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Politics : The Truth About Islam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (3706)	12/27/2006 8:21:32 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Women: Beasts of Burden blog.washingtonpost.com Lahore, Pakistan - Blaring headlines -- arriving almost on a weekly basis now -- announcing yet another 'honor' killing or yet another rape victim detained while the perpetrator goes free show just how much the odds continue to work against the Pakistani woman. Recently, the government decided to finally amend the criminal code of Pakistan's controversial rape laws that said a raped woman could be accused, in the absence of evidence of four male Muslim eyewitnesses, of adultery or fornication. Women activists took to the streets, rejecting the amendment and calling for the complete repeal of the Hudood Ordinances, a bizarre set of Islamic laws devised by a military dictator in the 1980s in a bid to legitimize authoritarian rule by packaging it in "Islamisation". So long as these bad laws remain on the books, say activists, they will undermine the security of Pakistani women, resulting in grave miscarriages of justice. Some critics of the opposition say to accept moderate improvements and "realize half a loaf of bread is better than none at all." In the 21st century, Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world with fewer women in its population than men. In rural Pakistan, women are treated as beasts of burden. They are fed on scraps but expected to do the bulk of the work. In urban society, women are considered a social burden, forced to leave school or employment after marriage. Yet women have struggled and will continue to do so against all odds. Even if mobility remains circumscribed in the countryside, the information revolution is changing attitudes. Among urban women fortunate enough to gain an education, more and more are challenging, if not breaking, the glass ceiling in professions that once excluded females. Will women in Pakistan accept half a loaf in the 21st century? Not likely. They'll accept nothing less than complete freedom, complete equality, and equal rights.

To: longnshort who wrote (3706)	1/1/2007 8:38:58 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Saudi Arabia Bars Bible-Bearing Flight Attendant Arutz Sheva ^ \| December 31, 2006 \| Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu israelnationalnews.com A Bible-bearing Christian flight attendant has been barred by her British employer from flying to Saudi Arabia, where Christianity is illegal. The flight attendant, who works for British Midland Airways (BMI), is "a committed Christian [who] likes to take her Bible, which was once her mother's, with her when she travels," according to journalist Claire Bergen, who added that the case will be brought to an industrial court. The British Foreign Office backed the airline. "The importation and use of narcotics, alcohol, pork products and religious books, apart from the Quran (Koran), and artifacts are forbidden," it stated. The London Telegraph quoted a BMI official as saying, "We issue advice to all our staff and passengers that these are the guidelines. She is saying she wants to carry her Bible with her. We are saying we cannot start designing rules around individuals when we have several hundred members of staff. To take every personal preference into account would be impossible." It is not the first time that religious practice of airline workers has been curtailed because of Saudi rules. A flight attendant working for British Airways (BA) was forbidden to visibly wear her cross on the route to Saudi Arabia. Even Christmas trees are banned in the oil-rich kingdom, which claims to allow religious freedom. An Iowa woman wrote in a Kansas newspaper earlier this month about her experience in 2003. "Christianity was not allowed to be practiced," wrote Charlotte Brock Rady. "Shopping in the back alleys of Jeddah one night, we discovered a market that had hidden away upstairs in a dark room a small artificial Christmas tree and lights." Another worker in the country reported that her tree was confiscated at the border. Nevertheless, on a recent visit to Princeton University, Prince Turki al-Faisal declared, "Arab tradition and Muslim tradition is geared towards having an open mind. Muslim religion accepts Christianity and Judaism." Last year, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for discussing the Bible and praising Jews, according to a Reuters News Agency report. "He was charged with promoting a "dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer." A report by the U.S. State Department criticized Saudi Arabia, saying religious freedoms "are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam."