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Kip Powick

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Today--- 28 October

The article was basically trying to explain why extremists want the female body totally covered and the trials and tribulations of one woman who was charged with wearing a bra.....can't do that cause a prospective husband wouldn't know what he was getting !!!

Anyhow in this case she went to trial and was fined about $1000.00 for wearing a bra. The author went on to illuminate why these types of things , with more examples were happening and how to educate those that live by taking each word literally.

The first comment about the article was from a guy who quoted ...verbatum ....from the Qur'an that women were to be totally covered with just the burkha (sp?), etc and then he posted the quote from the Qur'an that says it is OK to beat women who do not obey.....

It was an eye opener... to say the least

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Why are fanatics obsessed with women’s bodies?

By Alaa el-Aswany

20 oct 2009

The Shabaab movement in Somalia controls large parts of the south and centre of the country, and

because officials in this movement embrace the Wahabi ideology they have imposed their views on

Somalis by force and have issued strict decrees banning films, plays, dancing at weddings, football

matches and all forms of music, even the ring tones on mobile phones. Some days ago these

extremists carried out a strange operation: they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public

because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing these bras was unIslamic

because it is a form of fraud and deception. We may well ask what wearing bras has to do with

religion, why they would consider them to be a form of fraud and deception, and how they managed

to arrest the woman wearing the bra when all Somali women go around with their bodies

completely covered. Did they appoint a special female officer to inspect the breasts of women

passing by in the street? One Somali woman called Halima told Reuters news agency: "Al Shabaab

forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts…They first banned

the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women’s chests. They are now

saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat."

In fact this excessive interest in covering up women’s bodies is not confined to the extremists in

Somalia. In Sudan the police examine women’s clothing with extreme vigilance and arrest any

woman who is wearing trousers. They force her to make a public apology for what she has done and

then they whip her in public as an example to other women. Some weeks ago Sudanese journalist

Lubna al-Husseini insisted on wearing trousers and refused to make the public apology. When she

refused to submit to flogging she was referred to a real trial and the farce reached its climax when

the judge summoned three witnesses and asked them if they had been able to detect the shape of the

accused’s underwear when she was wearing the trousers. When one of the witnesses hesitated in

answering, the judge asked him directly: “Did you see Lubna’s stomach when she was wearing the

trousers?” The witness replied: “To some extent.” Lubna said she was wearing a modest pair of

trousers and that the scandalous pair she was accused of wearing would not suit her at all because

she is plump and would need to lose 20 kilos in order to put them on. But the judge convicted her

anyway and fined her 500 pounds or a month in prison.

In Egypt too, extremists continue to take an excessive interest in women’s bodies and tin rying to

cover them up entirely. They not only advocate that women wear the niqab but also that they wear

gloves on their hands, which they believe will ensure that no passions are aroused when men and

women shake hands. We really do face a phenomenon which deserves consideration: why are

extremists so obsessed with women’s bodies? Some ideas might help us answer this question:

Firstly, the extremist view of women is that they are only bodies and instruments for either

legitimate pleasure or temptation, as well as factories for producing children. This view strips

women of their human nature. Accusing the Somali woman of fraud and deception because she was

wearing a bra is the same charge of commercial fraud which the law holds against a merchant who

conceals the defects of his goods and make false claims about their qualities in order to sell them at

a higher price. The idea here is that a woman who accentuate her breasts by using a bra gives a false

impression of the goods (her body), which is seen as fraud and deception of the buyer (the man)

who might buy (marry) her for her ample breasts and later discover that they were ample because of

the bra and not by nature. It would be fair to remember that treating women’s bodies as

commodities is not something found only in extremist ideologies but often happens in Western

societies too. The use of women’s naked bodies to market commercial products in the West is

merely another application of the idea that women are commodities. Anyone who visits the red light

district in Amsterdam can see for himself how wretched prostitutes, completely naked, are lined up

behind glass windows so that passers-by can inspect their charms before agreeing on the price .

Isn’t that a modern-day slave market, where women’s bodies are on sale to anyone willing to pay?

Secondly, the extremists believe women to be the source of temptation and the prime cause of

sin. This view, which is prevalent in all primitive societies, is unfair and inhuman, because men and

women commit sin together and the responsibility is shared and equal. If a beautiful woman arouses

and tempts men, then a handsome man also arouses and tempts women. But the extremist ideology

is naturally biased in favour of the man and hostile to the woman, and considers that she alone is

primarily responsible for all sins.

Thirdly, being strict about covering up women’s bodies is an easy and effortless form of religious

struggle. In Egypt we see dozens of Wahabi sheikhs who enthusiastically advocate covering up

women’s bodies but do not utter a single word against despotism, corruption, fraudulence or torture

because they know very well that serious opposition to the despotic regime (which should really be

their first duty) would inevitably lead to their arrest, torture and the destruction of their lives. Their

strictness on things related to women’s bodies enables them to operate as evangelists without any

real costs. Throughout human history, strictness towards women has usually been a way to conceal

political abuses and real crimes. Somalia is a wretched country in the grip of famine and chaos but

officials there are distracted from that by inspecting bras. The Sudanese regime is implicated in

crimes of murder, torture and raping thousands of innocents in Darfur but that does not stop the

regime from putting on trial a woman who insisted on wearing trousers. It is women rather than

men who always pay the price for despotism, corruption and religious hypocrisy.

Fourthly, the extremist ideology assumes that humans are a group of wild beasts that are

completely incapable of controlling their instincts, that it is enough for a man to see a bare piece of

female flesh for him to pounce on her and have intercourse. This assumption is incorrect, because

humans, unlike animals, always have the power to control their instincts by will power and ethics.

