"HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES AFFECTION THE HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN"
"An appraisal of harmful traditional practices and their effects on women and the girl child.
Traditional cultural practices reflect values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods often spanning generations. Every social grouping in the world has specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members, while others are harmful to a specific group, such as women. These harmful traditional practices include female genital mutilation (FGM); forced feeding of women; early marriage; the various taboos or practices which prevent women from controlling their own fertility; nutritional taboos and traditional birth practices; son preference and its implications for the status of the girl child; female infanticide; early pregnancy; and dowry price. Despite their harmful nature and their violation of international human rights laws, such practices persist because they are not questioned and take on an aura of morality in the eyes of those practicing them....
(NOTE: most of these are practiced by the Islamic world).
...Child marriage robs a girl of her childhood-time necessary to develop physically, emotionally and psychologically. In fact, early marriage inflicts great emotional stress as the young woman is removed from her parents' home to that of her husband and in-laws. Her husband, who will invariably be many years her senior, will have little in common with a young teenager. It is with this strange man that she has to develop an intimate emotional and physical relationship. She is obliged to have intercourse, although physically she might not be fully developed....
...Health complications that result from early marriage in the Middle East and North Africa, for example, include the risk of operative delivery, low weight and malnutrition resulting from frequent pregnancies and lactation in the period of life when the young mothers are themselves still growing....
The work of the Committee has also permitted the identification of certain areas where law reform should be undertaken, in both civil and penal areas, such as the minimum age for marriage and establishment of the age of criminal responsibility as being the attainment of puberty. Some States have argued that girls attain their physical maturity earlier, but it is the view of the Committee that maturity cannot simply be identified with physical development when social and mental development are lacking and that, on the basis of such criteria, girls are considered adults before the law upon marriage, thus being deprived of the comprehensive protection ensured by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo in September 1994 (see p. 36 below), encouraged Governments to raise the minimum age for marriage. In her preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, also recognized that the age of marriage was a factor contributing to the violation of women's rights ...
Early pregnancy can have harmful consequences for both young mothers and their babies. According to UNICEF, no girl should become pregnant before the age of 18 because she is not yet physically ready to bear children. Babies of mothers younger than 18 tend to be born premature and have low body weight; such babies are more likely to die in the first year of life. The risk to the young mother's own health is also greater. Poor health is common among indigent pregnant and lactating women. ...
An additional health risk to young mothers is obstructed labor, which occurs when the baby's head is too big for the orifice of the mother. This provokes vesicovaginal fistulas, especially when an untrained traditional birth attendant forces the baby's head out unduly....
Generally throughout the developing world, the average food intake of pregnant and lactating mothers is far below that of the average male. Cultural practices, including nutritional taboos, ensure that pregnant women are deprived of essential nutriments, and as a result they tend to suffer from iron and protein deficiencies...."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
So not only does science teach us that young girls are not mature just because they have had first menarche, but science teaches us that teen, or worse yet, pre-teenage girls should not be bearing children. Their bodies are not ready for it. These type of pregnancies are frequently harmful both to the mother and the child.
However, Islam does not take into account the child's or mother's health. Because it was part of Muhammad's "sunnah", (lifestyle), and because early marriage of girls is permitted in Islam, (following menarche), it cannot change it's position on this issue. Consequently, this type of abuse occurs throughout the Islamic world. If anyone wants to see just how bad child abuse is in the Islamic world, read the above webpage posted by the United Nations. Most of the barbaric cultural practices listed there are generally practiced in the Islamic world.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO YOUNG GIRLS
Modern medicine teaches that a female's body is not fully developed at age 9. Sexual intercourse at that age could damage a female's sexual organs. For instance, at the age of 9 years old, the cervix of the female is yet undeveloped, as are many of the child's sexual organs. Further, intercourse at this age leads to an 80% increased risk in her developing cervical cancer later in life.
In the book "One River", by Wade Davis, page 228, (Simon & Schuster), Davis documents how when young girls are subjected to intercourse with an adult male, their hips get damaged, because their bones are not fully formed:
"These were Loayza's concubines, Indian children who grew into adolescence physically deformed, their hips weak and permanently dislocated from intercourse."
I am not saying that Aisha had deformed hips, or that Muhammad brutalized her. I am saying that just because a girl has her 1st menstrual cycle doesn't mean she qualifies as an adult. There are other factors that need to be considered. Islam however, fails to consider these factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE TO YOUNG GIRLS
There have been several studies done on females who were married at a very young age, and then taken into sexual intercourse. Following is a citation from two of them.
"Sexual contact between children and adults: A life course perspective."
