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A Yemen Times editorial that looks beyond the story of Nujood (the eight year old girl who was forcefully married and successfully took her own case to court to obtain a divorce) to the vulnerability of girls in Yemen.
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The Independent discusses ways that women’s rights can realistically come about in Saudi Arabia, and Women’s eNews looks at Saudi women’s rights activists who are doing just that.
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Muslim women in India are given the chance to tell their stories and transform their lives through self-help groups and training for public relations skills.
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The Egyptian Center of Culture and Art tries to preserve “Zar,” a traditional folkloric musical ritual for women.
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A fascinating portrait of a revolutionary woman by The Times of India entitled, “A Feminist’s Worst Nightmare.” Are her actions feminist? Islamic? Islamically feminist? Decide for yourself.
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Muslim women in Kerala, India, assert their rights through awareness brought by literacy and globalization.
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E-Pao! profiles female Muslim activist Nazima.
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A Saudi woman who was married too young must return dowry money to her husband if she wants a divorce, rules a Saudi judge.
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Bilal Randeree for Thought Leader ponders the hejab as the new symbol of a cultural revolution in France.
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A woman cuts off her lover’s penis because he married someone else. Ouch!
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Iranian women’s rights activists receive suspended lashing and jail sentences.
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Shabana Mir writes about American women the way many of them write about Middle Eastern/South Asian/Muslim women. It’s an entertaining read.
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A woman divorces her husband because he posted nude pictures of himself and chatted with women online.
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Buchi Okoli Abuja examines the rights of inheritance for Nigerian women, comparing them to that of Indian and Bangladeshi women.
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A women’s basketball team in Saudi Arabia wishes they could play internationally.
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Baraka for other/matters talks about childhood visits to Lahore.
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The Iraqi Basketball Association tries to revive the sport for women.
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Saudi Arabia’s seventh National Dialogue Forum calls for more job opportunities for Saudi Arabian women.
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Sign a petition against sexual harassment in Egypt (petition website is in Arabic).
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Indonesian women form a coalition to petition the government to abolish polygamy.
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Women in the Arabian Peninsula try to pry open a male-dominated world: banking.
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The Afghan government considers banning jeans and makeup, following recent bans of Indian soap operas.
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Egyptian authorities release a girl held in detention for forming a Facebook group to protest price hikes.
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MidEast Youth’s Rasha examines “Women Shadows” in Saudi Arabia.
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A government ban on passport pictures with headscarves and beards runs counter to Shari’a law, say Muslim scholars in Algeria.
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Here’s a question that I always wondered that I would like an answer to: Why are people so offended by polygamy (as in the case of the Indonesian women)? Why is the idea of a man taking more than one wife seen as any worse than a man who sleeps around? I actually think that it’s more moral for a man to marry more than one wife than mary one and sleep with other women on the side in secret. At least he’s being open in the first case. Besides, what if a woman doesn’t mind if her husband has other wives (just like some people don’t mind being in open relationships)? Also, arranged marriages are extremely common in countries that have legal polygamy. As someone who wouldn’t want to marry a man at all, I would much rather be in a forced polygamous marriage than a forced monogamous marriage. It would take off so much pressure.
Arianne, the Indonesian women specifically want to ban polygamy primarily because of the abuses associated with it.Are you just thinking out loud or do you want an actual answer to your question? This isn’t an Islamic forum, and each contributor and reader has her own views on Islam, whether polygamy has a place in it, and what that place may be. I’m afraid we can’t give you an concrete answer to the issue, not just because this isn’t the place for it, but because there are many different perspectives on the issue; but we have several links to sites primarily devoted to discussion of Islamic tenets (you might try Daralislaam or Ijtema).
I was more or less trying to make a point and ask a question — I was stating that I personally don’t think that polygamy is really the root of any problem, nor do I think that it’s worse than many other forms of relationships. However, I was curious why it gets such a bad rap from so many people (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) and if there is some negative aspect of polygamy (that’s specific to polygamy and not other relationships) that I’m missing that would prove me wrong.
Polygamy can legitimate what other relationships do not. When a man cheats there are moral sanctions on him. No society sees that as appropriate or respectful behaviour. But polygamy can legitmate a man cheating on his wife. So many men marry second, third, fourth wives without the consent of their first, second, or third wives. In a patriarchal culture men do not always feel the need to consult with women. “As someone who wouldn’t want to marry a man at all, I would much rather be in a forced polygamous marriage than a forced monogamous marriage. It would take off so much pressure.”Quite frankly, I am shocked at this comment. As someone who has not been forced into any marriage I’m sure you can say that easily. But tell that to a woman who has been forced into any marriage, let alone a polygamous marriage. Tell her to be happy. I’m sure the response you will get from will not be positive at all. Plus, I’m not sure what you mean by less pressure. The new wife in a polygamous marriage, especially a forced one, would get all the attention. Often in these situations the old wives are ignored, relegated to the tedious tasks of the home. All the pressure would be on that poor woman who has been forced into a polygamous marriage just as it would be in a monogamous marriage. Even in Islam, a man taking on 4 wives is only to be done in extreme cases and under strict conditions. It is not supposed to be an option unless of certain conditions. And in this day and age those conditions are not as common as they used to be. It is supposed to be a last option.
farheen —I never suggested that a woman should feel grateful about being in a forced polygamous marriage. All forced marriages, polygamous or not, are immoral. I was simply saying that I could see advantages to a forced polygamous marriage over a forced monogamous marriage (which I could easily be wrong about, too, as you pointed out flaws in my argument). As for the argument that polygamy legitimates what other relationships cannot, that’s actually one reason why a commission issued by the Canadian government recommended legalizing polygamy. When the marriages are recognized, at least the wives in the relationship would have legal status and hence the rights associated with such recognition. When polygamy is illegal, on the other hand, such marriages continue to take place underground (which is the case of some Mormon sects in North America, as well as Muslims in some regions of Turkey), only the women have far fewer rights since they aren’t recognized as spouses.
Regarding the article about the Egyptian wife that divorced her husband for posting nude pics of himself on the net and chatting up the girls…I might add that apparently no punishment was given to the man by the courts for acting immoral…but I dare say if his wife had been the one posting nude pics…a divorce from her husband would be the least of her worries…sigh.Its a shame that still to this day Muslim women must seek a “kula” divorce…meaning she will most likely get nothing from the divorce…because she is the one that asked for it. Not only that…she, unlike Muslim men, must prove some sort of hardship for the reason of divorce…such as smelly feet or breath(my lord)…where as a Muslim “man” needs to prove no such thing…just do it on a whim if he feels so inclined. Rather hard to continually claim that Islam gives women rights no other women before them had…where exactly is the benefit these days to being a Muslim woman?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/nyregion/28school.html?em&ex=1209614400&en=65f582b0f5c6df77&ei=5087I'm sure you all have already read this article, but I would really love to hear what you think about all of this.
Gabrielle, thanks for the tip. I saw that article in the NYT and was planning on adding it to this Friday’s (May 2) link list.Since this issue happened before I MMW was started, we didn’t get a chance to go over it, and I think the NYT does a decent job. What happened to Ms. Almontaser was simply Islamophobia. She works hard to promote interfaith dialogue and alliances, she is exemplary in her other duties, but the shebangabang over the Kahlil Gibran academy started, she was vilified as anti-Jewish and as exclusionary. I believe her career (and the Academy) have suffered for this media campaign, and I think she’s right to sue the pants off of everyone concerned with it.