Midaq Alley

I just finished reading A Thousand splendid Suns and the book was amazing. Now I'm starting to read Midaq Alley.

The novel centers around the residents of one of the hustiling, teeming back alleys of Cairo. From Zaita the cripple-maker to Kirsha the cafe owner with a taste for young boys and drugs, to Abbas the barber who mistakes greed for love, to Hamida who sells her soul to escape the alley, these characters vivdly evoke the sights, sounds and smells of Cairo. Long after one finishes reading, the smell of fresh bread lingers, as does the image of men gathering at the cafe for their nightly ritual.

I'm going to be paying close attention to the women in this novel and how they are portrayed in Egypt's society. I Have read about how Marocco has portrayed their women, to seeing how the Afgani women are treated. Now I am entering a new world, a new continent, a new country and a new city. With all new characters.

When there's hope

In Chapter 45 we start to see Laila and Mariam become stronger individuals. This all happens after Tariq shows up after many years. The readers learn that Rasheed paid someone to come to Laila and tell her that Tariq was dead, just so he can marry her. Now Laila is starting to see that maybe their lives can change because Tariq is back and can protect them. The only problem is Rasheed. When Rasheed learns about Tariq coming over, Laila starts to fight him back. Once Maraim sees that he is really hurting Laila and means to kill her, she starts to take action as well. she goes and grabs and shovel that ends up killing him at the end of the chapter. This shows us that these two women do have the power to protect themselves. That all this time if they just stood up to him and showed him who's boss, he would never bother them again.

Starting to Open her eyes to the truth

Had she been a deceitful wife? she asked herself. A complacent wife? A dishonorable woman? Discreditable? vulgar? What harmful thing had she willfully done to this man to warrant his malice, his continual assaults, the relish with which he tormented her? Had she not looked after him when he was ill? Fed him, and his friends, cleaned up after him dutifully?
Had she not given this man her youth?
Had she ever justly deserved his meanness? p. 309

Finally we start to see Mariam open her eyes to how her husband treated her all these years. She now knows he has done nothing but made her life even more miserable. This I believe helps her fight him back to defend Laila and herself. This is what helps her murder the man that is about to kill the only person in her life, who understood her and loved for who she was.

Starvation starts to lead to Murder + Suicide

Death from starvation suddenly became a distinct possibility. Some chose not to wait for it. Mariam heard of a neighborhood widow who had ground some dried bread, laced it with rat poison, and fed it all to seven of her children. She had saved the biggest portion for herself. p. 272

What would you do if you were starving to death? Would you commit the sin of killing not only your self but others as well?

God is dead to Laila

"Titanic City" was born.
It's the song, they said.
No, the sea. The luxury. The ship.
It's the sex, they whispered.
Leo, said Aziza sheepishly. It's all about Leo.
"Everybody wants Jack," Laila said to Mariam. "That's what it is. Everybody wants Jack to rescue them from disaster. But there is not Jack. Jack is not coming back. Jack is dead." p. 270

In this passage it seems like Laila is not really refferring to Leonardo DiCaprios character but is referring to God. She's telling Mariam that God has left Afganistan and is never going to help them. She's telling Mariam that God is dead to her and everyone else. The reason for this is becuase it seems like no one is helping her and everyone else in Afganistan. We start to think is Laila losing faith in God?

Titanic

That was also the summer of Titanic, the summer that Mariam and Aziza were a tangle of limbs, rolling and giggling, Aziza insisting she get to be Jack.
"Quiet, Aziza jo."
"Jack! Say my name, Khala Mariam. Say it. Jack!"
"Your father will be angry if you wake him."
"Jack! and you're Rose."
It would end up with Mariam on her back, Surrendering, agreeing again to be Rose. "Fine, you be Jack," she relented. "You die young, and I get to live to a ripe old age."
"Yes, but I die a hero," said Aziza, "while you, Rose, you spend your entire, miserable life longing for me." p. 269-270

The last sentence that is in bold, basically describes who Mariam is. She connects with Rose in a way. She has suffered her entire childhood waiting for her dad, then being forced to marry a man who sh does not love. She is not exactly like Rose who is longing for a man but she is longing for happiness, freedom, and acceptence.

