Things I am Thankful For...

[JayB]

Number one. Not being a young woman in a predominantly Muslim country.

 

"

 

By SHAFIKA MATTAR, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 25, 7:38 AM ET

 

AMMAN, Jordan - A Jordanian man fatally shot his 17-year-old daughter whom he suspected of having sex despite a medical exam that proved her chastity, an official said Thursday. The man surrendered to police hours after the killing, saying he had done it for family honor.

 

A state forensic pathologist, who works at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Amman where an autopsy was performed, said in a phone interview that the girl had run away from home several times for unknown reasons.

 

Weeks ago, the girl had returned home from a family protection clinic after doctors had vouched for her virginity and the father had signed a pledge not to harm her, the pathologist said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case.

 

"The tests proved that she was a virgin," the pathologist said. The girl returned home only after her father signed a statement promising not to harm her, he added.

 

The father shot the girl four times in the head on Tuesday. On Wednesday, an autopsy was performed that again showed "she was still a virgin," the pathologist said.

 

Authorities have not disclosed the names of the father or the daughter or even their hometown, saying only that they lived in a southern province.

 

The crime is the first "honor killing" this year in Jordan, where many men consider sex out of wedlock to be an almost indelible stain on a family's reputation. On average, about 20 women in the country are killed by their relatives in such cases each year. Women have been killed for simply dating.

 

Global human rights organizations have condemned such killings and appealed to King Abdullah II to put an end to them.

 

In response, the government has abolished a section in the penal code that allowed for "honor" killers to get sentences as lenient as six months in prison. Instead, the government has told judges to consider honor killings on a par with other homicides, which in Jordan are punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

 

But attempts to introduce harsher sentences have been blocked by conservative lawmakers who argue that tougher penalties would lead to promiscuity.

 

Queen Rania also has called for harsher punishment for such killers."

 

[ericb]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2071612.stm

 

How about number two - young woman in a Hindu country

[archenemy]

How about #3: faulty logical reasoning abilities:

 

But attempts to introduce harsher sentences have been blocked by conservative lawmakers who argue that tougher penalties would lead to promiscuity.

[G-spotter]

Yeah, women in America have it so much better Jay

 

American Domestic Violence Statistics

 

85-95% of all domestic violence victims are female.

 

 

 

 

Over 500,00 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year.

 

 

 

 

5.3 million women are abused each year.

 

 

 

 

1,232 women are killed each year by an intimate partner.

 

 

 

 

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women.

 

 

 

 

Women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know rather than by a stranger.

[kevbone]

That is a depressing and interesting article Jayb. Thanks for sharing.

[chucK]

I remember a similar story broadcast on NPR before the invasion about honor killings in Iraq. This was back during the rush to war, before the actual invasion, but after the WMD argument had become less credible and the focus had switched to oppression by the tyrant Saddam. Listening to that story was probably my personal high point in terms of support for invading.

 

Guess that was stupid though. Probably even worse to be a woman in Iraq now than it was under Hussein. Oh well.

[archenemy]

http://www.glumbert.com/media/wifebeat

[JayB]

Yeah, women in America have it so much better Jay

 

American Domestic Violence Statistics

 

85-95% of all domestic violence victims are female.

 

 

 

 

Over 500,00 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year.

 

 

 

 

5.3 million women are abused each year.

 

 

 

 

1,232 women are killed each year by an intimate partner.

 

 

 

 

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women.

 

 

 

 

Women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know rather than by a stranger.

 

Women aren't abused in Canada? Per your argument, the fact that women are abused in Canada - but the practice is both illegal and universally considered abhorrent - makes Canadian women no better off than their Saudi counterparts?

 

Scroll down the list of rights and freedoms that women throughout the West enjoy and compare that to the list under Sharia and you've got a pretty even ledger there.

 

Here's but one example:

 

"A pregnancy as a result of rape first of all counts as evidence of adultery committed by the woman. The rape victim then has to prove that she really was raped. In case the man - which is very likely - denies that he has raped the woman, the woman has to name four male witnesses to prove the rape. In case the woman does not find these four male witnesses - which again is very likely - she will be charged with slander.

 

For the crime of slander, shari'ah prescribes a punishment of 80 lashes. On top of that, the woman will be charged with adultery, and is thus threatened with the death penalty, if she is married. In case, she is unmarried, the "adultery" counts as immoral behaviour and is punished with 100 lashes. This is at least what the criminal code of January 2000 of the Nigerian state Zamfara says."

 

So per your line of reasoning, if you had a wife or sister or any other woman that you cared about who was raped and became pregnant, and you had to decide whether her case would be subject to Western jurisprudence or Sharia, you might as well flip a coin because there's really no moral or practical difference between the two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Off_White]

I'm glad I'm not a gay member of an evangelical christian sect. link

 

 

Check out the list of bands to avoid.

[archenemy]

Wow, so all I have to do is fuck someone of the opposite sex to be considered "Normal People".

At least the requirements a minimal.

[JayB]

Sounds like that'd be a pretty sure fire way to score some red-hot meth-fueled man-lovin', so long as you're the pastor.

[archenemy]

and go right past her.

[ericb]

Yep - this guy is clearly a mainstream influence in our Judicial system. Fantastic parallel!

[Off_White]

"No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman.....Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24).

[archenemy]

Take that, fucker.

[Off_White]

"What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman......I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children." St. Augustine

 

 

[Off_White]

"If they become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there" Martin Luther

 

 

blah blah blah, you get the gist. Women aren't better off here than in some Muslim countries because this is a predominantly Christian culture, it's because we're a significantly secular liberal democracy. As Dru aptly pointed out, we're not done by a long shot. Witness the recent question, "Gosh, is it even possible a woman could be president?"

[ericb]

Last I checked, Ecclesiastes only had 12 books

[sobo]

Check out the list of bands to avoid.

 

Shit, my album collection wouldn't be a tenth of what it is if I listened to this assclown.

[Off_White]

That all depends on which version you check

[ericb]

A quote from ~400 AD - and 1522....you are state of the art! What about the witch trials Mr. Historian? At least Jay's references are from this century.

[ericb]

That all depends on which version you check

 

Wonder why this and many other books got excluded from the modern protestant bible.....hmmmmm

[StevenSeagal]

I'm glad I'm not a gay member of an evangelical christian sect. link

 

 

Check out the list of bands to avoid.

 

I had no idea Motorhead and Metallica were homo bands.

 

I feel so unclean now.

 

At least Cyndi Lauper is on the "safe" list.

[Off_White]

Oh c'mon, Christianity still embraces the concept of original sin and puts it off on those disgusting women. At least Islam believes everyone is born pure.

 

Jay, if you were an Orthodox Jew, every day you would pray, "Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman."

 

Of course, if you ask me, all that religious crap is about putting the boot on someone's neck.

[AlpineK]

Quote: Follow me and together we'll C.H.O.P.S away the Gay.

 

 

Advanced therapy I guess

Edited January 26, 2007 by AlpineK