Browning, Christopher R; Laumann, Edward O
Citation: American Sociological Review, v62n4, pp.540-560, Aug 1997
Number: 03374356 Features: Table; Illustration; References
Copyright: American Sociological Association 1997
"Research interest in the long-term effects of sexual contact between female children and adults has increased dramatically in the last two decades. Two sets of issues have driven this enhanced attention. The first concerns the nature and extent of the impact these experiences have on subsequent well-being in adulthood. Empirical research has offered evidence of the severe and wide ranging effects of adult-child sex by documenting its associations with a host of later "symptoms," such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction."
"In each reduced model (Model 1), we see that adult-child sexual contact is significantly associated with the outcome considered. Women who experienced adult-child sexual contact were 1.6 times as likely to report sexual desire dysfunction, 2.1 times as likely to report sexual response dysfunction, 2.4 times as likely to report high dysfunction, 1.6 times as likely to report low overall well being, 1.7 times as likely to report low relationship satisfaction, and had more sexual activities that they found appealing compared with those who had no coupled sexual experiences as children. For every outcome except high dysfunction and number of sex acts found appealing, the introduction of the sexual trajectory variables (Models 2 and 3) renders the adult-child sexual contact coefficient insignificant, indicating that the effects of adult-child sex on adult outcomes are largely indirect, mediated through sexual trajectories."
Another such study was done by Peter O. Ebigbo. In the German periodical for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychoanalysis his work was published. The abstract reads,
"Presents data on disturbed female clients whose marriages were arranged at age 9-13 years. When husbands had paid the dowry and fulfilled marriage customs, they were entitled to have sexual intercourse with their wives. Early sexual experience, mostly against the will of the underage girls, precipitated positive or negative reactions. In positive reaction cases, an imprinting fixation on the man took place. If the man died or rejected the young women, a disorientation took place, resulting mostly in an inability to have sexual relationships with other men. If the reaction was negative, the women did all she could to prevent sexual relationships with her husband through a variety of symptoms such as frequent pregnancies and secret love affairs."
A quick review of Aisha's life, during and following Muhammad's death, shows that she exhibited some psychological problems:
1) She was extremely jealous of some of Muhammad's other wives.
From Bukhari, 5.164:
Narrated 'Aisha:
I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija (although) she died before he married me, for I often heard him mentioning her, and Allah had told him to give her the good tidings that she would have a palace of Qasab (i.e. pipes of precious stones and pearls in Paradise), and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would send her women-friends a good share of it.
2) She conspired with other wives and lied to and deceived Muhammad.
From Bukhari 7.192:
Narrated 'Ubaid bin 'Umar:
I heard 'Aisha saying, "The Prophet used to stay for a long while with Zanab bint Jahsh and drink honey at her house. So Hafsa and I decided that if the Prophet came to anyone of us, she should say him, "I detect the smell of Maghafir (a nasty smelling gum) in you. Have you eaten Maghafir?' " So the Prophet visited one of them and she said to him similarly. The Prophet said, "Never mind, I have taken some honey at the house of Zainab bint Jahsh, but I shall never drink of it anymore." So there was revealed: 'O Prophet ! Why do you ban (for you) that which Allah has made lawful for you ... If you two (wives of Prophet) turn in repentance to Allah,' (66.1-4) addressing Aisha and Hafsa. 'When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to some of his wives.' (66.3) namely his saying: But I have taken some honey."
3) She was a ringleader in the first Muslim civil war... the first time Muslims took arms up against other Muslims. According to the Hadith, Muslims went to hell for fighting in support of her. In the "Battle of the Camel", thousands of Muslims were killed fighting against each other. Aisha's side lost, and she was basically put under house arrest by Ali.
From Bukhari 9.204:
Narrated Al-Hasan:
(Al-Ahnaf said:) I went out carrying my arms during the nights of the affliction (i.e. the war between 'Ali and 'Aisha) and Abu Bakra met me and asked, "Where are you going?" I replied, "I intend to help the cousin of Allah's Apostle (i.e., 'Ali)." Abu Bakra said, "Allah's Apostle said, 'If two Muslims take out their swords to fight each other, then both of them will be from amongst the people of the Hell-Fire.' It was said to the Prophet, 'It is all right for the killer but what about the killed one?' He replied, 'The killed one had the intention to kill his opponent.'"
5.116:
Narrated Abu Wail:
When 'Ali sent 'Ammar and Al-Hasan to (the people of) Kufa to urge them to fight, 'Ammar addressed them saying, "I know that she (i.e. 'Aisha) is the wife of the Prophet in this world and in the Hereafter (world to come), but Allah has put you to test, whether you will follow Him (i.e. Allah) or her."
