Soccer Dad: The Religion of Gender Equality

March 11, 2004

The Religion of Gender Equality

The following is an e-mail I received from Malka Young who attended a film festival at Towson State University:

Freda, I really lost my temper last night at the Towson Film Fest. The film was about a Widow in Tunisia who became a belly dancer. She apparantly was very liberated from this experience. She had a boyfriend from the belly dancing club who it turned out was also involved with her daughter. My first question after the film was
Q. Do you think this realistically portrayed life of a woman in Tunisia- could she have been so freely sexual in manner and dress in her society?
A. Yes, of course! We must break away from the stereotypes we have about women in Arab societies and look at them honestly and with open minds.
Q. But in most Arab societies women could not dress in such Western revealing outfits in the streets, and could not be so promiscuous for fear of being killed by their relatives in honor killings or by the Omams practicing Shariya Law...
A. You are coming here with stereotypes! We want to have an open mind and honest discussion. Women are elevated in Arab society and very protected....

Then a man said
A. I have been to some of those African countries including Tunisia that have islamic populations and I think that the Woman in the film could NOT have been realistic in Tunisia, possibly Tunis, yes only in Tunis, or in certain areas of very big cities, but not in the countryside.

Then I said
A. Most of the Muslim populations in these countries live in lower class conditions in rural areas and the countryside, and even in big cities women must be in the Elite to freely dress and behave as they wish. In most countries such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Nigeria where Islamic Fundamentalists have imposed Islamic Shariya Law and suppressed women, denying them civil and human rights, many women are routinely killed for even looking at a man...A bellydancer is not liberated she would be considered a lowly prostitute and shunned...

Then the Moderator and several Black Muslim students shout: THESE ARE STEREOTYPES!! YOU ARE COMING HERE WITH LIES! SHARIYA LAW PROTECTS WOMEN! Women are treated very well...YOU DON"T CARE OR SPEAK OF WOMEN IN AMERICA WHO ARE KILLED DAILY IN RAPES AND BY BOYFRIENDS!

Me:
Q. Of course I care about women in America- here it is ILLEGAL- There are LAWS against killing women- [She cuts me off as I am making the point that in Arab society Shariya law mandates killing these women and honor killing is accepted and men are never punished- while in America the law protects women and "Boyfriends" who kill women are arrested and jailed]

Others discuss how wonderful Arab countries are for women, and how we have to understand the context of the cultures that are different and better than ours. Women in Arab societies in which women wear veils is NOT because it is imposed, rather they lovingly embrace the veil as part of their culture. In fact, the veil was actually forced on Arab women by the ROMANS, and is not really a part of Islamic culture and is NOT mentioned anywhere in the Koran! It was forced upon Arab women by the Romans and has now been lovingly continued because it has become a part of the culture and tradition. Culture and tradition is very prescious in Arab societies and women seek to uphold these honored traditions of their own free will.

Me:
Q. What about the Nigerian black woman who was in the news for being sentenced to death for having a baby...It was the Islamic Fundamentalists who have recently imposed Shariya Law in Nigeria on the Black population there causing terrible suppression of women's rights...

The black Muslim students then angrily shouted:
A. You don't know the facts! These are stereotypes you came here with! That case was not because of Shariya Law! I know the Koran backwards and forwards! That case had nothing to do with Shariya law or Islamic Law!

Me:
A. What are you saying? Of course it did! She was sentenced to death by an Islamic judge who was implementing Shariya law!

Muslim Student:
A. That is a lie! The koran protects women! I know the facts of that case and you are lying! It had nothing to do with Islamic courts!

Moderator to me:
A. We are here to have an open mind and not discuss preconcieved false biases and stereotypes...

Me:
A. But this is a University and this is a History department we want to be HONEST and look at the facts of how women are treated...

A few Students angrily walk out saying I was sabotaging their event...

More Conversation continues:
Ruth:
Q. Do you think that the way the women in this film acted is something to be emulated and aspired to by women? Do you think that Bellydancing is a means for women to be liberated?

A. Oh YES! They were exploring their sexuality and this is very liberating to women to freely express their sexuality!!

Ruth:
Q. But that is not something women should have to resort to to be liberated...Women shouldn't aspire to that...women should have access to equal rights, education, literacy, job opportunities as a means of liberation and advancement in these societies...[Ruth is CUT OFF by the moderator]

Man next to Ruth starts to nod and starts to agree with Ruth about women not wanting to be sexual objects and starts to agree with Ruth but is cut off-

A. Sexual expression is very liberating! These women were exploring their sexuality and that is very inspiring for women!

Ruth:
Q. But in America women want and aspire to more than that for themselves and their daughters: Jobs, Careers, Respect, Education...[CUT OFF]

Moderator:
A. Women in Arab societies are much better off and have better quality of life and opportunity than in America. Arab societies treat women much better than American society. Women in America are far worse off in every way...

Ruth:
Q. [in shock] Excuse me? Women in Arab societies are better off than women in America?

Moderator:
A. Yes!! America treats women terribly! Everyday American women are killed and raped by boyfriends and angry husbands! Thousands of women are killed every day in America! Thousands! America treats women horribly! Women in America have no safety or security, they are routinely brutalized, they have no support system, and nowhere to turn! In Arab societies, women are held in higher esteem, they are protected by the village in which they live, they have a unique support system of all the villagers! If a woman is widowed, the entire village must pay a percentage of that year's harvest to support the widow. Women are venerated in Arab culture...

Ruth starts to mention the terrible abject poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of women's rights in Arab society, and how women in American society have achieved tremendous gains in women's rights and have far more legal and civil rights and access to health, education and welfare support, opportunities for achieving educational and career goals, but is CUT OFF..

Conversation continues... and turns to Israel's terrible treatment of the Palestinians...and the whole session falls apart...