An ordinary man, if he is sane, cannot have his instincts aroused by his mother, sister, daughter or

even the wife of a friend, because his sense of honour and morality transcends his desires and

neutralises their effect. So virtue will never come about though bans, repression and pursuing

women in the street, but rather through giving children a good upbringing, propagating morality and

refining character. Societies which impose segregation between men and women (as in Afghanistan

and Saudi Arabia), according to official statistics, do not have lower rates of sexual crimes than

other societies. The rates there may even be higher.

We favour and advocate modesty for women but firstly we advocate a humane view of women, a

view that respects their abilities, their wishes and their thinking. What is really saddening is that the

Wahabi extremism which is spreading throughout the world with oil money and which gives

Muslims a bad image is as far as can be from the real teachings of Islam. Anyone who reads the

history of Islam fairly has to be impressed by the high status it accords to women, because from the

time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fall of Andalusia Muslim women mixed with men, were

educated, worked and traded, fought and had financial responsibilities separately from their fathers

or husbands. They had the right to choose the husband they loved and the right to divorce if they

wanted . Western civilization gave women these rights many centuries after Islam. Finally, let me

say that religious extremism is the other face of political despotism. We cannot get rid of the

extremism before we end the despotism.

Democracy is the solution.

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Democracy is the solution.

Democracy has nothing to do with it.

A particular religion has to do with it. Although among the worst, other religions bring their own forms of attempted control of others, past and present.

Secularism is the only solution, whether in a free or autocratic society.

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The idea here is that a woman who accentuate her breasts by using a bra gives a false impression of the goods (her body), which is seen as fraud and deception of the buyer (the man) who might buy (marry) her for her ample breasts and later discover that they were ample because of the bra and not by nature.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

What about the breasts that presented them unassisted and real, BUT after a few years began to not perform, perhaps began to sag on the job so to speak???

Is that Fraud.....? LOL

My Lawyer is standing by to seek punitive damages LOL !!!!

SB

ph34r.gifph34r.gif

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Oh, it gets whackier...

Religion poisions everything

I just spent 1/2 hour scouring the UN website and found no reference to any such Resolution. Missing from all the various websites is a resolution file number.

Has anyone found a legitimate link to this resolution? I use the word "legitimate" for the obvious reason dry.gif

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Found within:

"Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

Well, it seems to this observer that Islam is frequently guilty of incredible human rights violations and is often claimed by terrorists as their cause. So Would the UN have it be unlawful for me to say that?

This is not good. What a ridiculous "resolution".

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Found within:

"Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

Well, it seems to this observer that Islam is frequently guilty of incredible human rights violations and is often claimed by terrorists as their cause. So Would the UN have it be unlawful for me to say that?

This is not good. What a ridiculous "resolution".

I'm not so sure it is Mitch. A resolution, that is. There is nothing on the UN website about it, nor on any of the legitimate Islamic studies websites.

Lots of commentary on this supposed resolution, but no facts. Yet...

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Thanks Rattler:

Here are a few quotations from your link -

From the Statement of Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief:

"ASMA JAHANGIR, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, said her service, which started in July 2004, had been a sorrowful and rewarding experience. On the one hand, it had been sorrowful because of daily reports of fear of violence and seclusion that people across the world had to bear simply because of their beliefs, with women and religious minorities the victims of the worst religious intolerance. On the other hand, it had been rewarding to see Governments, groups and individuals take up the hard challenges posed by the forces of intolerance that existed in a number of societies."

"Against this backdrop, the protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief must include a preventive dimension. Due attention should be given to early signs of intolerance that may not constitute human rights violations themselves, but that may ultimately lead to religious discrimination. Proactive strategies should be devised by States to foster a climate of religious tolerance. Political leadership must take a human rights-based approach on the question of religious tolerance and communicate its position clearly. Beyond legislation, States could give space for dialogue and cultural expression, encourage public figure to make public statements denouncing acts of intolerance, and provide quality education. States should also refrain from interfering with the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of individuals; the rule of law and the functioning of democratic institutions were prerequisites for these strategies."

"She noted that some restrictions and violations were more prevalent in particular regions or countries, and may not constitute general global patterns. Among them were restrictions posed on different forms of religious expression, undue State interference in religious teaching, and dissemination of relevant publications, and the discrimination or persecution of individuals who changed their religion. On the latter, she emphasized that theistic, non-theistic and atheist believers, as well as those who did not profess any religion or belief, were equally protected by international human rights law. Moreover, there was a particularly concerning trend of rising numbers of laws or bills aimed at limiting the freedom of religions or belief of individuals or communities."

Not exactly what has been discussed in the previous links from the western media.

Other topics from your link:

The report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children (document A/64/290)

Statement by Special Rapporteur on Housing

Statement of Independent Expert on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty

Statement by Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights Defenders

Still looking for the beef. Or the pork. Or soymeal. Or whatever...

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You're too fast for me Mitch! Got it now. Reviewing content of Draft resolution by OIC.

*********

Looks pretty harmless to me. Canada and the EU voted against it.

*********

By the looks of it, it wasn't even discussed, let alone voted upon at the 12th Session:

"The Human Rights Council this afternoon adopted seven resolutions on unilateral coercive measures; the right to development; access to medicine; advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia; assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; protection of human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS; and on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights. It appointed two experts on cultural rights and on Sudan, extended the mandates of Special Procedures on Cambodia and Somalia, and named the President of the Second Session of the Forum on Minority Issues before adopting its report and closing its twelfth session."

http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf...8F?opendocument

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

Resolution__AHRC10L.2Rev.1_.pdf

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