Feminist Peace Network

The Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq’s Houzan Mahmoud has written an excellent piece that is posted on Open Democracy challenging the excuse that culture is an acceptable explanation for violence against women in the Middle East. She writes,

“I challenge those who justify the killing, abuse, and oppression of women on the basis that they are part of Middle Eastern “culture”. But I am also here to challenge those who say these things are not part of Islam.I am here to say that yes, what is happening to women is because of political Islam in all its forms, in power and in opposition. Religious laws are not simply a matter of “culture”; they are barbaric and inhumane practices which are used deliberately to repress women and segregate them from the rest of the world.

We, the women of the world, need to make it clear that women’s rights are universal. They transcend culture, religion, nation, border and tradition. Our struggle for freedom and equality is global and must engage all women, regardless of their background. We need to fight the influence of religion in public life and the religious laws that - in the Middle East and throughout the world - help perpetuate the oppression of half the world’s population.”

Filed under: Uncategorized, Sheroes, Commentary