feminist blogs

Leila Hussein, murdered in Iraq.

A mother who spoke out about the murder of her daughter — a murder committed by her husband — was gunned down last month.

Leila Hussein lived her last few weeks in terror. Moving constantly from safe house to safe house, she dared to stay no longer than four days at each. It was the price she was forced to pay after denouncing and divorcing her husband - the man she witnessed suffocate, stamp on, then stab their young daughter Rand in a brutal ‘honour’ killing for which he has shown no remorse.

Though she feared reprisals for speaking out, she really believed that she would soon be safe. Arrangements were well under way to smuggle her to the Jordanian capital, Amman. In fact, she was on her way to meet the person who would help her escape when a car drew up alongside her and two other women who were walking her to a taxi. Five bullets were fired: three of them hit Leila, 41. She died in hospital after futile attempts to save her.

After her daughter was killed, Leila was aided by a women’s rights organization in Basra — one of the only women’s rights groups in Iraq. They have since stopped their work because it’s too dangerous.

Leila’s husband is still a free man, despite publicly admitting to having murdered his own daughter. He claims the police even congratulated him.

Thanks to Mike for the link.

Interesting how one can write an entire op/ed about the anniversary of Israel’s creation and not mention the word “Palestinian” once. “Palestine” gets one mention, in a quote from someone else — but there’s no indication that there were ever people who actually lived (or continue to live) in Palestine. They’re simply invisible.

The Nation does a better job in pointing out that this is indeed a somber anniversary, and that, like American society, the people of Israel remain deeply divided about their country’s leadership and the choices that leadership has made. They also remain deeply divided and conflicted about their own identities. There’s no question that the history (and ongoing reality) of persecution of and discrimination against Jews makes a strong moral case for the creation of a Jewish state. And the fact that Israel is home to 41 percent of the world’s Jews suggests that many Jewish people have themselves decided that such a state was needed.

But the creation of that state came at great expense, and its conservative leadership continues to place major roadblocks in the way of any sort of peace. The unwillingness to grapple with history — a history of moving onto someone else’s land, which Americans too share — leaves many wounds wide open. And the refusal to allow Palestinians to pick their own leadership and to define their own existence makes it impossible to accomplish anything. There are certainly huge numbers of extremists on both sides, and I’m often tempted to say “a pox on both their houses.” But there are enough people invested in some sort of equitable and human rights affirming solution that we shouldn’t give up hope quite yet — true justice may be impossible (and I’m not even sure what that would look like at this point), but an acceptable solution isn’t. Of course, that’s going to require some representations and voices other than the “Greater Israel” religious right-wingers and the Suicide Bomber stereotypes.

So I’m glad to see publications like The Nation highlighting the voices of people from the Palestinian diaspora. One thing Edward Said highlights in The Question of Palestine — and something that probably feels familiar to a lot of people in marginalized groups — is the media’s decisions to constantly talk about the Palestinian people instead of talking to them, or listening to them. So entire articles will be written about Israel/Palestine without a Palestinian voice. It’s nice to see The Nation countering that. Maybe one day the New York Times will follow suit.

Though not surprising, this is incredibly disturbing — and indicative of yet another failure of a lazy corporate media and a twisted, absolutist government that seems to be taking its cues from fascist regimes:

In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure.

The administration’s communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.

Analysts have been wooed in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters, records show. They have been taken on tours of Iraq and given access to classified intelligence. They have been briefed by officials from the White House, State Department and Justice Department, including Mr. Cheney, Alberto R. Gonzales and Stephen J. Hadley.

In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.

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(”Thowra,” which in Arabic literally means “revolution”)

Hey All,

I’m Fauzia and I guest blogged here at Feministe a while back. I initially wrote to Jill about this story as I thought she’d have some good commentary on the issue. But after some thought, and an offer from Jill to return to my guest-blog status for just one more post I figured it might be easier if I wrote about this myself.

Disclaimer: I’m an American currently living in Egypt (Cairo) working at a center that promotes civic engagement and researches the rising sector of Arab philanthropy. I work downtown, near Midan Tahrir (literally “Freedom Square”). In the last 9 months that I’ve been living in Cairo I’ve managed to witness the absolute poverty this country is living in. On the other hand, I’ve managed to witness the growing gap between the rich and poor. Students at the American University, for the most part, are the upper echelon of Egyptian society (note: I’m not saying that they are ALL upper class Egyptians, but for the most part…). I’ve only lived here for 9 months so I’m not professing that I have a huge handle on the situation. So here it goes…

I don’t know how much Western newspapers are covering this issue, but I’m sure by the end of the week they’ll be a few stories. I know that the hard copy of the International Herald Tribune covered this issue this morning (Monday) and online, again, a few minutes ago.

Yesterday (Sunday, April 6) was, essentially, a nationwide strike for many Egyptian workers and activists, in solidarity with the workers of Ghazl El-Mahalla, one of the biggest textile factories in Egypt. The growing problems of low wages and rising prices of food (especially bread and cooking oil) have pushed Egyptian society into a state of anger and frustration. The production and distribution of bread has led to, on many occasions, violence in bread lines. In one instance, a man was stabbed during an argument over bread distribution.

