Hearts of stone
15/5/10; A mud-walled village in Iran. Soraya, a 35-year-old mother of seven, is falsely accused of adultery by her violent husband, who wants to be rid of her to marry a 4-year-old girl. He blackmails the local mullah, who sentences Soraya to death by stoning under Sharia law. The crowd cries “Allahu akbar [God is […] read more…Polygamy the same as having a mistress, Muslim butcher Hebbadj tells France
Charles Bremner; 27/4/10 President Sarkozy’s campaign against full Islamic veils took a comic turn yesterday when a Muslim butcher claimed that his wives were no different from the mistresses that Frenchmen traditionally enjoyed. Lies Hebbadj, 35, was defending himself after the Government made him a national example by citing his supposed polygamy as an illustration […] read more…Yemen child forced into marriage dies
9/4/10; A 13-year-old Yemeni girl who had been forced into marriage died five days after her wedding when she suffered a rupture in her sex organs and haemorrhaging, a local human right’s organisation said. Ilham Mahdi al-Assi died last Friday in al-Thawra hospital in Hajja province, the Shaqaeq Arab Forum for Human Rights said in […] read more…Minimum age for marriage urged
Fatima Sidiya; 26/3/10 A sheikh has urged the government to implement a minimum age for marriage. Shiekh Abdul Muhsin Al-Obaikan wants to avoid cases of very young girls getting married to men many years their senior. The sheikh has also pledged his support for the “No to Minor Marriages” campaign run by Arab News’ sister […] read more…Police insensitivity
24/3/10; http://arabnews.com/opinion/letters/article33881.ece A 14-year-old Muslim girl was arrested at her home by Ghatkopar police, Mumbai, in December last year, in connection with a supposed violation of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act as her relatives complained to the police that she was underage and should not be married off. Instead of taking suitable action against her […] read more…Top Yemeni religious leaders oppose ban on child marriages
22/10/03 Some of Yemen’s most influential Islamic leaders, including one the US says mentored Osama Bin Laden, have declared supporters of a ban on child brides to be apostates. The religious decree, issued Sunday, deeply imperils efforts to salvage legislation that would make it illegal for those under the age of 17 to marry. The […] read more…A brief history of… Polygamy
20/2/10; Aa a proud Zulu, South African president JacobZuma has long stood firmly by his right to have multiple wives (three, currently) and a large brood of children (20) by different mothers. But in the past couple of weeks the 67-year-old has been forced to issue a public apology following revelations he fathered a child […] read more…End ban on customary law in sentencing, urges law council
Chris Merritt, 18/2/10 The Law Council of Australia has committed itself to overturning the federal ban that prevents judges taking account of Aboriginal customary law. The Law Council’s new policy on indigenous Australians describes customary law as “sophisticated and complex”. But the Law Council has also recognised that some aspects of customary law — such […] read more…It’s a new boardgame
Susan Maushart; 13/2/10 For all of recorded human history, females have reliably sought mates whose access to material resources – goats, sheep, share options – is greater than their own. Anthropologists call the tradition of marrying up “hegemony”, and note that it is also associated with choosing partners who are somewhat taller, somewhat older and […] read more…Mother forced to leave her children
Rick Feneley; 18/1/10 A Melbourne woman trapped for years in Saudi Arabia has been deported and forced home without three of her children, who remain with her allegedly abusive former husband. The Australian consul and embassy officials surrounded the 33-year-old Muslim convert, Jennifer Birrell, as she collapsed on the road outside her Riyadh home and […] read more…This father-in-law needs mental checkup
11/1/10; See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=130992&d=11&m=1&y=2010 Fathers-in-law can be real pains, especially when they try to force divorce and demand compensation. According to a report in the daily Al-Shams newspaper on Sunday, a Makkah man went to a judge demanding that his daughter separate from her husband of over nine years. In addition to that, the man wanted […] read more…Rights group must act on child ordeal case
Muneera Al-Matrouk; 11/1/10 We Muslims find it painful to hear about the condemnable actions of some of our fellow Muslims. Islam is not to blame when a father violates the rights of his wife and children. It is regrettable to come across shameful acts while living in a Muslim country where values of justice and […] read more…Sexual harassment main hindrance for women job seekers
Badea Abu Al-Naja; 5/1/10 Women who are forced to go out and seek jobs to sustain themselves or help their poor families might find themselves prey to all sorts of harassment. Employers, forced by Saudization rules to hire citizens, do not usually feel happy when approached by Saudis, especially women. These companies do not only […] read more…Fear after husband jailed for ‘honour killing’
Karen McVeigh; 19/12/09 A woman whose husband has been jailed for murdering their 15-year-old daughter 10 years ago in an ”honour killing” is living in fear of reprisals after she gave devastating evidence against him. Tulay Goren was killed in January 1999 after running away from home to live with her boyfriend, a fellow Turkish […] read more…Man leaves his wife in floodwater
Arjuwan Lakkdawala; 9/11/09 The floods shocked many, especially a Saudi wife whose husband fled for his life and left her to drown in a car filling up with water. Pakistani truck driver Shahzad (not his real name) witnessed the cowardly act. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when this man left his wife to die. I […] read more…Jordan’s Queen joins fight for action on honour killings
Richard Spencer; 7/12/09 On one side is the fashionably dressed Queen Rania of Jordan, a symbol of progressive values for Arab women. On the other are her country’s conservative social and religious leaders. At stake is a political test case for reform in the Middle East, one that pits demands for greater democracy against the […] read more…