Laila's Dream: tells the future

In Laila's dream, she and Mariam are out behind the toolshed digging again. But, this time, it's Aziza they're lowering into the ground. Aziza's breath fogs the sheet of plastic in which they have wrapped her. Laila sees her panicked eyes, the whiteness of her palms as they slap and push against the sheet. Aziza pleads. Laila can't hear her screams. Only for a while, she calls down, it's only for a while. It's the raids, don't you know, my love? When the raids are over, Mammy and Khala Mariam will dig you out. I promise, my love. Then we can play. We can play all you want. She fills the shovel. Laila woke up, out of breath, with a taste of soil in her mouth, when the first granular lumps of dirt hit the plastic. p. 268

This dreams seems like it's warning Laila of whats going to happen next to her daughter Aziza. The ironic part about it is later on in the chapter she has to send Aziza to an orphange because she can not afford to feed her. She tells Aziza that it's only temporary and that she and Mariam will come and get her soon. When Aziza is sent to the orphange, it seems that Rasheed didn't care if his daughter went but did not even send his son there. So this shows us the favoriatism he has over his son more than his daughter.

I also, made a connection with Laila's dream that used to happen a lot in the pre-Islamic times and in other countries as well. The Taliban are taking over so much. They restrict everyone from doing anything at all. This connects back to burrying the new born baby girls in the past. Back then if a women bore a baby girl they would have to get rid of the child. So it seems like Laila fears this is what's going to happen next to her child. To her and Tariq's child.

Laila in the novel a thousand splendid suns is a strong character. She always stands up to what her husband has to say. In chapter 40 the reader's start to see the "unfairness" Rasheed has on both his children. He treats his daughter as if she was not his own, while he treats his son like a prince. Laila stands up to Rasheed when he tells her that he is going to put Aziza on the streets to be a "begger". Laila told him no and he ended up slapping her. Laila then defended herself and punched him in the face. For just a moment once Rasheed left the room Laila saw that she might actually have power over him. Until he came back and placed his gun to her mouth.

"The slap made a loud smacking sound, the palm of his thickfingered hand connecting squarely with the meat of Laila's cheek... Then Laila punched him." p.266

This makes me proud when women object to what the men say or do. I was proud of Laila punching Rasheed and defending herself and her daughter. Even though this is going to lead to consequences, this goes to show no matter what the consequences are we should always stand up to what we believe in. And never let those who try to bring or put you down, do so.

We see more of Laila back talking Rasheed.

Fired from the resturant in Taimani because customers complained about the long waits, Rasheed said the cook was slow and lazy.
"You were probably out back napping," said Laila.
"Don't provoke him, Laila jo," Mariam said.
"I'm warning you, women," he said.
"Either that or smoking."
"I swear to God."
"You can't help being what you are."
And then he was on Laila, pummeling her chest, her head, her belly with fists, tearing at her hair, throwing her to the wall. Aziza was shrieking, pulling at his shirt; Zalmai was screaming too, trying to get him off his mother. Rasheed shoved the children aside, pushed Laila to the ground, and began kicking her. Mariam threw herself on Laila. He went on kicking, kicking Mariam now, spittle flying from his mouth, his eyes glittering with murderous intent, kicking until he couldn't anymore.
"I swear you're going to make me kill you, Laila," he said, panting. then he stormed out of the house. p.271-272

Rasheed abusing Laila shows the rage of how men can not control their actions. Beating on women who are weaker than them. This is sad because this really does happen to these middle Eastern women. Most of the men there think they have a right to hit or abuse their wives. What would you do if your husband ever even hit you? Imagine what these women go through everyday living in a society that traps them from everything.

That inner feeling

They shut down the cinemas too. Cinema Park. Ariana. Aryub. Projection rooms were ransacked and reels of films set to fire. Laila remembered all the times she and Tariq had sat in those theaters and watched hindi films, all those melodramatic tales of lovers seperated by some tragic turn of fate, one adrift in some faraway land, the other forced into marriage, the weeping, the singing in fields of merigolds, the longing for reunions. She remembered how Tariq would laugh at her for crying at those films. (p.251 Thousand Splendid suns)

This is ironic because now Laila is living the same life style as the girls in the movies she used to watch with her love, Tariq.

