Brussels Journal carries a long and interesting essay on the role of feminism as an enabler of the oppression of women. It attempts to explain the paradox of feminists demonizing Western Civilization as oppressive of women, and remaining mostly silent on the role of non-Western systems in oppressing women. For example:
...we know that other feminists in academia assert that the veil, or even the burka, represents "an alternative feminism." Dr. Wairimu Njambi is an Assistant Professor of "Women's Studies" at the Florida Atlantic University. Much of her scholarship is dedicated to advancing the notion that the cruel practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is actually a triumph for Feminism and that it is hateful to suggest otherwise. According to Njambi "anti-FGM discourse perpetuates a colonialist assumption by universalizing a particular western image of a ‘normal' body and sexuality." [....]
As Ellen Willis, self-proclaimed democratic socialist and founder of Redstockings, a radical feminist group from 1969, stated to left-wing The Nation in 1981: "Feminism is not just an issue or a group of issues, it is the cutting edge of a revolution in cultural and moral values. [...] The objective of every feminist reform, from legal abortion [...] to child-care programs, is to undermine traditional family values." Feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir stated that "no woman should be authorized to stay at home to raise her children [...] because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one."
So far, I have not noted any Western feminists reacting to this news from Pakistan: A Pakistani minister and woman's activist has been shot dead by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil.
Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare in Punjab province and an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, was killed as she was about to deliver a speech to dozens of party activists, by a "fanatic", who believed that she was dressed inappropriately and that women should not be involved in politics, officials said.
Mrs Usman, 35, was wearing the shalwar kameez worn by many professional women in Pakistan, but did not cover her head.
Hat tip: Dennis Sevakis, Steven Gruber
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