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CELL PHONE USE BY WOMEN IS PUNISHED IN PAKISTAN....
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NUKE MECCA
May 21, 2012, 9:44:51 PM5/21/12
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Cell Phone Use Punished by Acid in the Face
SUNDAY, 20 MAY 2012 13:09 RIGHT SIDE NEWS
Pakistani Women Writers Denounce Islamic Clerics' Fatwas Against
Women's Use Of Cell Phones And Access To Secular Education Former
Pakistani lawmaker and cleric Maulana Abdul Haleem recently issued a
fatwa (Islamic degree) against secular education and justifying honor
killings of women.[1]The fatwa was issued in a sermon during a weekly
Friday prayer in Kohistan district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province. Haleem also threatened that women from secular NGOs who
visit Kohistan district may be married off forcibly to local men. In a
similar incident, a cleric announced a fatwa in a mosque in Noshki
town of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, justifying acid attacks on
women who use cell phones.
Both fatwas elicited no condemnation from the main Pakistani media.
However, two Pakistani women – an author and a blogger –slammed the
clerics' fatwas, arguing that there is an urgent need to stop such
fatwas against women. In an article titled "Fatwas Against Women: From
The One Who Wears Bangles," Fouzia Saeed – an author and a social
scientist – stated: "I think it is time for our society to forcefully
stop such people who not only violate the dignity and safety of women
citizens, but also give a bad name to Islam…"
In another article "Our Stunted Society," blogger and communications
consultant Tazeen Javed argued that such fatwas are breeding narrow-
mindedness. She wrote: "A country like ours can ill-afford adventurism
of any kind, but most dangerous is the practice of resorting to a
fatwa to get a point across. Not only does this breed a narrow and
rigid view of issues, it also leaves no room for dialogue, debate, and
consultation, making us an increasingly 'stunted' and intolerant
society."
Fouzia Saeed: "A Fatwa Was Announced In A Mosque On May 11, Stating
That Any Woman Using A Cell Phone Will Have Acid Thrown In Her Face"
Following are excerpts from Fouzia Saeed's article:[2]
"Fatwas against women are becoming common again. In Noshki,
Baluchistan, a fatwa was announced in a mosque on May 11, stating that
any woman using a cell phone will have acid thrown in her face.
Another fatwa was issued in Kohistan about two weeks ago, warning 'NGO
women' that they would be forcefully married to their local men if
they dared to enter the area. There was a time when such fatwas were
more common, resulting in serious punishments inflicted on women who
dared to venture beyond the four walls of their homes.
"However, over the last four years there has been a steady improvement
in creating space for women to be more visible in public. After
decades of repression, women have turned the cycle in a different
direction by building a high level of solidarity among women from many
backgrounds. The awareness that one woman's advancement is linked to
breaking the shackles of others has gained ground. Not just women;
many men are fully in support of this process of change.
"Who will tell the 'fatwa guys' that they are nearly an extinct
species? Who will tell these men that they need to wake up to 2012.
Who will tell them that our interest in them is limited to a single
news item? Perhaps they should be kept in a museum with the caption
'we used to have people like this who thought work for women was 'un-
Islamic' but marrying them by force was 'Islamic.' Idiots who thought
talking on a cell phone was 'un-Islamic' but throwing acid in women's
faces was 'Islamic'!'
"I think it is time for our society to forcefully stop such people who
not only violate the dignity and safety of women citizens, but also
give a bad name to Islam, a religion which places a priority on the
dignity of women."
"I Am More Worried About Those Who Put On A Progressive Facade And
Continue To Reinforce Myths That Imply Women Are Inferior"
"I am not so worried about these fatwas because I am confident that
our society will not let itself regress. I am more worried about those
who put on a progressive facade and continue to reinforce myths that
imply women are inferior. Our society takes these 'put-downs' for
granted and uses them in a patronizing manner.
"Putting down a man by calling him a 'woman,' and thus a coward, has
gone on for generations. These 'humiliations,' while being common
among the ignorant, do concern me more when they are commonly used by
our leaders.
"About two weeks ago, a senior minister raised his hands and announced
that he was not wearing bangles, implying that he was not a coward but
was 'brave' like a 'man' and would handle the violence in Karachi with
a 'man's courage.' Ironically, men with their 'bravery' and 'courage'
have already given that city enough trouble…
"I am a woman who wears bangles yet feels quite brave. I am also a
daughter of a brave woman, a woman who wears bangles and has felt very
brave all her life. I salute my mother today on Mothers' Day and all
the mothers who wear bangles while standing bravely…"
Tazeen Javed: "Fatwas Are So Commonplace That Even A Power Utility
Company Resorted To Seeking One A Few Years Back To Get People To Pay
For Their Electricity"
Following are excerpts from Tazeen Javed's article:[3]
"[We] are teeming millions of people who cannot feed themselves, have
limited access to energy, and will be dumber and weaker in the future
because of the stunted mental and physical growth of our children due
to the lack of education. At such a juncture in history, amongst us
are individuals who issue fatwas and promote misogyny and obscurantism
against hygiene, education, health, and progress.