WHY are RULES always HARDER on WOMEN?!?!?

Our watan is now known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. These are the laws that we will enforce and you will obey:
all citizens must pray five times a day. If it is prayer time and you are caught doing something other, you will be beaten.
All men will grow their beards. The correct length is at least one clenched fist beneath the chin. If you do not abide by this, you will be beaten.
All boys will wear turbans. Boys in grade one through six will wear black turbans, huigher grades will wear white. All boys will wear Islamic clothes. Shirt collars will be buttoned.
Singing is forbidden.
Dancing is forbidden.
playing cards, playing chess, gambling, and kite flying are forbidden.
Writing books, watching films, and painting pictures are forbidden.
If you keep parakeets, you will be beaten. Your birds will be killed.
If you steal, your hand will be cut off at the wrist. If you steal again, your foot wiil be cut off.
If you are not Muslim, do not worship where you can be seen by Muslims. If you do, you will be beaten and imprisoned. If you are caught trying to convert a Muslim to your faith, you will be executed.
Attention women:
You will stay inside your homes at all times. It is not proper for women to wander aimlessly about the streets. If you go outside, you must be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative. If you are caught alone on the street, you will be beaten and sent home.
You will not, under any circumstance, show your face. You will cover with burqa when outside. If you do not, you will be severely beaten.
Cosmetics are forbidden.
Jewelry is forbidden.
You will not wear charming clothes.
You will not speak unless spoken to.
you will not make eye contact with men.
You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten.
You will not paint your nails. If you do, you will lose a finger.
Girls are forbidden from attending school. All schools for girls will be closed immediately.
Women are forbidden from working.
If you are found guilty of adultery, you will be stoned to death.
listen. listen well. obey. Allah-u-akbar.(p.247-249 Thousand splendid suns)

Tell me what you think about this passage. How would you feel if you were under these cercumstances? Any questions? Ask. I'll explain my opinion once I find out your opinions.

My Recomendation!!

All I have to say is that I'm already through the first two parts of A Thousand Splendid Suns and I can't put the book down. I Keep going back for more. I recomend this to everyone because it's a story that brings you to tears and allows you to feel the pain, and the love that each of these characters go through. I love this book so much that I just had to make a blog saying it! (hahaha)

The Burqa

[Here is a picture of the burqa]

Some husbands force their wives to wear the burqa even if it is not necesseary for the woemn to wear it in their societies. Other women are forced to wear it becuase it is a law in their societies. If these women do not follow the law they are beaten, tortured or even killed. Then there are women who want to wear the burqa. I think if a women wants to wear the burqa, there is nothing wrong with it because she is choosing to wear it. But, if they are forced to wear it then I am totally against it. I mean what gives these men the rights to tell these women what to wear and do. What if these men were forced to cover their entire bodies, would they like it?

"Mariam had never before worn a burqa. Rasheed had to help her put it on. The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing the world through a mesh screen. She practiced walking around her room in it and kept stepping on the hem and stumbling. The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept presing against her mouth." (pg. 65)

WOW! Is it me or do these women have some power !?!?

In A Thousand Splendid Suns Jalil's wives seem to have power over him. It seems to me that they are the one's who don't want Mariam living with them. It seems like the wives are controlling Jalil to do what they want and think is best. Some things that led me to believe this is because in Chapter seven, when they inform Mariam about the arranged marriage the wives are the ones who are doing all the talking. The father just sits there looking down. He to me seems like he doesn't want this but is going along with it because this is what his wives want. I think his wives bring up the guilt of him cheating on them with Mariam's mother in the past and that this is all his fault.
I started to go back to other parts of the story, which help me believe that maybe his wives are the ones forcing him to do this. So, lets go back to where Mariam was in her father's guest room.

