Posts by skeeter1

Horrific memories have a staying power, easily rekindled upon the appropriate trigger. The tragic end of Fakhra Younus in Rome last month was one such trigger. It took me back to the summer afternoon, some years ago, at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore: a dark room with a hospital bed covered by a makeshift protective tent and a muffled voice emanating from behind. A disfigured limb reached out; I stepped closer to encounter a persona, not recognisable in its physical form as human, melted away indiscriminately by the corrosive acid thrown on her by her spouse.

Words of comfort and promises of redress and legal action offered by the team of aid workers I accompanied did little to move the maimed woman, who had resigned to the dictates of fate, uninterested in seeking justice. The image is hard to forget and evokes horror, disgust, guilt and insecurity even today. It epitomises the capacity of evil, the frailty of life and the desperate dependability of women on patriarchal social norms and structures that remain untouched by a passive, and at times, complicit legal system.
Our legislature appears cognisant of the evil of acid violence and has taken the initial steps to redress it. The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act passed last December — through the insertion of Section 336-A and 336-B in the Pakistan Penal Code — has explicitly identified “causing hurt by dangerous means or substance”, including any corrosive substance or acid, as a crime.

It also provides for stringent punishment, extending to life imprisonment. However, the definitional clarity brought by the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act is not a sufficient response to the incidence of acid crimes in Pakistan, where over 700 cases of acid violence have been reported since 2006.

Read the rest here: How to Combat Acid-Violence.

The article concludes with, “Only within a more comprehensive legal system can the state’s criminalisation of ‘hurt by acid’ and its commitment to gender equality and elimination of gender violence bear fruit.”

Sahar and others believe that stricter legislation and punishment will change the desires of a man to punish a woman, when he has been taught all his life that women are inferior and can be punished for not obeying his commands or for shaming him. But will this law be adhered to and will there actually be dire consequences for the perpetrator?

I hope Shahar and the women of Pakistan obtain their objectives. But under Islamic sharia law, a woman will still be punished and beaten by her husband; she still is not recognized as his equal. There is nothing Shahar or any other person, male or female, can do to change the laws of Allah. As long as sharia laws exist, the causes, the desires that are causes for the acid attacks, will remain as the foundation for the violence against women no matter what form it takes.

7

How many Muslim women martyrs do we need before Muslim leaders speak out

by skeeter1 in

how many muslim women martyrs do we need before muslim leaders speak out?by cristina odone world last updated: october 18th, 2012. comment on this.

enough is enough: women pay tribute to malala.

a 20-year-old afghan girl has been beheaded, by her in-laws, for refusing to become a prostitute.

skeeter1

How many Muslim women martyrs do we need before Muslim leaders speak out?

By Cristina Odone World Last updated: October 18th, 2012

Comment on this

Enough is enough: women pay tribute to Malala

A 20-year-old Afghan girl has been beheaded, by her in-laws, for refusing to become a prostitute. Her mother-in-law and and a hired man cut off Mah Gul's head in the province of Herat last week.

The horrific case has confirmed the plight of women and girls in Taliban-strongholds such as Herat: it comes in the wake of the Taliban's attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who campaigned for girls' education in Pakistan.

Surely, enough is enough? How many women martyrs do Muslim leaders need before they speak out against such misogyny?

Human Rights Watch, in its report on Afghanistan, does not mince its words: "The situation for women’s rights is particularly bad, with threats and attacks by insurgents on women leaders, schoolgirls, and girls’ schools, and police arrests of women for 'moral crimes' such as running away from forced marriage or domestic violence." That report was published two years ago, but the situation has not improved in the intervening years: so far this year, 100 attacks on girls and women have been reported.

But why is it left to western organisations like HRW to blow the whistle on violence against women in countries where Islamic fundamentalists hold sway? Why are Muslim leaders in those countries – and this one – silent on the plight of half their population? The Muslim Council of Britain are the self-appointed leaders of the Muslim community in the UK. They have yet to come out and oppose these vicious misogynist practices. Yes, the Council issued a statement condemning the attack on Malala Yousafzai – though only once she had been airlifted to Birmingham. But listen to the weak wording chosen by spokesman Farooq Murad: "Sinister groups are creating havoc in the country leading to such sinister events."

