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On World Hijab Day

On World Hijab Day

  • Posted by Maryam Namazie
  • On February 4, 2014
  • 20 Comments
  • World Hijab Day

ghosthijabdayWorld Hijab Day
Editorial from latest issue of Fitnah’s Unveiled

1 February is World Hijab Day. What next? Maybe a World Mutilation Day to show support for women and girls who have been mutilated and World Child Marriages Day when we can marry off our under-aged daughters to show support and solidarity with religious and cultural practices that are making life a living hell for women and girls. How about a World Suttee Day when women can jump (or more likely be pushed) on the burning pyres of their dead husbands, or a World Foot-binding Day?

I keep being told that these are not one and the same but they are. The veil – whether you choose to wear it or not; whether you think it is folksy or not – is a tool like many others to control, restrict and suppress women and girls.

On World Hijab Day, please do take some time out to think not of the very few women who promote the veil as a right and choice (and who mainly live in the west or are Islamism’s defenders) but the innumerable who refuse and resist veiling at great risk to themselves.

On World Hijab Day, let’s remember them, stand with them, and say loudly and clearly that nothing can justify women’s oppression.

 

20 Comments

richardelguru
logic??thoughts, Was your first comment, perhaps, self referential?
    logicthoughts
    funny....thank you.
      dj
      Like every Islamist's posts I've ever read, fails to defend her own religion and instead deflects the argument elsewhere. However, glad to hear she supports gay rights and marriage equality.
logicthoughts
My dear sister Janet, peace be upon you. What happens when feminist activists succeed in liberating women in western society?... Violence against Women in the United States: Statistics Despite the fact that advocacy groups like NOW have worked for two decades to halt the epidemic of gender-based violence and sexual assault, the numbers are still shocking. It is time to renew our national pledge, from the President and Congress on down to City Councils all across the nation to END violence against women and men, girls and boys. This effort must also be carried on in workplaces, schools, churches, locker rooms, the military, and in courtrooms, law enforcement, entertainment and the media. NOW pledges to continue our work to end this violence and we hope you will join us in our work. MURDER In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.1 That's an average of “ freethinking three women every day”. Of all the women murdered in the U.S., about one-third were killed by an intimate partner.2 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (Intimate Partner Violence or Battering) Domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.3 According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year.4 Less than 20 percent of battered women sought medical treatment following an injury.5 SEXUAL VIOLENCE According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That's more than 600 women every day.6 Other estimates, such as those generated by the FBI, are much lower because they rely on data from law enforcement agencies. A significant number of crimes are never even reported for reasons that include the victim's feeling that nothing can/will be done and the personal nature of the incident.7 THE TARGETS Young women, low-income women and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape. Women ages 20-24 are at greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence8, and women age 24 and under suffer from the highest rates of rape.9 The Justice Department estimates that one in five women will experience rape or attempted rape during their college years, and that less than five percent of these rapes will be reported.10 Income is also a factor: the poorer the household, the higher the rate of domestic violence -- with women in the lowest income category experiencing more than six times the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence as compared to women in the highest income category.11 When we consider race, we see that African-American women face higher rates of domestic violence than white women, and American-Indian women are victimized at a rate more than double that of women of other races.12 IMPACT ON CHILDREN According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund, "growing up in a violent home may be a terrifying and traumatic experience that can affect every aspect of a child's life, growth and development. . . . children who have been exposed to family violence suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as bed-wetting or nightmares, and were at greater risk than their peers of having allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and flu." In addition, women who experience physcial abuse as children are at a greater risk of victimization as adults, and men have a far greater (more than double) likelihood of perpetrating abuse. 