Paulette Powell
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@DianeA @arshadfilms @Salma_Ahmed86 @monaeltahawy Diane your comment makes it seem like Selma is being ganged up on and maybe the reason she ran away. There is no need for these types of comments, and it takes away from Arshad powerful comment as he defends Mona, you attack Selma. Symbolically this is so wrong, a woman siding with a man, the behavior no matter how innocent is exactly what we need to avoid all together. Arshad doesn't need a cheerleader.
@maya_b I completely understand, as a child my Mother was called out by the "church" and it ruined my childhood, because many people would have nothing to do with us. And violence toward women was much worse in the 70s in the U.S. and it still exist in rural pockets of the States. I recall many men walking after rape or even murder. A close friend was raped at knife point and the defense claimed in court she had dated him, a complete stranger, he walked and it ruined her life. She had to quite her teaching job and move away, living life looking over her shoulder. It is an uphill struggle. You are brave and together can make change. I will keep you in my prayers.
@maya_b @horizon2012 @Salma_Ahmed86 @monaeltahawy NO WOMAN LEFT BEHIND! And I mean the entire globe, including the U.S.
@arshadfilms @cuah @DianeA My points being is that people with political agendas don't read Mona's unfortunate story as her life experience but will too often use it to generalize and justify hate and hold prejudice. Hmmm maybe I should bore you all about when I was a 15 and a Christian minister tried to rape me (and I will be in good company considering the scandal of the Catholic church and the many children in recent yrs suing them for rape). Cuah is spot on, many evil people hide behind religion and unfortunately harms the good folks who actually use their religions to help the disenfranchised. If the article did not insinuate this, then why use the burka to illustrate? I think there is no longer broadsheet journalism, its all about sensationalism, not intelligent debate, but finger pointing and divisive arguing. Btw I've been to KSA and the people were beautiful to me (and many Westerners live and work there but Western media has most Americans, Brits and Euros to believe it is the cradle of terrorism, we can not deny this) I was only embraced by the people. And I can generalize to say, I've experienced many cultures in my life and come to the conclusion most of us desire the same, to be happy and prosperous and for are children the same. We are all God's children or I could say, we share one little blue planet, together we can overcome, even violence toward women and children but divided we will continue to destroy each other.
@maya_b Maya, do you live there now? And our country seems to be slipping into a right wing mess. I keep trying to explain to many, especially in the Bible Belt, that we, the U.S. live in a Democracy, not a Theocracy. But many are also imposing their religious will in our own government.
@DianeA I'm not ashamed of anything I've written and why does it bother you so? You don't own this forum, don't tell me who to read or where I should comment (that my dear is condescending and proves my point, you are arrogant). You haven't offended me but you seem to be jumping on me like a wounded animal. Like I said before DianeA, I can't take someone who uses an alias to hind behind serious. I'm not really interested in continuing a dialogue with you, besides you already have stated, "Discussion closed." lets move on. Nothing constructive is coming from our exchange.
@arshadfilms @cuah I agree and my comments are meant to reflect that some will use this article to judge a whole culture. BTW, it was first brought to my attention by someone posting it to point out the problems with Islam, they generalized and why I think it's important to confirm, violence against women is everywhere. And we in the U.S. still have a long way to go for equality. But I'm glad I followed the thread and joined the dialogue. Especially if we can continue debate respecting everyone and allowing opinions to be heard.
@cuah I completely agree with you. The illustrations bothered me. I live in nyc and sometimes I wish I had an hijab or burka to cover up (and sometimes I use a hat or scarf). I don't see them as something offensive and many Westerners do (France and Belgium are good examples in recent yrs) hijab/burka = oppressed women. By them taking rights away is also objectifying women and ordering the girls "do what we say".
@DianeA Diane, in no way have I devalued Mona and her points but critique those who wish to exploit her personal story to justify prejudice. I personally think you are looking to argue with someone and the end of your comment uses language that is dismissive and disrespectful to another woman as well as highly emotionally charged. To be honest, I am Paulette Powell and I stand behind what I say, and take no one serious if they can't do the same, hiding behind an alias or initials is cowardly and serves not to unite a cause
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@MaryCostello The blog is very informative and hit a few nails on the head. My point being, Mona's piece is an account of her personal experience. I read it as such. But (and the blogger, Anthony Bourdain agrees) there are folks in the U.S. who use these types of articles to justify are military activity in the Middle East. The sad truth is that majority of the working poor (last I looked, 3 out of 4 in the U.S.) and disenfranchised are single mothers of all ethnicity, many domestic violence survivors. And social safety nets and programs continue to be taken away (while Wall Street experienced record bonuses in 2011 and billions continue to fund U.S. occupations) Also it wasn't that long ago, when I was a girl and a book was herald in my Mother's reading circles as the bible for the good housewife, "Fascinating Womanhood", teaching women to be submissive and ask themselves what they did wrong when their husbands were unhappy. As well, I recall when I was a child and a rape was committed in our community, comments included, "she was provocative." And I'm also aware of many cases of men who walked away after injuring or murdering their wives, it was referred to as "a crime of passion." All this said, I'm glad we are talking about it. And the way forward is LEAVE NO WOMAN BEHIND!
@DianeA Violence against women in the U.S. (not a war zone) is embarrassingly high, America is a very violent society, this is a fact. And I myself have witnessed situations where law enforcement didn't act and it's documented in many cases, the lack of action allowed not only women but children to be murdered at the hands of their fathers. My comment was toward those who use this article to generalize that Middle Eastern culture is more barbaric than our own and justify prejudice (if this is not true, why illustrate the article with veiled women?). I have lived in a Islamic country with Nationals and my experience was positive and my girlfriends there are well educated and respected. My comment is also to make aware that even in New York City, sexual harassment and discrimination is alive and well. And it should be noted, many countries with high domestic abuse and violence against women are war torn countries, where humans are reduced to animals for lack of resources. It is a desperate situation. And historically, we in the U.S. have come a long way and will still need to go those extra miles to ensure equality no matter what race or sex or age. Like I wrote before, violence against women, children knows no boundaries, including ethnic. And it is up to a culture to change, not for us to ignorantly judge. I actually think my comment is only provocative to those who wish to look down on culture and justify their own. I'm just saying America still has a long way to go.
I read the piece and am appalled by the hardships that the writer along with many women suffer and understand she has a personal ax to grind, but to generalize is still a thing of ignorance. Many laws are still on American book that discriminate a sect of our population, including women. We have much to improve on in our country and I know it will take change from within, not the influences of people who are removed from our society. We can not afford to judge but when we know human rights, anywhere in the world are not observed from Southern Sudan to the Gaza Strip to the United Kingdom and beyond, we must elect to boycott the oppressors, not allow American trade to flourish, but not take arms up against a culture, acting as the world's police. I believe many of these articles serve to stir emotion and to justify our occupations of foreign lands. Speaking for myself, because I'm a domestic abuse survivor and to this day am a victim of sexual harassment in the New York City work place. I ask you all a question. If you give a human poison, small amount to slowly kill or a large amount for sudden death, are not the results the same? We need to stand up for each other in our own country before we can comment in self righteous tones, where many have never even been. I have personally worked with Arabs and have many Arabs sisters whose life experience in Islam is far more healthier than my own, growing up Christian. I also have Jewish sisters who also suffered physical and mental abuse from the men in their families, as well as none believers. Domestic violence and violence against women, knows no boundaries.