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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| Halima |
| 12/09/04 at 08:13:47 |
| Experts: Men Distort Religion to Justify 'Honour' Killings Wed Dec 8, 2004 08:51 AM ET By Jan Strupczewski STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Men all over the world distort the teachings of Islam and Christianity to justify abusing their wives and daughters, leading to thousands of "honor" killings a year for which courts provide virtual impunity, experts say. U.N. estimates show that more than 5,000 women are murdered every year in "honor"-related violence, but the real number could be much higher, said experts at an international conference near Stockholm, which ended Wednesday. Horror stories of women and even girls as young as seven being beheaded, burned to death, maimed, beaten, raped, forced into suicide or mentally abused underscored that patriarchal violence against women pays no heed to religion. In many cases it is rooted in cultural and tribal beliefs. "Islam as a reason for the honor killings is rubbish," Nilofar Bakhtiar, adviser to Pakistan's prime minister on Women's' Development, told Reuters. She blamed such violence in Pakistan on "the feudal tradition, the culture and the tribal system." She said that men found it "very convenient to say that what they don't want to do is against Islam and what they want to do is in the name of Islam." While most cases are reported in Muslim countries, "honor" violence also occurs among Christian families, delegates said. "After we got married, Hell started," a Christian woman from the Middle East, identified only as Maria, said in a video tape. Beaten and raped for questioning her husband's business practices, she fled to Sweden when he threatened to sell her into prostitution. While traditional Islamic Sharia law does impose stricter dress codes on women and stresses their household duties, one Muslim cleric at the conference said the Koran condemned abuse of the weak but its teachings had been distorted over time. "We must educate imams and young people," said Imam Abdal Haqq of the Swedish Islamic Society. "We must free ourselves from these honor killings and the 'Islamophobia' they create." GOD THE FATHER... But some experts believe any male-dominated religion, in which God and his prophets or apostles are male figures, creates conditions for the subordination and abuse of women. Predominantly Catholic Poland, although free from "honor killings," has a problem with violence against women, rooted in the strong influence of the Catholic church on public life, Polish minister for gender equality Magdalena Sroda said. "Catholicism does not directly support or oppose violence against women. But there are indirect links through culture which is strongly based on religion," Sroda told Reuters. "It is a structure based on patriarchal domination of God the Father and the less important role of women can be seen for example in the letters of Saint Paul," she said. Asma Jahangir, U.N. Special Rapporteur on religious freedom, said many courts condoned patriarchal violence by letting the perpetrators get away with "a slap on the wrist." "In 405 documented cases of honor killings in Afghanistan so far this year only 20 arrests were made," she said. Zorayha Rahim Sobrany, deputy minister for Women's Affairs in Afghanistan, said the concept of women's equality to men was slow to take root, but that progress was being made. "We need time. We must move step by step. If you go too fast, the reaction is that people close themselves," she said. © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. Walahawla! And I thought honour killings went out with the stone age. I know of domestic violence still continuing but honour killing??? |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| resistance4ever |
| 12/09/04 at 08:18:32 |
| [slm] Every few minutes a woman is murdered in the UK in cases of domestic violence. Why dont they mention their own problems? And correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt a man allowed to legally marry his daughter in Sweden? |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| Fozia |
| 12/09/04 at 13:07:35 |
| [quote author=resistance4ever link=board=sis;num=1102594427;start=0#1 date=12/09/04 at 08:18:32] And correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt a man allowed to legally marry his daughter in Sweden?[/quote] [slm] :o :o :o I knew they had a low population but that's a tad extreme :o :o :o Wassalaam |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| Shahida |
| 12/10/04 at 01:45:12 |
| [slm] Sis Halima No, unfortunately, they did not disappear with the dinosaurs. So-called "honour" killings are commonplace in various parts of the Arab world, for example. I know in Jordan, they were trying to change the laws, cuz if a man had killed his wife/sister/daughter in the name of "honour", he would only have to spend at most 3 MONTHS in jail. Yeah, sub7anAllah, 3 months...:( it is shocking! There was a good documentary I saw on TV once...they even showed that most of these crimes committed out of some misplaced sense of "honour", were crimes committed wrongly...suspicion, without proof...most of the girls were innocent of the crimes their brothers/fathers/families had suspected them of. Sub7anAllah... The men they interviewed saw nothing wrong with their actions :o They even *knew* where in their Quraan they could find justification and proof that what they did is something that would please Allah! :( I know, it is really sick. And some of these people are from religious families, altho how "religious" I cannot say, judging from what they allowed their men to do to their daughters. Mostly the family would know what the brother/father is planning, but they would not do anything to stop it. May Allah help and guide us, to the True path, and away from our ignorance and unislamic tribal customs, ameen. Wasalam Shahida :( |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| resistance4ever |
| 12/10/04 at 08:53:17 |
| [slm] Whilst we need to achknowledge the problems of honour killings, WE muslims need to address this ourselves, we dont need poeple like the swedish telling us about our problems, especially swince their society is so messed up. Men can legally marry their daughters, adultery and porn is widespread, in fact much of the porn in the UK comes from Sweden. Do we really need to concern ourselves with what these people think or say? Honour killings is something we muslims need to deal with. Those that carry out honour killings are often the type to pick and choose Islaam whenever it suits them. Islaam does not justify honour killings and there is knowhere in the quran where justification can be found. Those that do carry it out, do so for cultural/tribal reasons, and not islaam, although they do try and justify to themselves that islaam allows it. [wlm] |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| Nabila |
| 12/10/04 at 19:42:14 |
| [slm] How can Muslims sort out this problem themselves, when we can't even receive criticism from others in a without getting overly sensitive about it? Muslims criticise 'the West' all the time, but it seems to most non-Muslims I know that Muslims can dish it out but not take it :D ma asalaamah and take care |
| 12/10/04 at 19:44:45 |
| Nabila |
| Re: 'Honour Killings of Women, Girls..' |
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| Bangachi |
| 12/11/04 at 13:08:49 |
| I happen to have been a victim of domestic violence from an American. Women are raped, murdered, and beaten every few minutes in the United States. Look at the cases of victims like Nicole Simpson...not one day in jail for that honour killing. Then there was that Jewish couple from New York I forget the names where the father beat his wife and killed their adopted daughter to death. Drug addicted prostitutes roam our cities spreading AIDS, hepatitus, and various other STD's. These women are victims and end up dead...with no one to even notice them gone. Violence against women is worlwide. Jordan is trying to outlaw this practice but brutality on women is a dirty secret in the USA. My suggestion...clean up your own side of the street before you blame Arab nations for an international issue. |
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