I am always surprised to the extreme extent that women let convention determine how they dress and act, and I applaud this woman.

All through Asia and the Americas, women typically went "topless" on hot days, before Westernization.

Now, thanks to Westernization, it would be women shushing women back into their tops on a hot day, if any dared breech convention (none ever do). Men would approve, I assure you.

Yet American women do not think they are "oppressed" when they comply with convention. So why do we think Isalmic women should think they are "oppressed" with their dress conventions?

"The way we do it it here and now is always the best way"--Anthem of the American Woman.

Amy, do you know if it is only the women that speak out against Islam, or do only women get coverage for speaking out? It sure seems like only the women have "balls" in Islam but it may be the men speaking out do not get the coverage that the women do.

Now, thanks to Westernization, it would be women shushing women back into their tops on a hot day, if any dared breech convention (none ever do).

There's a difference between shushing and stoning to death.

MonicaP-

Believe you me, I think Islam as practised is horrible.

That said, no matter how hot and muggy it gets, I bet you never would go topless in public. You just can't do it, and moreover, you think it proper to keep yourself covered.

Probably, you think polygamy should be illegal, and certainly not recognized by the state or religion. But gay marriages are terrific! Social conventions are hard to buck.

I often think we are but prisoners of our time and place. Who is to say that 2000 years ago you would not have traipsed down to the Coliseum, and cheered as men hacked each other to death?

After a major earthquake in Tokyo in the 1920s, Japanese rioted and murdered 6,000 Koreans who lived there (doing "unclean" work, such as cutting meat).

Social norms are fluid, but only over generations.

Hopefully, "live and let live" will become more universal.

Ever around the world, people say, "The way we do it here and now is the best way!"

Many women in Asia and of various asian origin had been known to wear most indecently, throughout the ages of history, but it is weird why islamics rule had made wearing indecently a thing to be ashamed of. Just another of their inconsistent backward islamic culture that reared its ugly head whenever they have a bit of power.
What really pissed me off is those nonislamic asians and islamic asian government pretending to impose modesty in their asian shithole, when they are unable to prevent massive and extreme immorality and poverty in most parts of asia.
Going topless or not covering up fully is not immoral, if one don't behave immorally.

Not covering up fully is not immoral, if one have no immoral agenda. What is interesting is why those nonislamic asian and islamic asian government pretended to impose modesty, when there is nothing really modest about their nonislamic and islamic asian society, regardless whether they cover up or not.

So, this brave woman goes on this show as an ambassador for her people, to show that they are not all uncivilized, savage barbarians. She endures mistreatment and derision from the other people on the show with dignity and class, in order to show that not everyone from her country is an uncivilized, savage barbarian. And the reward she gets for doing this is to be attacked by an uncivilized, savage barbarian.
He even admits that he has no effing clue what he is talking about, having never even watched the show. He's just a misogynistic asshole with a twist of bigot.
I hope she understands that the people she is trying to save are not worthy, and gets the hell out of dodge and moves to a country that will actually appreciate her.

If they took away my wine and bacon I'd be pissed off too.

He prolly has a hardon for her and his rationalization makes him think it's her fault.

BOTU my great-grandmother could not see a doctor because he would have to see her uncovered. Therefore she was left untreated and died shortly thereafter.

Young Western Women practically walk around naked, ever been to a nightclub? Fashion wise hooker is in, puritanical old hag is out.

If you think what this woman faces is bad, watch what happens when an American woman criticizes Pat Robertson, "because radical Christianity is just as dangerous as radical Islam" (as Rosie O'Donnell famously said).

On a serious note, I do applaud this woman. Human beings should not be treated like animals or property.

All I can think to say:

You go girl!

We need more of the Muslims to stand up to their clerics and tell them to go to hell.

You should be a guest poster on Boing Boing!

Whatever and however those moslems behaved is none of my nonbeliever business as long as they keep their islamic infighting to themselves. After all they are all moslems, whether they behaved morally or not.
Just another typical rich, loud, quarrelsome, haughty islamic woman, who never bother about our nonbelievers right.
Are we, nonbelievers supposed to waste our time applauding or pitying those islamic women, while those islamic women never care about our disadvantaged nonbelievers right?
Why should I, as a disadvantaged nonbeliever, who was discriminated by their islamic asian community, bother about their personal islamic problems/quarrels?

She's absolutely beautiful too. Not that it's important, but it's certainly hard not to notice.

So Amy finally found a Muslim she likes? Maybe the Mayans are right about the end-times coming....

You should be a guest poster on Boing Boing!

