Is Anyone Listening?

Al-Jazeera reports - Saudi Court Punishes Rape Victim

A friend sent me the following e-mail about this sad injustice which I thought I'd share.

I was told by someone to take a thin branch off a Jacaranda tree, and strip it of its foliage. This, I was told, is similar to a bamboo strip, the weapon used to whip a raped woman 200 times, because the rape was of her own doing.

I challenge you all to pluck a thin branch of a Jacaranda, strip its foliage as I did, and whip your upper arm just once.

I did.

I screamed in pain.

Can you then imagine this same pain inflicted 200 times on your back? No, I don't think you can. Another culture believes this kind of cruelty is a part of their law and rightly so. Saudi Arabia wishes its women to live a kind of life no South African of sound mind would even consider. If she is raped, SHE has 'asked for it' . She has gone out without a male family escort therefore she is guilty of procuring her own rape. This woman was raped 5 times by a group of men, all of whom recieved some mild form of punishment. She however is physically tortured, and imprisoned for the crime of visiting a friend.

The world watches, and UNESCO pretends to watch.

It then proudly names Israel as a #1 abuser of human rights.

What?

Gill

Comments

[Hard Rain]

See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil and get your oil for a decent price.

[Hillel]

While the world makes half-baked, half-hearted responses to the tragedies and atrocities in Somalia (has nayone even noticed?), Sudan, Darfur, Myanmar etc there is an eery silence on issues such as the one above.

I hazard to suggest that the separation of church and state, and the obsession with freedom of religion (well, everywhere except at the Rapport) has lead the proverbial "vocal" and "intellectual left" to a brick wall in confronting infractions based on religious law.

While on one hand there is a condemnation of "backward" thinking and barbaric practices, for instance the "left" is quite comfortable mocking christianity and catholic practices in particular, and any other idea that is "unscientific" - as soon as the matter is packaged and marketed as exotic levantine "culture" the same idiocy suddenly becomes acceptable.

Or if not acceptable, it at least becomes a moot point. Two excellent examples of this intellectual morass are the treatment of homosexuals in the ME (save of course for the little country everyone is trying to destroy) and the treatment of women - as in the post.

Gay bashing and wife beating is evil and an infraction of human rights, dignity, an affront to society etc etc when practiced in Louisianna and the bible belt but when it's done next to a big rock in Saudi Arabia it's suddenly a delightful cultural eccentricity and tradition.

Assuming some are not still mired in fuzzy logic - One of two things must be the case - either people are too afraid to speak up for fear of the Religion of Peace, or those making the noise don't believe in what they're saying to start with. Neither bodes well for human rights.

WI'm reminded of the quote ascribed to Lord Napier re Sati:

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.[40] "

[Hillel]

Erratum: That should perhaps be General Napier (Sir Charles James) and not Lord Napier (Archibald?)

[The Blacklisted Dictator]

I found this comment posted on an Iranian website. The topic being
discussed was the repression of women in Iran. It included photos of
women being arrested (at a demo demanding more rights for women.)
I hope that readers of SUPERNATURAL will take note...
Mehrdad Emadi writes :
"Once again, clear evidence of the daily violations of the basic human
rights of a nation. It is a simple fact, no matter what spin in put on
it, that religion, especially institutionalized religion and in
particular when it is political power, can not tolerate expression of
thoughts, ideas and respect the right of the individual to disagree. In
the same manner that institutionalized communism can not . I address my
country men and women who have been living in the safety of western
democracies in these years. Are you still prepared to stay indifferent
and do nothing about the suffering of our country women and men. Have
we become so self absorbed and immoral that through our silence, we
allow this type of behviour to continue. All it takes is to ,find the
address on you member of parliment/representative/congressmen/women in
from your town, city state, and write a three line note to them, "I
(your name) wish to bring to your attention the continuous violation of
human rights of the Iranian people by the regime. I ask you the
instigate a debate/investigation in the parliment/congress/House and
raise the awareness of these violations in order to apply more pressure
.on the islamic Republic Regiome." Then your name
.Please do this for our people