righteous female Basij harassing women on their choice of clothing.

Is it really democratic or virtuous for a bunch of old men to decide what women should wear? They run the government, but use women like the one in the video to fight against any type of women's liberation in the country.  

Your thoughts?

BBC shows a heartbreaking video of an Iranian girl screaming her bloody head off for being arrested. Publius Pundit has some good photos of the authorities hauling women off to jail for not being covered up.