"God Gulf" Hurts Women

ColoradoDog: I think that you're reading too much into that statement. Either that, or you have never been in contact with a teenaged girl who's had her heart broken. Remember, these are NOT American teenagers who move from boyfriend to boyfriend like they change nail colors. These are girls who are taught from birth that their only value is their virginity, and they no longer have that. Even in a relatively progressive Muslim country like Morocco, women are still treated like dirt. Unwed mothers even more so. Can you blame these teenagers for dreaming of a life where their "baby daddy" would come back for them?

As much as I am appalled at religion's inhumane treatment of women, I also noticed a hint of feminist bigotry in this article.

"But others spoke of love, clinging to the hope that their boyfriends truly loved them and would, against all odds, marry them."

Women, of course, are always "clinging to the hope" that there might actually be a decent man out there. By implying that women have to "cling to this hope" implies all or most men are not honorable. Why can't a woman write an article about the plight of woman without bashing men in the process?

And that brings us to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book, "Infidel":

Some excerpts:

"Thus begins the extraordinary story of a woman born into a family of desert nomads, circumcised as a child, educated by radical imams in Kenya and Saudi Arabia, taught to believe that if she uncovered her hair, terrible tragedies would ensue. It's a story that, with a few different twists, really could have led to a wretched life and a lonely death, as her grandmother warned. But instead, Hirsi Ali escaped -- and transformed herself into an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the rights of Muslim women."
ref: Washington Post book review.

p. 47 paperback issue:

"Some of the Saudi women in our neighborhood were regularly beaten by their husbands. You could hear them at night. Their screams resounded across the courtyards. "No! Please! By Allah!"

p.68:

"The Pakistanis were Muslims but they too had castes. The Untouchable girls, both Indian and Pakistani were darker skin. The others would not play with them because they were untouchable. We thought that was funny because of course they were touchable: we touched them see? but also horrifying to think of yourself as untouchable, despicable to the human race."

p.309

"Between October 2004 and May 2005, eleven Muslim girls were killed by their families in just two regions (there are 20 regions in Holland). After that, people stopped telling me I was exaggerating."

p. 347

"The kind on thinking I saw in Saudi Arabia and among the Brotherhood of Kenya and Somalia, is incompatible with human rights and liberal values. It preserves the feudal mind-set based on tribal concepts of honor and shame. It rests on self-deception, hyprocricy, and double standards. It relies on the technologial advances of the West while pretending to ignore their origin in Western thinking. This mind-set makes the transition to modernity very painful for all who practice Islam".

Note: In her autobiography, Hirsi Ali also explains how it was necessary to lie on some of her visas in order to escape the horrifying conditions and threats to her life in the countries where she lived.

The answer to unplanned pregnancies is education for young women and availability of contraception. Unfortunately, most developing countries view both of these as a waste of money, or at worst a sin. Stigmatizing and punishing women who get pregnant is NOT the answer. You will just have more women and children begging in the streets, and more illegal abortions.

Not to mention the ongoing crisis of women of all ages being brutally raped in many parts of Africa. Guinea is the latest place to have an epidemic of rapes. When a woman is raped in that culture, she is stigmatized and driven out of the community because they view it as HER fault. Is it any wonder that women choose to have abortions in that situation?

I wish that those people who get their panties in a wad about abortion and HIV would care as much about female genital mutilation and rape. But it's so much easier to blame women for being "loose" and forcing them to wear chastity belts rather than to tell men to stop raping women.

Or perhaps there could be secretive ways of preventing sex from happening, without the public humiliation

1. bring back the chastity belt, make infected women wear it

2. if guys have infected anyone, a penectomy (or maybe in sub-Saharan Africa, it is so desperate maybe they should presume men will)

We could tattoo people infected with HIV, perhaps, to slow down infection

I know it is extreme. They could be murdered, driven away. But if no one was having sex with them.... it could help.

Ignorant, superstitious beliefs end up hurting all people.

The solution is simple, but not easy. Stop viewing "God" as exclusively male. Women will continue to be subservient to men as long as the Deity is male. If God is the "Father", then authority figures will continue to be male. If Deity is both male and female, or "Father" and "Mother", then both genders are considered equal, and both can be authority figures.

The long term challenge to liberating women is the basic reality that cultures that oppress women have much higher birth rates. Assuming some kind of cultural continuity down the generations, this fact makes democracy and respect for other cultures an uncertain brew.

Once again some views about abortion:

Abortion boils down to one simple question, when does human life begin? And one paramount observation/law: There is basic human morality that goes beyond the OT and NT. A fetus dies without nourishment. A baby dies without nourishment. There is no difference.

Hmmm, so a growing baby is considered by some to be nothing more than an infection?

Talk about having no respect for life!!!!!

And Nature or Nature's God is the #1 taker of everyone's life. That gives some rational for killing the unborn or those suffering from dementia, mental disease or Alzheimer's or anyone who might inconvenience your life???

We constantly battle the forces of nature. We do not succumb to these forces by eliminating defenseless children or those special humans!!!!!

It is obvious that intercourse and other sexual activities are out of control with over one million abortions and 19 million cases of STDs per year in the USA alone.

And simply multiply the problem by 40 to get a global picture of out of control intercourse and other sexual activities.

http://www.infoplease.com/science/health/global-abortion-rates.html

"Incidence and Rates Global Abortion,

(millions) Abortion rate
1995 2003 1995 2003
World 45.6 41.6 35 29 "

from the CDC-2006

"Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. While substantial progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain STDs in recent years, CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.1 In addition to the physical and psychological consequences of STDs, these diseases also exact a tremendous economic toll.

Direct medical costs associated with STDs in the United States are estimated at up to $14.7 billion annually in 2006 dollars."

How in the world do we get this situation under control? An "anti-E" pill to temporarily eliminate the sex drive would be a good start. And teenagers and young adults must be constantly reminded of the dangers of sexual activity and that oral sex, birth control pills, condoms (see the recent Pew study) and chastity belts are no protection against STDs.

Hmmm, how successful would an "anti-E" pill be??

Markets:

Parents of teenagers, celibates, Catholic priests and men/women no longer interested in sex as starters. And then there is the birth control aspect of such pills. And said pills would definitely put a dent in the porn business. And it would be a great way to control pedophiles and sex addicts!!!

Might a list of those having an STD posted on the Internet help? Said names would remain until the STD has been eliminated with verification by a doctor. Lists of sexual predators are on-line. Is there a difference between these individuals and those having a STD having sexual relations while infected???

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