Are you insinuating I "stole" this post from them? I did not. If you go up and down my blog, you'll see I credit where posts come from. This came from a commenter, who e-mailed it to me a few days ago. I'd formatted the blog post with this and had forgotten to post it when somebody linked to another version of it in comments on another entry, and I put it up fast. I doubt BoingBoing posters spend a lot of time watching MEMRI posts.

Hint: Those who steal don't frequently put "via iFeminist" or "via Dr. Eades" at the bottoms of their posts. I like to direct people to the sites where I find things, both because it's the right thing to do, and because I read them because they have a lot of worthy posts.

And Franco, my issue is with Islam, which is a totalitarian system masquerading as a religion. Many Muslims do not understand that the Quran commands this, and do not practice it Islam this way, but far too many do. Those who comment here know you're pro-Islam -- and prone to the low blow in hopes of defending it.

No insinuation, just a notice that your areas of interest frequently intersect and they seem to court guests. I appreciate your giving credit where credit is due.

I've gone topless in public. Only beaches and parks, though. Actually, for general walking around on a super hot day I find a bit of clothing more comfortable than total nudity, it absorbs the sweat.

Post a link to anything I have written that is pro-Islam. I happen to doubt that Shaquille Oneal and Muhammad Ali want to kill me, and I think their belief system, like Christianity, is mostly benign. That's a far cry from saying I think they are describing the universe accurately.

Actually, all the people who seem to pay the cost for speaking out against islam seem to be men. Women don't seem to pay any costs for anything in the world(whether it is islam or any other thing). The people who have been killed for speaking out against islam seem to pretty much be men in almost all cases and I do not know of a single case of a women who actually died because she spoke out against islam. Of course, there are cases of women who have had to leave the country and stay elsewhere, but that has happened to men also(salman rushdie or kurt westergaard etc etc). And regarding clothes, well.....since men are expected to dress well, I don't think there is anything wrong in expecting the same from women....after all, all the sayings regarding clothes like "you are what you wear" and "clothes make the man" are not just fun sayings and applicable just to males, but are applicable to females as well.

Well, yes, everyone is supposed to dress well at all times or on most times. But the problem is what if one cannot afford to dress well due to unfortunate circumstances or due to poverty? Anyway, how one dress or how one can afford to dress is a very personal thing and should not be based on any totalitarian ideology that pose a threat to our free world freedom or our nonbelievers security or individuality.

@franko

There is a difference of Shaq living in a secular state, where the state does not promote one ideology over the other, and Shaq living in an ideologically based state. Many germans joined the NSDAP, or russians the SCP for the benefits, not necessarily the belief, and were mostly benign. But the nazi or communist state that promoted said ideologies was far from benign. Do you think the Islamic Republic of Iran is benign, where islam cannot be criticized, challenged or contradicted? Do you think the historical south/confederacy was a benign state?

If they want to punish me for looking at her twice, then hold on a second so I can get a third, fourth and fifth look in. I mean, if I'm gonna do the time, I might as well do the crime.

I think their belief system, like Christianity, is mostly benign

Oh, that's laugh riot. Their belief system instructs them to convert the infidel (or oppress the infidel, or kill the infidel depending on the circumstance), and to outright kill the apostate (one who was a Muslim but has since rejected the teachings of Allah) and the Jew.

This is why Muslim governments don't have a problem with executing someone who's coverted to another religion.

If you think what this woman faces is bad, watch what happens when an American woman criticizes Pat Robertson, "because radical Christianity is just as dangerous as radical Islam" (as Rosie O'Donnell famously said).

Really? so Rosie is in hiding from the fatwah put on her head and the mobs of Christians looking to chop her head off?

Show me, Rosie (or Trust), the thousands of dead at the hands of "radical Christianity". Show me the priests and ministers calling for the death of those who insult Christ.

I assume Maplethorpe was assassinated for his art?

Oh snap! She stomped the s*%t out of them. Loved it. I hope she's safe.

I have lived in predominantly islamic countries and I have never meet any 'perfectly nice moslems', whether they are socalled moderates or not. Most of them are known to follow their islamic way of life, whatever that means, even if it inconvenienced us nonbelievers or harm our individual nonbelievers right. Try pointing out islamic atrocity in front of their face and you would see how extremely irrationally defensive they are of their whatever. They expect preferential treatment for almost everything for their majority islamic community. They want us disadvantaged poor nonbelievers to kow tow to their islamic backwardness by imposing their various backward supremacism concept. Those socalled islamic moderates were also known to be extremely intolerant of any criticism from disadvantaged poor nonbelievers.

Redrajesh,

What about the poor little prostitute crazy lawyer chick who hasn't been seen in Libya in a few days. Looks like some low life female can't even complain she's been raped. Guess she got what she deserved for speaking out against a little pro-gov gang rape. I bet she will reconsider next time.