"The latest fatwa is one issued by a former legislator. Maulana Abdul
Haleem of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman group) came up with
a series of misogynist fatwas clearly detailing what the priorities of
his political and religious followers should be. For starters, the
fatwa declares formal education for women to be un-Islamic. As if
declaring the act of going to school and getting an irreligious
education was not enough, he also reprimanded the parents in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa's Kohistan district who send their daughters to school and
asked them to terminate their education. He also strictly told them
that failure to do so would earn them a spot in eternal hellfire.
"The fatwa goes on to declare all NGOs working in the region as 'hubs
of immodesty.' He first blamed the women working in those NGOs for
mobilizing the local women on health and hygiene issues and then
called on the local men to marry the unmarried NGO workers –
forcefully, if they have to – to make them stay at home.
"In short, a former legislator issues fatwas during a Friday sermon
inciting hatred against a group of people (NGO workers) and declaring
the constitutional rights of getting an education for half of the
population forbidden and no one, barring a few bloggers and tweeters,
raises even an eyebrow…
"Had it been just one fatwa from one cleric in one remote corner,
perhaps, we could have ignored it. However, unfortunately, we churn
out one edict after another without realizing what the rest of the
world may think of us. If declaring hair implant services and
vegetarian items, such as potato chips, halal is considered a viable
marketing gimmick, then the abduction of minor girls from minority
communities also gets legitimized through decrees by half-literate
mullahs [clerics].
"Fatwas are so commonplace that even a power utility company resorted
to seeking one a few years back to get people to pay for their
electricity. Since that utility is still burdened with thousands of
unpaid bills, we know how useless that fatwa turned out to be.
"A country like ours can ill-afford adventurism of any kind but most
dangerous is the practice of resorting to a fatwa to get a point
across. Not only does this breed a narrow and rigid view of issues, it
also leaves no room for dialogue, debate and consultation, making us
an increasingly 'stunted' and intolerant society."
http://www.truthandgrace.com/ISLAM.htm
SUNDAY, 20 MAY 2012 13:09 RIGHT SIDE NEWS
Pakistani Women Writers Denounce Islamic Clerics' Fatwas Against
Women's Use Of Cell Phones And Access To Secular Education Former
Pakistani lawmaker and cleric Maulana Abdul Haleem recently issued a
fatwa (Islamic degree) against secular education and justifying honor
killings of women.[1]The fatwa was issued in a sermon during a weekly
Friday prayer in Kohistan district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province. Haleem also threatened that women from secular NGOs who
visit Kohistan district may be married off forcibly to local men. In a
similar incident, a cleric announced a fatwa in a mosque in Noshki
town of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, justifying acid attacks on
women who use cell phones.
Both fatwas elicited no condemnation from the main Pakistani media.
However, two Pakistani women – an author and a blogger –slammed the
clerics' fatwas, arguing that there is an urgent need to stop such
fatwas against women. In an article titled "Fatwas Against Women: From
The One Who Wears Bangles," Fouzia Saeed – an author and a social
scientist – stated: "I think it is time for our society to forcefully
stop such people who not only violate the dignity and safety of women
citizens, but also give a bad name to Islam…"
In another article "Our Stunted Society," blogger and communications
consultant Tazeen Javed argued that such fatwas are breeding narrow-
mindedness. She wrote: "A country like ours can ill-afford adventurism
of any kind, but most dangerous is the practice of resorting to a
fatwa to get a point across. Not only does this breed a narrow and
rigid view of issues, it also leaves no room for dialogue, debate, and
consultation, making us an increasingly 'stunted' and intolerant
society."
Fouzia Saeed: "A Fatwa Was Announced In A Mosque On May 11, Stating
That Any Woman Using A Cell Phone Will Have Acid Thrown In Her Face"
Following are excerpts from Fouzia Saeed's article:[2]
"Fatwas against women are becoming common again. In Noshki,
Baluchistan, a fatwa was announced in a mosque on May 11, stating that
any woman using a cell phone will have acid thrown in her face.
Another fatwa was issued in Kohistan about two weeks ago, warning 'NGO
women' that they would be forcefully married to their local men if
they dared to enter the area. There was a time when such fatwas were
more common, resulting in serious punishments inflicted on women who
dared to venture beyond the four walls of their homes.
