Feminism and Muslim sisters

June 23 - Law enforcement agencies in Britain are openly acknowledging that honour killings are a problem there (Police chiefs try to end 'honour killings' with review of 100 murders.)

Police are to review more than 100 murders in an attempt to understand and prevent "honour killings", it was announced yesterday.

The examination of 117 cases believed to be honour killings, which are classified as murders "motivated by perceived dishonour to a family or community", was welcomed by an Asian community leader.

The majority of victims were women, with many from south Asia, though there were some from Africa, eastern Europe and Arab countries.

Scotland Yard announced the initiative amid growing evidence that women in the Asian community are being subjected to violence and sometimes murdered for defying cultural traditions.

Their perceived crimes can include wanting to go to university, refusing an arranged marriage, having a boyfriend or dressing in western-style clothing.

In 2000 the United Nations estimated that 5,000 women worldwide were killed every year because they had allegedly brought shame on their families or communities.

But women's rights groups and Asian leaders believe the figure hugely underestimates the scale of the problem.

Ram Gidoomal is the chairman of the South Asian Development Partnership, a charity that aims to overcome divisions in ethnic communities, and author of the book Sari 'n' Chips. He welcomed the review but said it should include suicide victims.

"Many more people are driven to suicide because of the 'dishonour' that is purported to have been brought on the family," he said.

"The attempted suicide rate among young Asian women is four times the national average, and with men, too, it is rising."

[...]

Scotland Yard announced its review as officers from across Europe gathered at The Hague to discuss ways of tackling honour killings.

One would think that feminists would be in the forefront of demanding justice for our Muslim sisters, but as Damian Penny notes, intellectuals like Germaine Greer actually try to justify their repression. Australian columnist Andrew Bolt nails it:

On the same show, Greer, famed for leading the feminist revolution with her The Female Eunuch, offered a nutty excuse for Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving cars.

"I get a bit worried about certain heavily veiled ladies driving because they have no peripheral vision at all," she said. "You can understand why in some countries they are not allowed to drive."

Oh, so that's why. And women are beheaded there because . . .?

When I proclaim my support of women to choose, I mean something a bit different than the current Liberal fear-mongering about abortion. I'm supporting the right of women to make decisions about their lives and futures, which includes our rights to be at-home mothers, wear a burka, have the independence we gain by driving ourselves to wherever we choose to go, and have the right to say "No" because ultimately, that's the definition of freedom: Having the right to say no.

The Official Feminist Movement jumped the shark long ago. Time to take back what is ours: the right to speak about ourselves for ourselves, and to celebrate our own diversity, that being our right to be individually individual.

Posted by: Debbye at 06:49 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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