Finally, this discussion was started by having port4u send me an e-mail with a powerpoint attachment. I cannot figure out if I can attach or import files into this blog (if anyone knows how I can do that, please let me know). So, I will ask port4u if she has a hyperlink to that presentation and if port4u does, then I will add it to this post. Basically though, the powerpoint video shows Afghani women wearing burqas and the various life situations that they need to wear them in. The presentation, while in Spanish, is still fairly easily translated and the producers have humanitarian type questions on the use of the burqa and the affects on women's lives.
As such, for the time being, I will start this post with my reply to port4u and her replies, followed by my replies, etc. Feel free to give your 2 cents.
MY ORIGINAL E-MAIL RESPONSE
Dear Port4U,
The drivers licence was funny. Sigh...I have to be careful with who I send this too because I have friends who will use this video as an excuse to continue to justify their anti-Muslim feelings. My friend from grad school, ***, told me one time how she hated the Muslims because of what they did to their women. That she wanted to go up to a Muslim woman and "rip the head scarf right off of her head". While I completely understand her feelings on the subjugation of women, unfortunately, like alot of other things in life, this one issue will be the sole reason for hating an entire religion and hence support for a war waged on them. My continued frustration with educated people having no freaking common sense.
The only solution I see to this is to educate the Afghani people and then have them make their own strides toward equity between men and women. The treatment of women is so interwoven between their religion and culture that only loooonnnngggg term education will change the practice forever. Otherwise, we risk a back lash as Muslim conservatives think that the great western devil is trying to change them and then they feel justified in supporting militant fundamentalism. Oh what a tangled web. Sigh.
-M
PORT4U'S E-MAIL RESONSE
I agree with your take on the subject.
Here is a bit of information on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa. The section on Women in Islam is revealing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_Islam. It is the extremists like the Taliban who give Islam a bad name. There is nothing inherently wrong with religions. Religions are perverted and used by evil people for power and control. I do not agree with the idea of women not being equal in value to men.
Port4u
MY E-MAIL RESPONSE TO PORT4U
Hey Port4u,
Very interesting read on Islamic women. I completely agree...there is nothing wrong with religion...just the few nutcases who twist it to their own ends...very much like Christian fundamentalism in our own country.
Philip had a very interesting take yesterday when I told him about your e-mail and my reply. As an anthropologist, he described a people's religious beliefs as being the evolutionary cultural response to a geographic areas environment (that ranging from climate, to topography, to relationships with neighbors, etc). In his words, "these people have lived just fine for thousands of years with their religions and cultures, why do we feel the need to change it?" While he is not for the subjugation of anyone, he said he also understood that what looks like subjugation to us is another culture's ways of dealing with life in an environment that is completely different and foreign from ours. As such, he felt we should mind our own business and leave well enough alone. I understand where he is coming from.
Philip said he disagreed with the western world's need to "save" these "backward" cultures through education, diplomacy, and/or force. His analogy was, "How would Catholics like it if a feminist American went to rural Italy and told young 15 year old virgins that they should have as many sexual experiences as possible before getting married. That they should quickly shed the shackles of virginity." We both agreed that the Italian Catholics probably wouldn't like it very much at all and that the cultural backlash could very well turn deadly. He feels that that scene is no different from what we would do if we tried to "educate" Muslim women. His final comment was that we have become obsessed with turning the world into America. That we want to McDonald'cize, Wal-Mart'ize, Disney'ize the world, all in the name of "democracy and progress". All we are doing is destroying the uniqueness of the world's cultures for the almighty profit. I thought he had a great point.
Oh well, I thought that you would find that interesting. Maybe I should make a blog on facebook, can I do that? It would be a great place to get my friends opinions on stuff and have educated discussion, instead of my flooding folks e-mails with my opinion...which thanks to this election...I've become very vocal on lately. :)
Talk to you soon.
-M
PORT4U'S RESPONSE
I quite agree with what Philip has to say on the subject. I will add this: The reactions of the uneducated are too extreme here and abroad. It is not a simple subject and there can be no absolute answer for what to do about women’s rights in other countries or other human rights issues. I think there are some things that take place that are so immoral and harmful that it is right that we should intervene and try to educate and stop those things from happening. For instance, setting fire to ones wife if you happen to object to her morals or just wish to get rid of her. I many such cases organizations like Amnesty International do good work. Do you know that there are refugees who fled injustices in their own countries that are locked up in jails near our airports here in New York City right now. Some of them haven’t seen the light of day in years. Injustice takes place here as well as overseas.
Port4U
OK folks, that is the extent of it. Any further discussion? Looking forward to hearing from you.
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