So not only did Aisha help cause the death of thousands of Muslim men, she is pictured as acting against the very will of Allah.
One can only feel sorry for Aisha. Robbed of her childhood, becoming a bride to a man who had a large sexual appetite for many women, Aisha felt she had to at times lie to and deceive Muhammad to keep his attention. She ends up after her marriage to him, left all alone, forbidden to re-marry. Later, she helps lead the first Muslim civil war, causing the death of thousands of Muslims, who according to Islam, would go to hell for fighting each other. Finally defeated, she is not executed but ordered to live the rest of her days, basically under house arrest, in Medina.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABUSIVE ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN THE WORLD TODAY
Sandra Mackey, in "Saudis, Inside the Desert Kingdom" writes on page 161: "Girls are considered marriageable from the time they reach puberty. The lower class marries very young. The ages for marriage and first pregnancy on Tarut Island, off the east coast, were published in a rare study on women that I unearthed from a library. In the group as a whole, the mean age for marriage was fourteen, with the first pregnancy occurring at sixteen. Out of 193 girls, 3 married as young as ten. Among the Bedouins and the rural poor, a girl can be the second of two wives, married to a man older than her father, the mother of several children, and suffering from severe depression by the age of eighteen."
Miriam Ali, in "Without Mercy", pub. by Warner Books, 1995 tells the story of her daughters being abducted and sold as wives in Yemen. Their names are Nadia and Zana. The girls were both in their early teens. Here are relevant excerpts:
page 123: Gowan (a man who purchased one of Miriam's daughters) laughed in my face. "They are not your daughters Miriam, they are ours (because the men purchased the girls). Mine and Abdul Khada. I paid good money for Nadia to bear children for my son, as Abdul Khada paid for Zana....Muthana (Miriam's husband) knows this. He knew this when we struck our deal. He has no problem with it........."Do you think I would allow this, the sale of my own daughters?" What is it to do with you Miriam? This is man's business, nothing for a woman to concern herself with."
page 300: I discovered that I wasn't the only one to have suffered at the hands of a Shamiri. I now knew at least 5 other mothers who have had their children taken to Yemen. This had accounted for at least 10 other children, the majority of them female. I knew that there were many more like them.
Zana had met so many girls taken from the Midlands (England), taken by force who were now in Yemen. One was a petite blonde from Derby. She was 9 years old when she was taken and had already three miscarriages when she became pregnant a forth time. This time the child had been stillborn. The death of this little baby had taken the child-mother's sanity. She was 12 years old. Another, also 12 years old, often chatted to Zana, telling her she could still count to 10 in English. She told Zana how desperate she was to go home to England. As they talked together, she suckled a child at her breast.
page 387: It's the Islam mom, I am Muslim, I can't come home with you. He said he would bring me, but it is not up to me, if -- if I can come home or not, it is up to him. I want to come home, but....."
page 390: "Imagine if you will, that this is your life, that this has happened to your own flesh and blood. Imagine a strange man touching her, beating her, raping her, impregnating her then laughing smugly in her face as she suffers."
"Please don't forget me, please don't leave me here too long, please." --- Nadia Muhsen, Taiz, Yemen. Feburary, 1992.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FROM PRINCESS, BY JEAN SASSON
page 74: In Saudi Arabia, the appearance of the first menses means that it is time to select the first veil and abaaya.
page 75: A child enters the store, but a woman emerges, veiled, and on that day, of marriageable age. Her life changes in that split second.
There are other books I could quote from, but the above is enough to illustrate the point: in the Islamic world today, Muhammad's "sunnah", or lifestyle, has led to the legal abuse of young children. Many of them are coerced, either by their fathers, family, or their families financial situation, to accept marriage with a man old enough to be their grandfather. Other girls probably don't even understand what they are getting into when they are approached to marry a man.
Starting after the first menses, these children are valued greatly for their virginity, exploited by lustful old men, who purchase the girl with a dowry, and use them for sexual gratification and child-bearing. They are left to live as second class people, in a culture based upon Muhammad's life. This is the Islam that Muslims in the West don't want to tell you about, or do not know about themselves at all, living in countries with better standards than their religion teaches.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
WAS AISHA MATURE ENOUGH TO DECIDE FOR HERSELF? ARE YOUNG GIRLS OLD ENOUGH TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES?
