The Women’s Ministry should exist to improve the lives of women

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   eric

   February 14, 2012 at 1:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   This is sad. In every culture there appear some who are happy with being ‘the victims eaten last.’

   Alzaidi’s remarks are not only anti-women, but also anti-men. Typically, they portray men as sexual predators, unable to control themselves unless a woman is totally covered up.

   With my western eyes, I agree. But at the same time I see the machiavellian pro-male bias here: saying that allows you to give your sons carte blanche to do horrible things and not punish them. Of course its horribly misogynistic – the folks who would use ‘can’t help it’ as an excuse to let men out of punishment, would almost certainly use ‘can’t help it’ as a reason to lock a woman up. But I guess my point is, the men whose minds you need to change probably don’t see it as demeaning so much as liberating. If bigoted men are your target, a better slant might be “unless you teach your sons how to behave, your mother/daughter/wife could be some other boy’s next victim.”

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   Yellow Thursday

   February 14, 2012 at 2:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   “unless you teach your sons how to behave, your mother/daughter/wife could be some other boy’s next victim.”

   Some of them would use that as an excuse to stone said mother/daughter/wife. And call it an “honor killing.”

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   Sunny

   February 14, 2012 at 2:27 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   As an Islamist, I suppose being anti-woman is part of the description. Why bother with a Minister for Women at all if the goal is not to improve the lives of women?

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   Sunny

   February 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   I meant: ‘As an Islamist, I suppose being anti-woman is part of the job description’

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   Egbert

   February 14, 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   Women give birth, how is that inferior? People who promote inequalities are the enemy of those who promote equality, and as such they are the ones who are prejudiced and need a reality check, not those promoting equality.

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   C. Mason Taylor

   February 14, 2012 at 3:25 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   eric, #1, here’s the problem with agreeing at all:

   “…unless a woman is totally covered up.”

   Again and again and again, it’s been shown that covering women up does not work.

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   Ophelia Benson

   February 14, 2012 at 4:21 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   I posted prematurely, the statement isn’t final yet…So the post is now rather short!

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   Theo Bromine

   February 14, 2012 at 4:32 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   Women give birth, how is that inferior?

   The power that giving birth grants to women is a double-edged sword. It is a power than needs to be controlled and protected – not one that a “mere woman” can be trusted with handling herself. Muslim religious and cultural practice gives control of a woman’s sexuality to her father (and random male members of her household) until such time as she can be handed over to her husband. Catholic theology says that “being a (wife and) mother is the highest calling God has for a woman”.

   Biologically speaking, of course we are all here because our ancestors were successful in breeding, but from a perspective of how to run a society, I certainly do not want my value as a person to be determined by my ability to give birth, even if it somehow grants me superiority.

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   jamessweet

   February 15, 2012 at 5:43 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

   Where’s the source? I’m not finding this at all, anywhere…