Hi Everyone,
A while back, a local Pakistani tribal council ordered the gang rape of a young woman, Muktar Mai, to punish her 12 year old brother for alegedly raping an older woman. It was later discovered that her brother was falsely accused (not that that matters for the injustice done to her). It turns out that the original rape her brother was falsely convicted of was actually committed by the same men who made up the tribal council that ordered that Ms Mai be gang raped. Human rights organizations report this kind of thing is fairly common in Pakistan (yet another example for the anti-modern/post-modern left of how there is more to traditional cultures than quaint costumes and folk dancing).
The men behind the entire affair were eventually convicted by Pakistani government authorities amid international pressure to deal with the matter. However, last week those convictions were overturned by the Punjabi provincial government. By the way, Punjab is not on the border with Afghanistan so often claimed to be ungovernable. Punjab is in the heart of the "governable" part of Pakistan.
I'm wondering how what is going on in Pakistan is distinguishable from the ex-post justifications for invading Iraq (since no WMDs have been found). I'm also wondering how the neo-con ideology of spreading democracy isn't being consistently applied in the Pakistani case. I wonder if Pakistan would be so kindly regarded in Washington if the Bush administration itself were not indifferent to the point of malign neglect with regard to women's rights at home and abroad.
Anyone have anything to add? (dis) Agree with?
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Our Loyal Allies in Pakistan
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 5:37 PM
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3 comments:
If you remember, the Bush administration was very friendly with the Taliban until 9/11. Women's rights mean nothing to this administration. Pakistan's "allegiance" in the 'war on terror' (which means allowing us to use their airspace while otherwise doing nothing to fight terrorists) is apparently worth selling out the people of Pakistan.
The Jews say that if you kill one person, you kill a million because you destroy all the potential descendants from that single person. There are generations that will not come as a result.
By defiling the girl, they were also making her unfit for marriage. This was how they punished the man. Rape is a very serious offense, of course, because beyond hurting the woman physically and psychologically, it destroys any chance this women had of any future. No one will take her as a wife. So she will be a "financial burden" on the family. She will not bear children. Also, it soils the family name altogether. So none of the children from the family will be acceptable for marriage since the dishonor will attach itself to the family name. And there is a chance she will be poorly treated in her own family now. If she is married off, she will be poorly treated by the husband's family. At best, she may be taken as a wife to clean house.
This is a prime example of how you can destroy a whole part of your community by simply hurting a single woman. Let it be a lesson on how intricately linked we are as a society. If you hurt the least among you, who only punish yourself.
This White House is all male ego, what's worse, its ego that respects no one, male or female, but a chosen few. It is all a big clique. This Administration holds up Condi Rice as proof it isn't misogynist. Please spare me. She isn't human much less woman.
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