From reading Aisha's accounts in the Hadith and Tabari's history, it is obvious that she raised no objection in marrying Muhammad. She was still playing with her dolls. It all happened so quickly that she didn't know what was going on. This is not surprising. As stated, the brain's ability to be maturely cognitive occurs well after age 9. At age 9, Aisha was barely able to comprehend the world around her. She knew that Muhammad was someone special, she knew that her father loved him. She went along for the ride. Literally. In fact, before the wedding ceremony, Muhammad had her sit in his lap! One could only wonder what he was thinking. So because Aisha raised no objection does not make it right. She was too young to truly think and decide for herself.
And what about all the other little girls in the Islamic world who are not "fortunate" enough to marry a celebrity like Muhammad? Do they really have a choice? Are their voices heard? According to what is documented, many are not. Many little girls become severely depressed following Muhammad's "Sunnah" in the Islamic world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CULTURAL NORMS
Some Muslims insist that Muhammad should not be judged by our culture today. But what we are dealing with goes far deeper than cultural practices. Muhammad established a cultural "norm". This practice of taking young girls continues to exist in the Muslim world today. Culture is important.
Muhammad had the ability to change and shape the culture of the people who followed him or submitted to him. He ordered his followers to not bury alive their baby daughters, he forbid the use of alcohol, he mandated inheritance rules for male and female, he instituted slavery as an Islamic norm. If this topic dealt with Muhammad alone, (for example, only he was allowed to have 11 wives), then I wouldn't judge him so harshly. But he proclaimed himself as the final prophet of God. He taught his followers to follow his lifestyle, i.e., to have their culture centered around his way of life. If it was good enough for Muhammad to take a young girl, then it is okay for Muslim men today to do this.
Just because an action is a cultural norm, does not make it morally right. In Muhammad's culture it was morally acceptable for him to do what he did to Aisha. The people of Muhammad's time, both his followers and enemies, did not think it was wrong for Muhammad to do this. But it is no longer morally acceptable to continue this barbaric practice. Today, we know better.
Take for example smoking cigarettes. About 50 years ago, 50% of all American males were smokers. It was culturally acceptable to smoke. It was a sign of being "cool, tough, with-it, etc.". However, that has changed. From science, today we know that smokers are addicted to the drug nicotine. From science, we know that smoking causes cancer and other illnesses. Praise God, our culture regarding smoking has changed, and is continuing to change. What was once culturally acceptable is now becoming culturally un-acceptable. We have learned, and changed.
In the same way, just because Muhammad's culture accepted marrying and having sex with girls following their menarche, does not make it absolutely morally right. In the light of today's science, we know it is morally wrong to do this to young girls. Muhammad should be condemned, not for what he solely did to Aisha, but because he instituted this evil practice as part of Islam's culture.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUHAMMAD'S REASONS FOR MARRYING AISHA
Another claim Muslims make to justify Muhammad's marriage is that Muhammad was cementing his bond with Aisha's father, Abu Bakr. But, we read in Tabari that that was not the reason Muhammad married her. Here is the quote from Tabari, volume 9, page 129.
"The Reason Why the Messenger of God Asked for the Hands of Both Aisha and Sawdah in Marriage...
...When Khadijah died, Khawlah, wife of Uthman, who was in Mecca, said (to the Messenger of God), "O Messenger of God, will you not marry?" He replied, "Whom"?" "A maiden [virgin]", she said, if you like, or a non-maiden." He replied, "Who is the maiden?" "The daughter of the dearest creature of God to you," she answered, "Aisha bint Abi Bakr.".....
She went to Abu Bakr's house, where she found Umm Ruman, mother of Aisah and said, "O Umm Ruman, what a good thing and a blessing has God brought to you!" She said, "What is that?" Khawlah replied, "The Messenger of God has sent me to ask for Aisha's hand in marriage on his behalf."
The story goes on to describe how Abu Bakr then gave his daughter in marriage [equal to betrothal] when she was 6.
Note here there is nothing at all about "cementing ties", between Abu Bakr and Muhammad. Instead, all we see is a match maker hooking up Muhammad with Aisha. Anyone familiar with Abu Bakr knows that his relationship to Muhammad needed no cementing. He put his life on the line for Muhammad many times and followed him through thick and thin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMINATION
Muhammad said that God said about Muhammad in the Quran:
"Surely in the Messenger of God you have a good example". 33:21
What kind of example was he in allowing child abuse? Was there any wisdom in what Muhammad allowed? Were there any lessons to be learned from allowing this type of child abuse? Was God's in any of this? Did Muhammad's people and culture benefit from establishing this practice? Of course not. Muhammad proclaimed himself as a guide and a light for his followers. Yet through his actions alone, thousands, if not millions of Muslim girls have been subjected to this harmful practice. Where was the light? Where was the guidance? Where was the wisdom? It was nothing more than a cultural practice, instituted by Muhammad as part of Islam. It turns out to be destructive. But because it was good enough for Muhammad, it is good enough for Muslims; many of their female children suffer as a result.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT'S THE VERDICT - EVIDENCE FROM THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES = MUHAMMAD JUDGED.
