Women, in context

I have been attacked (anonymously of course) in the comments for my continued posts about the abuses that women who live under Sharia law are subjected to. My anonymous friend seems to think that I am somehow hypocritical in saying that women here have it sooooo good, especially compared to women in 3rd world and Islamic countries, and that the so-called womens rights movement needs to concentrate on making life better for these poor women as opposed to working on meaningless UN resolutions. Anonymous refuses to see the real hypocricy that is right under his/her nose....the hypocricy of the movements that claim to help women and yet stay silent on the daily abuses that happen to women outside of this country. Well I will not ignore these abuses. I will continue to point out abuses...like this:

"When she was one, Rasheeda Begum’s late father promised to marry her off to a relative to settle a poker debt. Fifteen years later the man came calling to collect his winnings.
The teenager’s fight to escape being handed over despite alleged threats to her family is the latest case highlighting how women’s rights in Pakistan are still threatened by conservative customs. "

Many apologists for Islam say that there is no justification in Islam for this.

"For Ali Bardakoğlu, who heads Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, there are two common mistakes that underlie problems faced by women in the modern world; one is the failure to acknowledge the true value of woman as the “perpetrator of the adventure of existence,” and the other is the attempt to seek support from religion in justifying this failure."

Unfortunately that is not an accurate statement. Here are some direct quotes from the Koran regarding the treatment of women.

"Men are the managers of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property" (Suraal-Nisa´ 4:34).

"[4.11] Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females"
In Islam, a woman's testimony is worth half the testimony of a man's, as both the Qur´an and the Hadith state. The Qur´an says, "...if the two be notmen, then one man and two women, such witnesses as you approve of, that ifone of the two women errs the other will remind her..." (Sura al-Baqara2:282). Muhammad accounted for this rule by the deficiency of woman'sintelligence: Once the Messenger of God went out to a prayer place to offer the prayer of Greater Bairam or Lesser Bairam. He passed by the women andsaid, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell- fire were you [women]." They asked, "Why is it so, Messenger of God?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands.I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you.

"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)," (4:34). "

"If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice," (4:3).

Now when arguing Bible passages with others, I am the first to remind that you are to remember context....context of the passage and context of the times when the passage was written which is why I add that the Koran is a not a collection of stories, as the Bible is. It is a collection of sayings...sayings of the prophet Mohammed. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong necessarily with that...just that you lose some of the context. As far as the context of the time goes - that is another story. Take for example the time context of Sura 4:3 - marry women of your choice, two or three or four...at the time this was written it was important that the tribes had as many children as possible in order for the tribe to grow and survive. Life then was harsh...most children didn't make it out of childhood, women didn't often survive childbirth so having multiple wives was a necessity. Plus there is the admonition not to take more than one wife if you do not feel that you can treat her "justly". Now I am still trying to figure out the context for beatings...

There is also little context for gambling away your 1 year old daughter. Nor is there context for punishment like this.

"A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes — for meeting a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported yesterday.In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, the 19-year-old said she was blackmailed a year ago into meeting a man who threatened to tell her family they were having a relationship outside wedlock, which is illegal in the kingdom."

Men - is this what you want for your wives and daughters? Women - you ready for this?