"However, over the last four years there has been a steady improvement
in creating space for women to be more visible in public. After
decades of repression, women have turned the cycle in a different
direction by building a high level of solidarity among women from many
backgrounds. The awareness that one woman's advancement is linked to
breaking the shackles of others has gained ground. Not just women;
many men are fully in support of this process of change.
"Who will tell the 'fatwa guys' that they are nearly an extinct
species? Who will tell these men that they need to wake up to 2012.
Who will tell them that our interest in them is limited to a single
news item? Perhaps they should be kept in a museum with the caption
'we used to have people like this who thought work for women was 'un-
Islamic' but marrying them by force was 'Islamic.' Idiots who thought
talking on a cell phone was 'un-Islamic' but throwing acid in women's
faces was 'Islamic'!'
"I think it is time for our society to forcefully stop such people who
not only violate the dignity and safety of women citizens, but also
give a bad name to Islam, a religion which places a priority on the
dignity of women."
"I Am More Worried About Those Who Put On A Progressive Facade And
Continue To Reinforce Myths That Imply Women Are Inferior"
"I am not so worried about these fatwas because I am confident that
our society will not let itself regress. I am more worried about those
who put on a progressive facade and continue to reinforce myths that
imply women are inferior. Our society takes these 'put-downs' for
granted and uses them in a patronizing manner.
"Putting down a man by calling him a 'woman,' and thus a coward, has
gone on for generations. These 'humiliations,' while being common
among the ignorant, do concern me more when they are commonly used by
our leaders.
"About two weeks ago, a senior minister raised his hands and announced
that he was not wearing bangles, implying that he was not a coward but
was 'brave' like a 'man' and would handle the violence in Karachi with
a 'man's courage.' Ironically, men with their 'bravery' and 'courage'
have already given that city enough trouble…
"I am a woman who wears bangles yet feels quite brave. I am also a
daughter of a brave woman, a woman who wears bangles and has felt very
brave all her life. I salute my mother today on Mothers' Day and all
the mothers who wear bangles while standing bravely…"
Tazeen Javed: "Fatwas Are So Commonplace That Even A Power Utility
Company Resorted To Seeking One A Few Years Back To Get People To Pay
For Their Electricity"
Following are excerpts from Tazeen Javed's article:[3]
"[We] are teeming millions of people who cannot feed themselves, have
limited access to energy, and will be dumber and weaker in the future
because of the stunted mental and physical growth of our children due
to the lack of education. At such a juncture in history, amongst us
are individuals who issue fatwas and promote misogyny and obscurantism
against hygiene, education, health, and progress.
"The latest fatwa is one issued by a former legislator. Maulana Abdul
Haleem of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman group) came up with
a series of misogynist fatwas clearly detailing what the priorities of
his political and religious followers should be. For starters, the
fatwa declares formal education for women to be un-Islamic. As if
declaring the act of going to school and getting an irreligious
education was not enough, he also reprimanded the parents in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa's Kohistan district who send their daughters to school and
asked them to terminate their education. He also strictly told them
that failure to do so would earn them a spot in eternal hellfire.
"The fatwa goes on to declare all NGOs working in the region as 'hubs
of immodesty.' He first blamed the women working in those NGOs for
mobilizing the local women on health and hygiene issues and then
called on the local men to marry the unmarried NGO workers –
forcefully, if they have to – to make them stay at home.
"In short, a former legislator issues fatwas during a Friday sermon
inciting hatred against a group of people (NGO workers) and declaring
the constitutional rights of getting an education for half of the
population forbidden and no one, barring a few bloggers and tweeters,
raises even an eyebrow…
"Had it been just one fatwa from one cleric in one remote corner,
perhaps, we could have ignored it. However, unfortunately, we churn
out one edict after another without realizing what the rest of the
world may think of us. If declaring hair implant services and
vegetarian items, such as potato chips, halal is considered a viable
marketing gimmick, then the abduction of minor girls from minority
communities also gets legitimized through decrees by half-literate
mullahs [clerics].
"Fatwas are so commonplace that even a power utility company resorted
to seeking one a few years back to get people to pay for their
electricity. Since that utility is still burdened with thousands of
unpaid bills, we know how useless that fatwa turned out to be.
"A country like ours can ill-afford adventurism of any kind but most
dangerous is the practice of resorting to a fatwa to get a point
across. Not only does this breed a narrow and rigid view of issues, it
also leaves no room for dialogue, debate and consultation, making us
an increasingly 'stunted' and intolerant society."
http://www.truthandgrace.com/ISLAM.htm
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