13 IMPACT ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the cost of domestic violence in 2003 was more than over $8.3 billion. This cost includes medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity. 14 LEGISLATION In 1994, the National Organization for Women, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (now called Legal Momentum), the Feminist Majority and other organizations finally secured passage of the Violence Against Women Act, which provided a record-breaking $1.6 billion to address issues of violence against women.15 However it took nearly an additional year to force the Newt Gingrich-led Congress to release the funding. An analysis estimated that in the first six years after VAWA was passed, nearly $14.8 billion was saved in net averted social costs.16 VAWA was reauthorized in 2005, with nearly $4 billion in funding over five years.17 VIOLENCE BETWEEN SAME-SEX COUPLES According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, "domestic violence affecting LGBT individuals continues to be grossly underreported . . . there is a lack of awareness and denial about the existence of this type of violence and its impact, both by LGBT people and non-LGBT people alike."18 Myths regarding gender roles perpetuate the silence surrounding these abusive relationships; for example, the belief that there aren't abusive lesbian relationships because women don't abuse each other. Shelters are often unequipped to handle the needs of lesbians (as a women-only shelter isn't much defense against a female abuser), and transgendered individuals. Statistics regarding domestic violence against LGBT people are unavailable at the national level, but as regional studies demonstrate, domestic violence is as much as a problem within LGBT communities as it is among heterosexual ones.1 READ MORE : http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html
    No One
    LOL... What actual evidence do you have that all these misfortunes are caused by feminism? None. This is just copy paste with an accusatory paragraph tacked on in the beginning. Really? "logical thoughts" ... more like "logical fallacies".
      logicthoughts
      my dear brother NO One, may gods peace and blessings be upon you.. I am giving you evidence..you are blaming me like a "hate filled negative thinker" ...please avoid thinking negatively... be positive...be happy.
        No One
        Dear Fuck-wit, You have provided no direct link between your "Copy pasta" and Feminism. Meanwhile in Saudi 70% of women who get breast cancer die as opposed to 34% in America. Please wake up from your religious stupor. Avoid lazy thinking. Be brave. Be better.
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 10 2014
          your language says your standard of thinking and method of responding... thank you and may god bless you brother.
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 10 2014
          dear brother No One, where did you get this statistics :....and Feminism. Meanwhile in Saudi 70% of women who get breast cancer die as opposed to 34% in America........ --------------------------------------- if ur stats r not " copypasta " where did you get that?.any link?.
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 10 2014
          No one Recognise your negative thinking The first step towards increasing positive thoughts is to start decreasing negative thoughts. It sounds simple, but research shows that when a positive and a negative event occur on the same day, we tend to focus more heavily on the negative. For example, if you sleep through your alarm and miss your first meeting of the day, what is your initial reaction? Do you feel stressed, angry and frustrated? Do you think: "My entire day will now be a disaster" or, "I can't cope with this added pressure I've created"? Writing your thoughts down on paper can help illustrate how “ illogical” your thinking can be. Ask yourself what evidence there is that these thoughts are actually true. Have you always thought like this? What is a healthier, more realistic thought? Exercise: Over the next few weeks, whenever negative thoughts pop into your head, jot them down in a notebook. Examine these thoughts and the internal stories you tell yourself.
          No One
          • Feb 10 2014
          Dear fuck-wit, Your tone trolling and tut tutting over "bad words" along with the puerile pseudo psycho analysis reek of insincerity. I guess self styled guru's are a world-wide plague. Copy & Paste this into Google "breast cancer statistics , saudi arabia".
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 11 2014
          my dear brother (atheist) No One, may god's peace and blessings be upon you.. Thank you...you are a very wonderful person...may god bless you.
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 11 2014
          Dear Brother No One, please check another "copy & paste" about breast cancer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of all the exports from our modern world, breast cancer ranks as among the most dubious. Once thought to be a disease of the rich, it is now a global epidemic. The rise of the cancer in Europe and America – cases have jumped 80 per cent in the UK since the 1970s – is being mirrored across the world. And scientists say increasing prosperity and the "Westernization" of traditional lifestyles is to blame. A richer diet, smaller families, delayed childbearing and reduced breast-feeding have driven the increase in the West, together with rising obesity and increased alcohol consumption, specialists say. Now these trends are being seen everywhere – with a growing burden of malignant disease in their wake. An estimated 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed around the world last year. It is the commonest cancer in the UK and across Europe, even though it affects almost only one gender. In 2006, it outranked lung cancer, which affects both sexes, for the first time. In Japan, Singapore and Korea – countries once renowned for their low rates – cases have doubled or tripled in the past 40 years. In China, urban cancer registries have recorded 20 to 30 per cent increases in the past decade. India has seen similar rises and cases have doubled in parts of Africa. There are doubts, especially in Africa, about how far better recording has contributed to the apparent rise. But scientists agree that the disease is rampaging across the globe. Australia, USA, Canada, Argentina, and several European countries are worst effected countries of BREAST CANCER (please check detailed map at one of the copy & pasted western website) http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/global-rise-in-breast-cancer-due-to-western-lifestyles-773162.html