"That night Mariam couldn't sleep for a long time. She lay in bed looking at the sky, listening to the footsteps below, the voices muffled by walls and the sheets of rain punishing the window. When she did doze off, she was startled awake by shouting. Voices downstairs, sharp and angry. Mariam couldn't make out the words. Someone slammed the door." (p.39-40)

Hmmm... I wonder what they were arguing about? This was probably her father arguing with the wives to get rid of Mariam. The wives wanted to get rid of her but he probably objected to the idea at first because this is his daughter they are trying to get rid of. I don't think that Jalil did not care about Mariam. I think he cared about her deeply, the problem was his wives were in the way of him expressing his love towards her. In the past when Jalil would go on his visits to Mariams house to see her every Thursday's, his wives probably sometimes made him not go. If Jalil did not care about her he would not have visited her in the first place. I believe that Jalil is just a weak man, who can not stand up for what he believes in. I mean he needs to become stronger and be A MAN! This is his daughter. His own blood. And now he is letting her go only because his wives don't want to be embaressed by their friends and the people around them.

Arranged marriages forced on women

After reading half way through part one of A Thousand and Splendid Suns we start to see so much happening to our main character Mariam. Mariam is a walking "shame" for her father and the rest of his family. So, her father arranges a marriage for her to be married to a man who is forty to forty five years old. Mariam doesn't want to marry the guy but is basically forced into the marraige. We see this on page 48 in part one of the novel: Everyone at the marriage ceramony are answering for Mariam but the Mullah tells them no that Mariam has to answer because the man is seeking her not the other way around. The Mullah told them that he was going to ask Mariam three times if she did not answer there was no marriage. After the Mullah asked her twice all Mariam heard was fidgeting in the room and then her father whispers her name. So, Mariam just says yes because it was like her father begging her to marry him. He was begging her to leave because he did not want her around only because of the fear of what others might say.

It is sad because this story relates to society. There are probably a lot of women who marry a man they don't even know. Who they don't even want to marry. This is all because the parents force their childs into it only because this is what they want and not what their daughter wants. These women then end up living unhappy lives that they never asked for or wanted. This is truely upsetting, and this part of the story almost brought me to tears. I was half angry at her for saying yes and giving into what they wanted. She had a chance to say no and end it right there but instead she gave in like most women who let men have power over them. The other half, I was angry at Jalil for being such a selfish individual. He only cares about what others in society might say and think, instead of just following his heart.

Blame her, NOT him!

If a womnen is pregant, individuals in society tend to blame the woman more than the man. They think that it is the woman's fault for allowing her self to get accidently pregnant. The man can easily leave the woman if he wants to and not have to take part in any responsibility unlike a woman. A woman has to make a decision whether to keep the baby or raise it on her own. Reading a Thousand Splendid Suns shows the readers what is happening in society today and what has happened back then.

The first chapter of the story we start to learn that Mariam's mother Nana ended up pregnant when she was not married to a man. The man who is Mariams father, Jalil was forced to not take responsibilty in taking in or helping Nana and his unborn child. The reason for this is because society would talk about him so instead he sent out Nana to another city.

"Nana said, "Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accussing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam." (p.7)

A quote that Nana says to Maraim which I thought fit perfectly with how most men do excuse things on the women in their lives. Like for example, now we are starting to hear about how male athletes are doing bad once their wives or girlfriends come to watch their games. That these women are to blame for why these men are playing horribly or getting injured. In some countries if a women gets raped, the men tend to blame it on the women because the women were the ones making them do this. So, instead of punishing the man they punish the woman instead. I believe this incident happened in Saudia Arabia. There are many more incidents like these as well, where people are blaming the women for those problems.

The end of Dreams of Trespass

I have just finished Dreams of Trespass and I just have to say it was an amazing story. I wanted to talk about the ending of the novel when Fatima, who is the narrator is starting to realize that she is becoming a women and soon she will not be able to be friends with Samir any more. She starts to talk to Mina about it and Mina tells her the reason why women and men are seperated as they get older. She also, tells her that there is two sides the ones with the power and the powerless. I thought the novel was perfectly ended when Fatima asks Mina "how would she know what side she is on?" and Mina answers her telling her that, "if she can not get out, she is on the powerless side." The ending describes how most of the Muslim women's lives were in the past and for some in the present.

here is the ending passage from Dreams of Trespass:

"Suddenly I felt sad for no reason, and I went up to Mina on the terrace and sat by her side. She stroked my hair. "Why are we so quiet today?" she asked. I told her about my conversation with Samir, and also about what had happened in the Hammam(this is bathroom in arabic). She listened with her back to the western wall, her yellow headdress as elegant as ever, and when I had finished, she told me that life was going to be tougher from now on for both me and Samir. "Childhood is when the difference does not matter," she said. "From now on, you won't be able to escape it. You'll be ruled by the difference. The world is going to turn ruthless."
"But why?" I asked her, "and why can't we escape the rule of the difference? Why can't men and women keep on playing together even when they are older? Why the seperation?" Mina replied not by answering my questions but by saying that both men and women live miserable lives because of the seperation. Serperation creates an enormous gap in understanding. "Men do not understand women," she said, "and women do not understand men, and it all starts when little girls are separated from little boys in the hammam. Then a cosmic frontier splits the planet in two halves. The frontier indicates the line of power because whereever there is a frontier, there are two kinds of creatures walking on Allah's earth, the powerful on one side, and the powerless on the other."
I asked Mina how would I know on which side I stood. Her answer was quick, short, and very clear: "If you can't get out, you are on the powerless side." (Dreams of Trespass p. 242)

A Better future for Women?

""Life is looking good for women now," she said, "with the nationalists asking for their education, and the end of seclusion. For you know , the problem with women today is that they are powerless. And powerlessness stems from ignorance and a lack of education." (p.170)

This quote connects to my, WHen is the best time to rebel? blog. This is exactly why these women do not rebel because they are not educated. They just take in what they are told by others. The other day me and one of my friends from Yeman had a discussion about this. She was telling me how when she goes down there this summer her cousins are all going to be all happy and cheerful. Who they are going to get married and how many children they will have. The only goal in life for them is that they have to have a family and take care of them. She said when she was younger she used to think like that but once she came to this country, it opened her eyes to the truth. That taking care of your family is not the only thing women are suppose to do in life. They can actually do more.

How to get out of that well

"I did not tell them about the well, for fear that they would prevent me from hearing Mina's story again. And I needed to know all the details. I needed to hear that story told again, and again, so that I too, could cross the desert and arrive safely at the terrace. Talking to Mina was essential, because I needed to know all the details. I needed to know more- I needed to know how to get out of the well."(Dreams of Trespass p. 169)


Background of what happened before that:
She used this because Mina, one of the women in the Harem tells the narrator and the rest of the children a story about how she was kidnapped and placed in a well. To survive she could not let go of the rope or she would fall into the water full of snakes and other creatures. The narrator starts to have nightmares about being kidnaped and her parents want to know why but she doesn't tell them because she fears that they will tell Mina to stop telling her stories. The narrator can not afford that because she loves Mina and her stories. She also, hides in a olive jar and the other adults wonder why she hides in there but she makes up a lie trying to cover about the true reason why she hides in them. The narrator hides in them to practice surviving in a closed in area, like Mina had to do in the well.

Once I read this line it caught my attention quickly because she is not talking about getting out of a well that Mina was trapped in but that she is trying to get out of this Harem and the way all these women are trapped inside a house or gated commuity without being able to explore the world and see the things around her. She wants to learn what Mina did to keep on surviving so she can use it in the future. I thought it was nice how she used it that way to describe to us how she really feels: trapped and trying to survive in a world where there is not equality between men and women.

Asmahan, The Singing Princess

The narrator in this novel talks to her readers for an entire chapter about a woman named, Asmahan, who all the Muslim women idol and respect. She was the princess of Lebanon, who was a singer and actress. She was the only woman who lived her life the way she wanted it because she looked at life as being precious every moment that she was breathing. She wore short skirts and clothing that revealed her body. The only thing in her life that she was forced into was marrying her cousin, Prince Hassan. Hassan could not take what Asmahan believed in and did, so he ended up divorcing her. The narrator compares her to another woman who never showed off her body publicly and followed all of the moral rules that were expected of women. Her name was Oum Kelthoum. Kelthoum built herself up from being a poor women and becoming famous. Here is a women that worked for what she never had in the past to be where she wanted to be and still followed what all women were suppose to do in society and she was still not respected by the other women as much as Asmahan was. This shows how amazing Asmahan was to all Muslim women because she is someone who they envy and want to be. She is someone who actually took a stand for herself and lived her life the way she wanted to live it. She had no one, not even her husbands interfere with it. Unfortunately she was assasinated. No one knows exactly what happened to her but believe that it had to do with secret agents. Others (men) say that this was her punishment for being such a disgrace. This again shows us that the men do not approve of what she does but did anyone stop her right away? If one women can accomplish her dreams, then why can't the other women in the Middle East and Arab countries do the same. If one women can make a difference, then all women can make a difference. They can all reach out for the dreams that they aspire in their lives. I believe that if more women were like Asmahan, there would be no more issues with equality between men and women in the Middle East.

