I often get dinged for not going after other beliefs as vehemently as I do Christian ones. But that is not because I find them any more acceptable, in fact most of the time I find them even more toxic, especially within the Islamic community.
However because they tend to impact us less here in the US I do not make them the focus of my rants nearly as often.
However make no mistake, I find the idea of honor killings, oppression of women, and the marrying off children to be the indefensible acts of a primitive culture that has no place in the 21st century.
This child is terrified for her very life, and the fact that her own family has put her in this situation is sickening.
However I must point out that less than two hundred years ago this very same horrific tradition was widely practiced right here in the United States. Christianity is no less complicit in this type of abuse than is the Islam. The difference is that in America we moved beyond our superstitious view of women and sexuality, and now tend to respect both genders equally.
Except in Texas of course.
Except in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida....We are headed backwards, and fast.
ReplyDeleteYou left out Utah, where the government permits FLDS to marry off their children at age 13 or 14. Former Governor Mike Leavitt claims it is a protected right under freedom of religion.
DeleteIn my time in the miltiary (1980s - 2000s), I met a number of women who had been married to their military husband at 16 or 15. The My CO married his wife when she was 13, with parental consent. All those women were from the deep south.
DeleteMy parents were from Mississippi, marrying very young was common practice and the economic hardship of the Depression contributed to it in their generation. My grandmother wanted to know when I was 13 why I did not have a boyfriend yet. I informed her I was not allowed to even date until I was 16. If I remember the story correctly 16 was the age she married my grandfather.
DeleteWhat a beautiful, beautiful and strong child.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this Gryphen. Its the fundies that give Christianity, Islam, and other religions a bad name.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous, intelligent child! I hope that she can remain safe in a very unsafe place and grow to become the woman she is meant to be. She and Malala are shining beacons of light in the darkness of the Muslim communities in the Mideast. Bless them, and all like them, as well as the people who stand up with them like this child's uncle. Education will give them a new life as it does here when children are taught to think, to analyze, to study history and science and art and other cultures and languages. Unfortunately for America, too many children are forced into religious teaching only or home schooled to the detriment of this new generation.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteGryphen you are very mistaken if you don't think this isn't happening in the USA, under the guise of many cults.
ReplyDeleteBTW at least in Texas women aren't charged for their rape kits by the police.
DeleteArranged Marriage Is a US Issue
http://truth-out.org/news/item/15845-arranged-marriage-is-a-us-issue
The Rise of Arranged Marriage in America
Advocates of assisted marriage say it maintains tradition. Critics point to gender inequities and an unhealthy preoccupation with ethnic purity.
http://www.alternet.org/story/92561
/the_rise_of_arranged_marriage_in_america
We were child brides in U.S.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/06/23/o.child.brides.stories/index.html
Utah child bride forced to marry at 14
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/former-child-bride-escapes-flds-community-children-160347134--abc-news-topstories.html
The age for marriage for girls in Utah IS 14. It happens all the time.
DeleteAlthough I believe 14 is too young to get married, there is a huge difference in a 14 year old marrying her 16 year old boyfriend (who she believes is the love of her life and is going to take her away from her family that she can't stand) and having adults decide that a 14 year old will marry a 50 year old guy, or a relative as is done in these arranged marriages.
DeleteLike I stated first, I believe 14 is too young for anyone to get married -- but no one should be forced into a marriage to "please God".
The 14 yr olds aren't marrying 16 yr olds, or even 20 yr olds, most are marrying men 35 and up. Now explain how that isn't child abuse please.
Deletehttp://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14463815
ReplyDeleteWarren Jeffs (Utah polygamymist) suspected of marrying off brides as young as 12 in Canada.
She'll be dead in less than a week.
ReplyDeletePerhaps not since this video has been made public. What a beautiful and strong and courageous eleven year old!! Remember she was just ten!!! Eleven is a baby and yet she ran away-called for help and filed a complaint against her parents.
DeleteI look forward to hearing what becomes of her because she is amazing-simply amazing!!
5:38, you forget that people like her parents (who would do such a thing as marry her off) would actually PREFER they get the chance to murder her. It's called honor killing.
DeleteAs in many organized religions, women are (or were and are being dragged back into that status) property and property that defies is destroyed.
Defy one's father? Oh hell no! He would (and many do!) strangle her with his own hands - in the street for people to watch in many countries!
My fear is what her UNCLE is really like!
In an hour-long special report, NOW takes an unprecedented inside look at a global custom that devastates girls' lives and holds back communities. Explore this website to learn about how you can support efforts to end child marriage.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the film, you may wonder: What can be done about Child Marriage? How can I assist girls in vulnerable situations? Below are concrete steps you can take toward addressing Child Marriage and making a difference in the lives of children around the world.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/take-action.html
Robbed of their childhood, denied their rights to health, education and security.
Child marriage is a global problem that cuts across countries, cultures, religions and ethnicities. It denies girls their rights to health, to live in security and to choose when and whom they marry. It cuts short girls’ education and traps them, their families and their communities in a cycle of poverty.
http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/
I am encouraged by the strength of these young women in a number of countries, India for instance, who are speaking against early marriage and demanding the right to an education. Times are changing, and our children a leading the charge at an unusually young age. We need to stand with them
ReplyDeleteElizabeth 44
Disgusting. Religious people simply turn their brains off and ignore their common sense when they join these cults. I hope we experience a world wide enlightening soon. I feel so sorry for anyone living a life under the chains of religion.
ReplyDeleteOther people have pointed out the fallacy that America has moved past this.
ReplyDelete"Islamic community." - there's no such thing. There's a Muslim community, but to call a community Islamic is a misnomer.
"Christianity is no less complicit in this type of abuse than is the Islam."
Islam forbids any marriage that does not have the consent of the bride. That marriage is categorically invalid - i.e. NOT a marriage in the eyes of God. Legally speaking, in Islamic law, a child cannot give consent. So all this "child bride" stuff is against the laws of Islam. You can outlaw pedophilia, but that doesn't make pedophiles stop their behavior.
"The difference is that in America we moved beyond our superstitious view of women and sexuality, and now tend to respect both genders equally."
I think Texas disagrees. Unless of course, you'd like Texas to represent America and then have yourself be lumped in with those views.
Which, of course, is what you're doing to the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world right now.
There's a problem globally: trashing Islam won't help you solve it. In fact, this tendency of many an Atheist that I've seen reminds me of the so-called pro-life ideology: if you want less abortions, then take the acts that stop unwanted pregnancy, yes? Well, if you want some of these cultural atrocities to stop, then take the action that actually stops it. Bashing your idea of "Islam" isn't helping. Just you standing on your soapbox and being arrogant.
I hope this child's uncle can protect her and get her to a safe place where they can't retaliate.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful little girl and so intelligent, hope her uncle can protect her. I worked for some people from Iran decades ago. There were three of them a married couple and the ex-wife of the husband's brother. He and his wife kidnapped her after she had been forced to marry his brother as a child and fled the country, landing in the US. She told me when that man took her on outings she thought he was going to be her father-in-law he was so old. She was shocked when they forced her to marry him. She was in her thirties and despised men, except for the one who had rescued her.
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong about the US. Women's rights for everything are under full bore assault right now. Not in my state, thank goodness. Yet. All over the country laws are being passed that destroy women in every possible way. Barefoot, pregnant and at the kitchen stove. That's where some would have us at best. It feels like all out war.
ReplyDelete