How then should Muhammad be judged? By our cultural and legal standards, Muhammad committed a crime. And I do thank God that our standards are better than his and those of Islam's when it comes to protecting children. But Muhammad didn't live under our standards. Instead, he lived under the standards of his own time, and those of his making.
I am not saying Muhammad was a pedeophile or a pervert. But I am saying that what he did was wrong, and worse, he established it as an acceptable act. He may not have committed misconduct according to his cultural norms, but since he claimed to set up his "sunnah", i.e. "lifestyle", for all his followers, we can judge him accordingly. Muhammad instituted a convention of sexual misconduct, i.e. allowing girls, who were not truly ready for marriage, to be taken.
He may have not known better, but he should not be excused for setting up a system that institutionalizes child abuse. He proclaimed that his lifestyle was the one to be emulated, and in part, he bears the judgment for this child abuse in the Islamic world today. Girls at age 9 are not mature enough, either physically, emotionally, or mentally, to be put into those type of "marriage" situations. Shouldn't he be found guilty according to his own words and actions?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTIONS
1) Muhammad and Islam establish the right to marry and have intercourse with any girl who has had her first menstrual cycle. Science proves this is bad for the child. If Muhammad were from God, would God have allowed that perverse dictum to be set in motion?
2) What consideration is given to the young girls in Saudi, Yemen, and elsewhere in the Islamic world, who for one reason or another, are taken in marriage following their first menstrual cycle? Many accounts of life in Saudi Arabia for women detail how depressing life is for Saudi women, especially for those who do not have access to Saudi's great wealth. Shouldn't these young girls be given a chance to live a better life?
3) Wouldn't a real God have put in place better, more responsible guidelines for dealing with children? Couldn't God have given Muhammad a "revelation" to protect young female children until they are older or more mature for marriage? After all, why did it have to be allowed following the first menstrual cycle?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION
It is clear that Muhammad had intercourse with Aisha when she was 9 years old. Since girls at that age are not fully mature either physically, emotionally, or psychologically, we know that it is wrong for a man, regardless of his age, to engage a child in sexual relations. No other conclusion can be drawn. No one would expect a real prophet of a righteous God to engage in, justify, allow, and prescribe for his followers such an malignant act.
Muhammad established a appalling precedent for Islam, Muslims, and young girls. This was not based upon wisdom, knowledge, or science, but only upon his culture, desires, actions, and teachings. He should be judged as a man who established child abuse as a norm in Islam.
Does an Arab CUSTOM of having sexual intercourse with young girls after their first menstrual cycle, mitigate the action of a 52 year old man who claimed to be a Prophet of God? Or is the fact that Muhammad followed these customs and had sexual intercourse with Aisha at the age of 9 years, while she is still playing with toys to be overlooked? That's for you to decide.
Jesus said, "You shall know them by their fruits", Matthew 7:20. We see that one of Muhammad's fruits was allowing young girls to be subjected to a brutal custom.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bukhari's Hadith, translated into English by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan
Abu Dawud's Hadith is the third most respected Hadith in Islam.
THE HISTORY OF TABARI
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM
From the Muslim book "WOMEN IN ISLAM" by Said Abjullah Seif-Al-Hatimy, published by Islamic Publications in Lahore Pakistan:
The Baker Ency. of the Bible
"Ancient Israelite Marriage Customs", by Jim West, theology.edu
"Adolescent Life Experiences", by G. Adams and T. Gullotta, pub. by Brooks / Cole, page 4:
"ADOLESCENCE", by L. Steinberg, pub. by McGraw Hill, 1993.
"ADOLESCENCE - TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO MATURITY", by Lambert, Rothschild, Altland, & Green, pub. by Brooks / Cole.
"Child Adolescent Development", by J. Brunk, pub by Wiley, 1975:
from the American Academy of Pediatrics, at: aap.org
FROM THE UNITED WAY - MARCH OF DIMES BIRTH DEFECTS
FOUNDATION: TEENFACTS
babynet.ddwi.com
FROM THE UNITED NATIONS
unhchr.ch
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
childbrides.htm
Rev A: 97-07-10, Rev B: 97-11-24, Rev C: 97-12-10, Rev D: 98-4-1, Rev E: 98-8-8, Rev F: 99-1-1, Rev G: 9/8/01
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Articles by Silas
Answering Islam Home Page |