When is the best time to Rebel?

"And in any case, you shouldn't rebel stupidly. You ought to carefully consider the situation, and analyze everything. Rebel when you know there is some chance you may win." (Dreams of Trespass p. 117)

In this passage the narrators mother tells her daughter that she needs to start depending on defending herself, instead of depending on Samir, who is a boy around the same age as her. The mother is telling her daughter that if she keeps on relying on men then she will never be able to stand up for what she believes in. Which is what all women should do no matter what the consequence is.

The words the mother uses about rebeling "when you know there is some chance you may win", has the readers thinking is this why most women do not rebel? Do they believe that they have no chance in winning to get equal rights with men? Is this what most of the women tell themselves everyday?

This might be the reason why these women do not rebel because most of the women are probably told that they have no chance against the men, who run their countries. This leads to them not even bothering with achieving equality among one another. All they can do is sit around at home all day taking care of their families and dreaming dreams that will never happen, unless they take action themselves.

Happiness

""I want my daughters' lives to be exciting," she would say, "very exciting and filled with one hundred percent happiness, nothing more, nothing less." ... Happiness, she would explain, was when a person felt good, light, creative, content, loving and loved, and free." (pg. 80)

This is what these women want which is happiness; for themselves and for their children (girls).

"An unhappy person felt as if there were barriers crushing her desires and the talents she had inside." (pg80)

This is what is reality for these women. They are not allowed to express who they are in public. They are not allowed to have any rights and are not allowed to do as they please. This is what the women want to get away from and be able to change. If not for them for their daughters.

Utopia

"To reach Yasmina's farm we only had to travel a few hours, but it might as well have been one of Aunt Habiba's faraway islands in the China Sea. Women on the farm did things we'd never even heard of in the city,like fishing, tree climbing, and bathing in a stream that was rushing on to the Sebou River before heading to the Atlantic Ocean. The women even started Participating in horseback riding competitions, after Tamou arrived from the North. ... oh they were wild on Yasmina's farm." (Dreams of Trespass pg. 67-72)

Yasmina's farm seems like a Utopia for these women because it is the only place that women actually are aloud to have some freedom and do things that are unheard of in other Harems. Yasmina's farm is a place that most women, especially the narrator envies. They wish that one day they can have that same freedom as these women on the farm do. When the narrator tells us that the farm is only a few hours away, she says that it should be a faraway island because it is something completely different then what they are used to.

Throughout the novel we see that these women wish for a perfect society where women and men are treated equal. Throughout the novel the mothers wish for their daughters that they will be able to go to school and get a job just like the boys do. It is something that some women in some countries still wish today. Some Arab countries are still not treating women equally with men. It's not only the Arab countries but other countries as well. America still has some inequalities between men and women but they do not show as much.

Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was the first woman Prime minister in an Islamic state.

here's a link to learn about who she was and what she did for women:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto

you could also, see her assasination on Youtube.com
just type in her name.


I thought I would show her because she is another example of a strong woman leader who was killed because people thought that if she brought change to women's lives then God will punish them. The people who think like that are brain washed in believing that they are going to be rewarded by God if they kill her and themselves.

A website on Sexual Harrassment on Muslim women and how to help them out

"Sexual Harrassment of Muslim women
Women are sexually violated and harassed in all societies. I have created this section Inshallah, to address this problem within Muslim communities in particular. Especially because Muslim women tend to be more reluctant to report such incidences, instead, letting it eat away at them.

Sexual harrassment is rampant in Non-Muslim communities as well. To see what is going on, please visit "Liberated Modern Woman?" However, I do believe that more women are able and willing to report or lodge complaints in these societies.