          No One
          • Feb 11 2014
          Dear Lack-wit, What an incredibly badly written article. There is no one single factor causing breast cancer. But one of the biggest factors seems to be age. Women are living longer. None of this addresses the high mortality rate in Saudi however. Keep banging the rocks together, you'll get a spark eventually...
          logicthoughts
          • Feb 11 2014
          Thank you brother NO One, you have proved what you are.
logicthoughts
Janet, when male demagogues ( to misuse women/ girls for their immoral desires) inject certain poisonous freethoughts on female mind and succeed in their tactics, you, ,mariam namazie and other likeminded women become freethinking “intellectual stupid” activists. When you think of freethoughts and “liberation of morality in society” , the “innocent and angelic children” become victims and trapped into male and female abusers resulting the following. Child Abuse in America Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations – losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect. 1, 2 • A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds • More than four children die every day as a result of child abuse.1 • It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates. 3 • Approximately 70% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4. 1 • More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way. 4 • Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. • About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. 5 • In at least one study, about 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder. 13 • The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion. 6 • One-third to two-thirds of child maltreatment cases involve substance use to some degree. 11 • In one study, children whose parents abuse alcohol and other drugs were three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children from non-abusing families. 11 • As many as two-thirds of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused or neglected as children. 9 • More than a third of adolescents with a report of abuse or neglect will have a substance use disorder before their 18th birthday, three times as likely as those without a report of abuse or neglect.12 Read more : http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics
    No One
    I wonder what comparable stats are in devout muslim countries like Iran. Do they transparently post their domestic problems on a website for all to see? I'm sure men in islamic "paradises" never beat or kill their wives or fuck their own kids right? They just legislate those activities to make them legal. Stick your koran up your ass fuck-wit.
logicthoughts
What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)? Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform. If you have OCD, you probably recognize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational – but even so, you feel unable to resist them and break free. Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes the brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge. For example, you may post the same topic time and again to make sure it’s really got attention or not. UNDERSTANDING OCD OBSESSIONS AND COPULSIONS:: Obsessions are involuntary, seemingly uncontrollable thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again in your mind. You don’t want to have these ideas but you can’t stop them. Unfortunately, these obsessive thoughts are often disturbing and distracting. Compulsions are behaviors or rituals that you feel driven to act out again and again. Usually, compulsions are performed in an attempt to make obsessions go away. For example, if you’re afraid of girls getting oppressed you might develop elaborate posting negatively certain related topics. However, the relief never lasts. In fact, the obsessive thoughts usually come back stronger. And the compulsive behaviors often end up causing anxiety themselves as they become more demanding and time-consuming.
    Janet
    Pretending that activists are mentally ill is a common tactic by supporters of oppressive regimes. It's a way of trying to discredit the campaigners and their causes. It also allows the regime to imprison heroic feminists and other activists in so-called 'hospitals'. The oppression of women and girls is too real and visible to be written off as 'obsessive thoughts'. Incidentally, OCD is a distressing condition for people - unlike Maryam Namazie - who do suffer from it. Using it as an insult is despicable.
liaisonsus (@liaisonsus)
I could not but agree more!

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Maryam Namazie