Not the kind of whole-hearted condemnation the Muslim community needs to hear from its leadership. Nor does the Council say anything about rejecting the practice, still current in Britain's Pakistani community, of taking girls out of school once they hit puberty – lest they be corrupted by boys and/or Western culture.

Earlier this year, two British Pakistani parents were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering their teenage daughter, Shafilea Ahmed,because she had succumbed to a "Westernised" lifestyle and defied her parents' wishes for an arranged marriage. Again, where were the Muslim leaders' angry condemnations of this young girl's murder?

Muslim communities in this country are taking action into their own hands: schools and local organisations have protested against the continuing plight of Muslim women around the world. Malala's arrival in Birmingham, where she is being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, has prompted a lot of soul-searching among South Asian families there.

“Malala is a role model because even though we are not facing the Taliban here in the UK, there are a number of girls who face that backward mentality. So I think definitely she has become an inspiration for standing up against force at such a young age,” says Sabbiyah Pervez, a young mother and university graduate in Bradford.

Ms. Pervez, who coordinates projects to empower young Muslim girls, stresses that although many British Muslim girls are excelling academically, some girls are still being removed from school by their parents at 16 for fear that an education will see them challenge their parents.

How frustrating for these ordinary Muslims to see their self-appointed leaders stay silent on such crucial issues. That silence can be misinterpreted as collusion. How painful, then, for ordinary Muslims to see the world tar all of Islam with the misogynist brush. Maybe it's time to change the leadership.

10

FI-nally: "The In-Laws," 1979, Peter Falk, Alan Arkin

by glenster in

feature: ovaltine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_suywoociy.

missing in the recent peter falk tribute:.

skeeter1

The In-laws was a GREAT movie!

75

JW Tragic murder was by JW

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

http://www.katu.com/news/local/report-holt-heichel-were-members-of-same-church-175169201.html.

.

how sad......

skeeter1

I feel very sadden that she is gone from this world.

It does not surprise me that it was a JW. There are many sick and hurting people inside each & every congregation. I wonder who else lurks within the congregation there in Oregon that has problems. I wonder if not just him involved, but perhaps, more JWs in the area that are in some sort of sex-ring.

Skeeter

42

How did you feel when you first celebrated Halloween or Christmas

by trujw in

with the holidays amongsts us how did you feel the first time you celebrated the holidays?

the first time i felt like i was in north korea trying to slip pass the secret police.

how weird a wonderful family holiday and i was acting like i just stole the mona lisa..

skeeter1

My house is totally Halloweened out right now. Having a big party for the kids in 2 weeks, and going to a Halloween symphony concert. Now, I need a costume.

166

MUST READ AlanF's email to Knocking.org

by sf in

this is a must-read that, hopefully, will stay an "active topic" for all seekers and lurkers, by bumping it to the top as often as possible.

alan wrote it in randys {dogpatch} thread regarding knocking.org documentary and in reply to the email mr. engardio sent to barbara anderson.

however, it is so vital a read that it indeed needs its own thread:.

skeeter1

Bump

2

Documentary "Happy"

by skeeter1 in

netflix is showing a documentary called "happy".

it's about a new discipline in psychology and nueroscience on happiness.

what makes us happy, etc.

skeeter1

Netflix is showing a documentary called "Happy". It's about a new discipline in psychology and nueroscience on happiness. What makes us happy, etc. Good documentary.

The professors who study this stuff had a comment on religion . . . basically religions that give a purpose in life can make a person more happy. But, so can doing for others, charity, etc. However, those in extreme religions (ones that define themselves as absolutely correct and all others our of God's favor) are the most unhappiest people in their studies.

Skeeter

86

A Note from Randy/Dogpatch (Freeminds)

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

this past week randy was hospitalized.

he is now home recovering and has asked me to let you know that he will need a couple of days to recuperate.

in the mean time: if you have sent him emails or want to send him an email, it might take a couple of days for him to respond.. feel free to leave messages here for him.

skeeter1

I hope you a quick recovery. I know you are enjoying the view from your living room. Wish I was there to make you some chicken soup.

Skeeter