As a religion and way of life, Islam offers the most priviledges to the woman and her rights as a human being equal to man. There is a small minority of sleazeballs among Muslims. These men give a bad name to Islam and the majority of good Muslim men. Muslim men should be the LAST people on this earth to commit molestation and rape. God commands both women and men to lower their gaze. What is the use of women wearing the veil, besides the blessings God gives to those who follow His instructions, if some Muslim men cannot control their hands nor their libidos?


Down with Silence: Help fight against rape and molestation

The best solution to this is to expose these men and as a follow-up, educate them.

These minority of men have been encouraged partly because women have not been speaking up. You have been silent all your life. Do not feel sorry for them because any man who thinks he can violate a woman should be ready to handle the consequences.

The Islamic law of punishing extreme cases of theft and murder is basically to set an example so that others are fearful of committing the same mistakes.

We need stories and accounts...we need suggestions from sisters on how to solve this problem....a public discussion will act as a warning to erring brothers and as encouragement to sisters who have been silent.

This section will include accounts of being raped or molested. I invite sisters, young and old to send in their contributions using this form (no need to use your e-mail).

Please take note that while our target group constitutes Muslim men/perpetrators, you are welcome to submit stories of such experiences with Non-Muslims as well. The solution is the same. Inshallah, by being more vocal about it, our otherwise peaceful and loving community will be totally rid of such people.

I pray that we are on the right path and that Allah helps our cause.

What some sisters have to say....these include personal stories as well as suggestions, comments and advice.

What some brothers have to say....(It is very sad...some said that accounts of Muslims women being raped and molested by Muslims men might bring shame to Muslims....sadly, that is not what we are ashamed of...if you read what a few brothers have to say, you'll be ashamed of them instead..now we know why this problem as persisted in Muslim communities) "

Now this is what I'm talking about!! Most women who are abused, especially in Muslim societies stay quiet with what is happening to them by their husband or any other man. The problem is that if these women speak up they will be killed or tortured by society and by their husbands. We in America know that this is wrong of what the men are doing to these women but in their society the women see this as being an every day thing. They see this happening to all the women around them as they grow up. They also, see it happening to their mothers as well.
If I was ever to go to their country and speak about womens rights the people, including women, in those countries would look at me as if I was crazy. I think the reason why some countries are still treating women unfairly is because the women are not taking a stand. If these women took a stand no matter what cause and had no fear what so ever of dying then I truely do believe they can succeed. What do you think? Do you think if these women take a stand and fight until they die for what they believe is right, would they succeed?

My friend was looking through a book called "Women in Islam" and she found a quotation that would fit perfectly to describe the society in the middle east.
Here is the quote:
"The discrimination against women has little to do with Islam and more to do with custom and tradition."

This all goes back to how people view the unfair treatment of women to be related to their religion. When people look at women wearing the hijab they think that they are forced to wear it. Yes, in some countries the women are forced to wear it because the men think that they can control them. Mostly all of the Muslim women wearing the hijab are not forced though. It was their decision to wear the hijab because they followed what God has asked them to do in the Quran. I usually hear some people ask, "why do these women keep covering themselves when they are in a country that is free?" (by country I mean United States) People view these women as not being able to have a mind of their own. They basically view them as slaves. What I am going to try and do with the next three books I'm about to read, is try to show everyone that Muslim women do have a mind of their own and are just like every women in this world. The only difference is most of them are trapped because of controling men.

http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/w_harassmuslims.htm

AN OATH

"In 621, during the annual pilgrimage months, a group of twelve men representing both the main Arab tribes of Yathrib journeyed to Mecca and camped in a place called 'Aqabah on the outskirts of the city. As was his practice, Muhammad went out to meet people and happened upon their encampment. He greeted the men and proceeded to engage them in a conversation about religion." (EMERICK 110)


The Oath was:
"We pledge our Allegiance to the Messenger of God on the night... that we would not steal, commit fornication, kill our [unwanted female] children, nor engage in slander... (EMERICK 110)

If it wasn't for Islam female childrren would be killed. What I don't understand is, why some men are still killing women for things that they don't like or accept? When God has told them that it is a sin to kill someone. They claim that they do this all for God but are still commiting a sin over something that is foolish and pointless.