Hello, Feminists! Here's The "Patriarchy" You Should Be Protesting
In the LA Times, there's an op-ed, "What's the most dangerous country in the world to be female? I know firsthand."
Hint: It's the place where there are acid "warnings" instead of "trigger warnings."
The piece is by Najia Karimi, who writes:
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- I was born in Kabul, raised in Pakistan and returned home after the fall of the Taliban to work in what is now the most dangerous country in the world to be female.My parents' generation had much more freedom than I and the other girls in my family did, and the downward trend continues. Young girls today are even more limited in their choices than I was. In Afghanistan, 60% of us are forcibly married by age 16. Only 15% of our girls are educated, and fatwas have been issued in some regions banning girls from going to school at all. Women and girls are punished for any "immoral act" that "brings shame" to the family, including elopement or perceived sexual misconduct. Acid attacks, stoning, rape and murder are all deemed acceptable punishments when a man's "honor" has been threatened.
Invasions by Russia and the United States, alongside the ever-present threat of the Taliban and other groups, has meant that Afghan girls and women are in danger both inside and outside our homes. And the situation is only getting worse. Women who try to change the system by entering politics are particularly at risk of being targeted with violence. There is almost nowhere safe for us to go, and when we try to make things better, we put our lives at risk.
Sounds just like an average Tuesday on a U.S. college campus, right?
This isn't to say there's nothing worth protesting here in the U.S. or that I want people to stop. Quite the contrary. The more free we are with speech, the freer this country remains.
But check out the tone -- the screeching -- of women here over, what? Selling sushi in the college cafeteria? Selling hummus -- made in (gasp!) Israel, where women are allowed to go out, be slutty, be in the army, be surgeons, go to school, and all the rest -- without being killed or disfigured by acid? Without having to ask Daddy's permission or that of a brother, like in Islamic countries.
But sure, by all means, ladies, screech about Israel and ignore what goes on in Pakistan.
Zarmina is one of the many girls who have sought our assistance. Now 14, she was only 2 years old when her mother sold her off to a 22-year-old Taliban member. Four years ago, he forced her to move in with him. Between then and last September, when she came to the shelter, Zarmina was given food only once a day and was raped on a regular basis. When we met her, she was ill and deeply traumatized.We helped her get urgent medical treatment and support in the shelter. She soon went back to school, but with nobody else to support her, Zarmina is dependent on us. If she returns to her village, the Taliban will stone her to death.
Another girl, Mah Jabin, was 10 years old when she was handed over to a man who beat and raped her over the course of three years. In despair, she poured a gallon of gasoline over herself and lit a match. Her mother found her just in time and put the flames out. She spent a month in the hospital with life-threatening burns and lived with us for a year under continuous medical treatment. We helped her get a divorce and a warrant was issued for her husband's arrest. She is now also back at school.
Of course, protesting what goes on in Pakistan doesn't really work if what you're going for in protesting Israel is cover for Jew hatred -- basically, having a plausibly deniable way to protest Jews.
Oh, and I'm not in favor of everything that goes on in Israel. In fact, I think that if Jews looked at the highest for of righteousness in Judaism, saving a life, they'd do as LA writer Ken Layne once suggested and move Israel to Baja.
Same weather -- missing a few urns and the religious connection and history. However, to save a whole lot of lives (Israeli and Palestinian, in a conflict unlikely to ever end, except in a nuking, Israelis should move away from the people trying to murder them. (And yes, Israel bought Arab land fair and square, for elevated prices, early on, despite Arabs telling other Arabs not to sell.)
After Israelis vacate to Mexico, the land they've left will surely become like all the other Middle Eastern countries -- where various sects of Islam are busy killing each other for being "not Muslim enough," or just because.
The Jews -- in the form of Israelis -- are just a convenient distraction from this.
After the Israelis vacate to Mexico, La Raza will protest that they stole Mexican land.
Conan the Grammarian at April 12, 2017 7:42 AM
"In fact, I think that if Jews looked at the highest for of righteousness in Judaism, saving a life, they'd do as LA writer Ken Layne once suggested and move Israel to Baja."
The combined population of both Baja California states is just north of four million. Whether Mexico would look favorably on mass immigration (and what could they possibly object to?) remains to be seen.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at April 12, 2017 7:47 AM
Well, these would not be Syrian teenage refugee boys.
Sixclaws at April 12, 2017 9:10 AM
Amy, Amy, Amy. Lemme mansplain you something.
Feminists will never say an unkind word about someone who has demonstrated the ability to cut their head off and stick it on a pole as a lesson to the rest.
This is part of why they say the things they say.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2017 10:29 AM
uhhhh... let's try it this way:
Jews get sick of the powerlessness that comes from not having a land of their own.
they return to the Jewish homeland - recognizeable as such to millions around the world who read the Judeo-Christian bible, a place where a dig anywhere in the ground uncovers Hebrew artifacts.
...aaaaaaaand even there they are called usurpers.
What makes you think we'll be left in peace in Baja?
Ben David at April 12, 2017 10:52 AM
"In fact, I think that if Jews looked at the highest for of righteousness in Judaism, saving a life, they'd do as LA writer Ken Layne once suggested and move Israel to Baja."
That comment went completely over my head because I don't get it. Other people must have gotten it, and it must be a significant point, because three of the previous comments refer to it. Is it sarcasm or irony or something? The Jews moving Israel to Baja is obviously unrealistic. Does their lack of interest in doing so imply that they're not interested in saving life? What's the point?
Sorry for being so dense. I'm willing to accept ridicule from someone who will explain it to me. Thanks.
Ken R at April 12, 2017 3:12 PM
"What makes you think we'll be left in peace in Baja?"
Because it's only a few miles south of Hollywood, duh!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 12, 2017 4:34 PM
Ken R-- Old time LA Blog people got the allusion to a casual-but-illuminating suggestion from Layne, nearly twenty years ago, that Mexico sell Baja to Israel (or otherwise initiate some kind of intimate hosting).
Already I'm bungling details and it's worth your own investigation, either by Googling (though essential materials may have link-rotted, we're talking circa Y2K) or by writing to the man himself. He's still out there.
Crid at April 12, 2017 11:00 PM
Annnnnnddd Isab had already posted the Naked Capitalism link a few hour earlier. Still.
From Wiki:
Crid at April 13, 2017 3:58 AM
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