Before I go further, here is some logistical and basic information on the history of labor movements, the current strike (who initiated it, how it snowballed into a national call, etc.) The writer of these articles is Joel Beinin, a professor and head of the Middle East Studies department at the American University in Cairo. He links a few other articles that are pretty informative as well.

Yesterday’s strike, though, was a historical moment for Egypt. Though the country professes to be a “democracy,” (ironically Hosni Mubarak’s party is called “The National Democratic Party,”) it is pretty apparent that no such thing exists in the Egypt. Protests, strikes, and demonstrations have been completely outlawed in Egypt since the declaration of emergency law after the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.
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Is basically summed up in this comment to a story on another KBR rape case:

If we can look the other way while female “employees” are raped, why can’t we open gov’t funed bordellos, get the whole thing out in the open, and then look the other way. That, in and of itself, would be the greatest protection for those females hoping to take advantage of the lucrative oportunities available to them in the war zone, while at the same time creating another lucrative oportunity for the women who want to make money in the sex trade. Simple solution. Police the approved houses of ilrepute, give the whores medical attention, and away we go.

There’s a great solution: Instead of actually doing anything about rapists, let’s give them Iraqi women to rape and call it “sex work.”

(And before anyone says that I’m equating prostitution with rape, my point is that the Americans in Iraq who are raping their fellow employees are looking to rape — that is, to hurt women sexually. Offering up a house full of Iraqi women isn’t going to turn them into kind and thoughtful johns. I suspect the commenter know this, and just doesn’t care).

This is just another in a line of allegations that American mercenaries and military men are sexually assaulting their own. What’s astounding isn’t just that it’s happening, but the arrogance that it’s happening with — the American rapists in Iraq are confident that they can get away with it. And if prosecutions of soldiers and defense contractors are any indication, they can.

And if defense contractors and soldiers think that they can get away with doing this to American women, imagine what’s happening to Iraqi women.

A heart-wrenching, must-read piece.

Our media covers the deaths of American soldiers fairly regularly — but we don’t often hear about the tens of thousands of Iraqis who we’ve murdered. Nine-year-old Ali was only one of them. And because we’re tired of hearing about Iraq — I’m tired of hearing about Iraq — I can’t help but feel a little bit complicit in this.

How the decision that is “widely seen as one of the most momentous and contentious of the war” was made is now coming to light. In May of 2003 Paul Bremer III (or ‘Jerry’ as he’s known around the office) decided (pretty much all by himself) to formally dissolve Iraq’s army.

Somehow he thought it was a good idea to put “250K-300K personnel” out of work in a country “racked by high unemployment” – because obviously taking away someone’s living wage is the way to get them to support you…

Mr. Powell, who views the decision as a “major blunder” asked, “Condi, what happened?”

“And her reaction was: ‘I was surprised too, but it is a decision that has been made and the president is standing behind Jerry’s decision. Jerry is the guy on the ground.’ And there was no further debate about it.”

Maybe there should have been some more debate.

-87: The percentage of Afghan women who report suffering physical abuse, half of which is sexual.
-60: The percentage of marriages in Afghanistan that are forced.
-57: The percentage of Afghan brides who are under the age of 16.
-88: The illiteracy rate amongst Afghan women.
-5: The percentage of Afghan girls attending secondary school.
-1 in 9: The number of women in Afghanistan who die in childbirth — that’s the highest in the world, alongside Sierra Leone.
-1 Million: The number of Afghan widows who have no rights, including no right to work — leaving them to beg on the street.
-£800 to £2,000: The price of a child bride if Afghanistan.

And Afghanistan is the only country where the suicide rate is higher for women than for men.

Just a few things to think about today, and every time you hear politicians talk about how we “liberated” Afghanistan and Afghan women.

They get to rape with impunity. And their punishment is arbitration.

Ms. Kineston is among a number of American women who have reported that they were sexually assaulted by co-workers while working as contractors in Iraq but now find themselves in legal limbo, unable to seek justice or even significant compensation.

Many of the same legal and logistical obstacles that have impeded other types of investigations involving contractors in Iraq, like shootings involving security guards for Blackwater Worldwide, have made it difficult for the United States government to pursue charges related to sexual offenses. The military justice system does not apply to them, and the reach of other American laws on contractors working in foreign war zones remains unclear five years after the United States invasion of Iraq.

KBR and other companies, meanwhile, have required Iraq-bound employees to agree to take personnel disputes to private arbitration rather than sue the companies in American courts. The companies have repeatedly challenged arbitration claims of sexual assault or harassment brought by women who served in Iraq, raising fears among some women about going public with their claims.

But American female employees at least have some recourse, however inadequate. There hasn’t been much talk about Iraqi victims of contractor violence (sexual and otherwise), but it is certainly an ongoing problem. Contractors aren’t subject to military, American or Iraqi law — meaning that they can pretty much do whatever they want without legal consequences. Their assaults on fellow employees are only the tip of the iceberg.

Zanan Magazine, a feminist publication in Iran, has recently been shut down by the government. Founded in 1991, Zanan was the leading feminist magazine in Iran, covering topics like spousal abuse, honor killings, and sex trafficking. Ms. Magazine had an interview a while back with Zanan editor Shahla Sherkat, and it’s a good look at how important the magazine has been for Iranian feminism. Hopefully the mag will get back up and going eventually.