Mona Eltahawy Quotes
When an article in the Egyptian criminal code says that if a woman is beaten by her husband “with good intentions” no punitive damages can be obtained, then to hell with political correctness.
“Political correctness” is a loosely defined concept of not discussing political issues in terms that are derogatory and/or might be offensive to particular groups or nationalities. Many orthodox Muslims (and orthodox Christians) are of the opinion that their religion calls for the male being the dominant figure in the household and having the right and obligation to discipline the children and the wife or wives. To state that such a practice is sexist, barbaric, undemocratic, and damaging to family and society is an insult to some of these religious believers. The Egyptian law was passed to reflect God’s commandments and so to question it is to some, blasphemous and for other nations to criticize it is insulting to some ultra orthodox Muslims. However, in cases like these, Ms. Eltahawy argues for ignoring political correctness and most Americans would agree as would most of the modern and generally educated Muslims in Egypt.
Mona Eltahawy, American Egyptian Journalist, “Why Do They Hate Us? The War on Women in the Middle East”, Foreign Policy, May / June 2012
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
There are many societies of the world where at one time spousal abuse was common and the superstitious thought that it improved the quality of family lives. These were the same societies that thought that storms and natural disasters were the punishment of the Gods, that saw no relationship between disease, infection and cleanliness—sanitation, freedom and happiness. This quotation shows us how far we have come as humans.
Some modern versions of the Koran annotate the “beating” injunction and argue that this should only be used as a last resort. This is an example of socially unacceptable anachronisms that are found in the scripture of most older religions. All but the radical fundamentalists do not take these passages literally.
A daughter’s behavior is a reflection of the family and its honor. If a girl is unchaste, it is the duty of the father or other male relatives to kill the girl. However, this proverb warns about hearsay and gossip causing action which would have been unjust and regretted later.
Vladimir Lenin
Although she was very outspoken about the plight of women in society, she was very disapproving of women insisting upon rights. See {585321}.
The decree prevents a married woman from obtaining a passport without her husbands written approval. The reference to criminals is because the Egyptian Constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights provides the right of any Egyptian to travel or leave the country except for criminals who have been properly adjudicated.
Some modern Islamic scholars have attempted to make this Sura more acceptable by arguing that the size of the stick with which the man may beat the “disobedient” wife should be limited. The contemporary argument concentrates on the size of the stick. There are also a few fundamentalist Christians who advocate the right of a husband to beat his wife on the grounds that this was accepted in Biblical times.
This proverb which actually has the force of de facto law in much of the Arab world, while detested by many sophisticated Westerners and Americans in particular, was actually a custom in America for many years. Under the principle, a rapist is not a rapist if he marries the girl. A seducer is not a seducer. In the Bedouin culture there is no difference between the rapist and the seducer. The reason that the practice is so hateful is that it assumes that when a woman is raped or seduced the damage is to the woman’s male relatives—to their honor. Therefore, the “crime” can be remedied by marrying the girl and satisfying the male relative’s sense of honor. Then no harm has been done, except of course to the woman who often becomes the double victim, first of the rape or seduction and then of a forced marriage. In modern America the honor of the male relatives has no standing in law, yet even today some judges and prosecutors will go easy on a statutory rapist or worse if he marries the girl and the girls family goes along with the arrangement. The term “shotgun wedding” stems from a time when family members would force the alternative on seducers.
Billinghurst was physically handicapped without the use of her legs. She protested and marched in protest parades using a hand propelled tricycle which the police sometimes dumped her out of and left her immobile in alleys.
Many leaders of nations are in denial about this problem which exists almost everywhere. In Israel, the problem is compounded because the very orthodox Jews and Muslims both come from a tradition where women are allocated a place subservient to men in many ways and to some (like some Christians) there is a perceived duty to discipline wives and daughters. So reform involves religious tradition and theology.
This type of religious sexism is not unique to Islam. Fundamentalist Christians place women in a secondary role as do fundamentalist orthodox Jews although both allow a man to take only one wife. The Islamic scripture tells us that the Prophet allowed multiple wives only if the man had the resources to care for the wives and all the children. 4 is the maximum.
Mona Eltahawy is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic world, including women's issues and Muslim political and social affairs. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and the Miami Herald among others. Headscarves and Hymens, Eltahawy's first book, was published in May 2015. Eltahawy has also been a guest analyst on U.S. radio and television news shows. She is also acknowledged as one of the people who spearheaded the Mosque Me Too movement through the usage of the hashtag #MosqueMeToo.
