"Female Muslim journalist faces trial for wearing pants"

[Strong Atheist]

Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein will face trial Sept. 7 for wearing trousers in violation of government decency statutes derived from Sharia law. If convicted, she faces 40 lashes and a fine.

...


Hussein and 12 other women were arrested by the country's public order police in July for wearing pants at a Khartoum reception hall. Most of the women accepted the punishment of 10 lashes and a $100 fine.


...


"I want to change this law, because hitting is not human," Hussein told the BBC in July.

...

"Just by forcing Muslims to look in the mirror, and to see how absurd it is that their religion is being presented as a religion that requires something like this, is important." said An-Na'im. "She's doing the whole Muslim world a favor."

More women getting beaten because of sharia law. First for drinking beer (how dare they!), now for the audacity of wearing pants! Well, the beatings (notice the other 11 already got ten lashes, or a BEATING) should put them in their place, according to sharia law.

:sarcasm:

... and in case it was not crystal clear, I think this is completely barbaric bullshit, more savage suppression of women from the religion of peace...

Edited for link: :blush:


http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-08-26-muslim-sharia_N.htm

[Teaser]

1. Christ. What if it had been a micro-mini?

.

[Strong Atheist]

2. Death penalty. nt.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. This stuff is cultural

and no matter how backward we think it, changing those ideas will not come from the west.......... :shrug:

[Strong Atheist]

4. Tell that to South Africa. nt.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

7. Not sure what you mean.

If you refer to apartheid, that was a doctrine/policy imposed by one race on another. In the cases like the OP cited, everyone there is part of that culture, they all are part of that religion.
At least that's the way I see it.

[Strong Atheist]

8. Where to begin. First, 30% are not, a sizable fraction (did you read the link?).

Second, this being imposed on all those who disagree, just like apartheid. Third, you said

This stuff is cultural and no matter how backward we think it, changing those ideas will not come from the west.....

My comment was in direct response to that. Do you know of the pressure the west put on that government in its closing years, and the effect that pressure had?

[Odin2005]

9. Well, they just elected a misogynistic rapist ass for president...

And think raping kids will cure them of AIDS, so that's not the best example.

[Strong Atheist]

10. Hhhmmm. I was trying to respond to the thought that pressure does not work

when I personally remember what was going on in this country demonstrating against apartheid, and the effects that had over there...

[Odin2005]

11. Oh, of course, I was just pointing out that SA isn't a beacon of enlightenment, either.

[Strong Atheist]

12. Cool...

:pals:

[texastoast]

5. If the women stand up, their world will change

Lots of sacrifice before the change, but it will come and it will come through the women.

[Strong Atheist]

6. I have not had to make those kinds of sacrifices to date. She is very

brave...


:patriot:

(never used that smiley before...)

[onager]

13. But right across the Sudanese border, Muslim women wear pants.

In Egypt. Most young Egyptian women wear the same stuff as young Western women, tight jeans and designer tops/T-shirts. Plus a headscarf (if they're Muslim, though not even all Muslims do so).

I lived in Alexandria for nearly 4 years and just came back in March of this year.

For the record, Egypt is at least nominally under Sharia law - it says so right in Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution. (Though the line about Sharia law was only added, IIRC, in the 1980's.)

Having said that, however, I'm not buying for a minute the "cultural" argument. The religion is used to reinforce the culture, and vice-versa.

Taking one bad example - FGM - it's a pretty common saying in Egypt that a woman must be circumcised if she is to be a "true Muslim."

You can read that yourself in the fascinating book Khul-Khaal: Five Egyptian Women Tell Their Stories by Nayra Atiya:

http://www.amazon.com/Khul-Khaal-Egyptian-Stories-Contemporary-Issues/dp/0815601816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251444490&sr=1-1

("Khul-Khaal" means "anklet," a reference to the gold anklets Egyptian women traditionally received on their wedding day. The book interviews 4 Muslim women and 1 Christian.)

[Strong Atheist]

14. Thanks for the info. I was just looking at Egypt a SMALL amount,

and saw that things are improving a bit there on women's rights.

[sam sarrha]

15. they just want to shut her up.. women are soulless hollow shells meant only to birth more muslems

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=muslim+womens+rights&search_type=&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=apostates+of+islam&search_type=&aq=0&oq=+apostates

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=apostates+of+hell&search_type=&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=muslim+apostates+be+warned&search_type=&aq=f

the bear book you can buy today....
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Muhammad-Ali-Sina/dp/0980994802