Wife Beating Quotes
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.
There were no women’s shelters in the 19th century, and the police or sheriffs would not entertain a complaint from a wife for assault, sexual or otherwise. She compared the state of women to that of fugitive slaves a few decades earlier. Then there was the Underground Railroad and other institutions which would shelter and help the slaves. There was no such mechanism for women abused in their marriage.
“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.
The violence which was “trifling” to the judge and the husband was obviously not perceived as such by the beaten wife.
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.
In some cultures of the world women are considered to be under the control of or even the property of men. As such they are allowed to “discipline” the women. However there are a few religious fundamentalists in America who believe that God has ordained the man as head of the household and they oppose prohibiting husbands from “chastising” their wives. In some nations, especially in Islamic cultures, families are allowed to even murder a woman relative if she “brings dishonor upon the family. In many cultures, including some in the US, rape is not seen as a felonious assault, but as a natural thing for males to do.
The imam was deported from France for making this statement as it was viewed as inciting violence against women.
Note that the fact that she had suffered sposal abuse. She poisoned her husband who repeadedly beat her and her children. Althoughh the evidence was heard, there was nothing that could in the then German legal system used to justify the killing of a husband. Germany was not then the only country which would not allow violent spousal abuse as a defense or a mitigating factor in the sentence. The German punishment for a woman murdering her husband was then beheading. Even as late as the mid 19th century, they were still decapitating trangressors of their laws. The Germans actually developed a special kind of sword with no point just for beheadings.
That is easy for the man to do. At the time, this Indian view was little different than that prevailing amongst religious Christian whites.
Fedder's divorce proceedings and allegations that he beat his wife were reported in the newspapers.
