Tag Archives: Jordan

Women Cops in Iraq

Posted on by elizabeth
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Via the Women’s Media Center, from UPI:

An unprecedented number of Iraqi women have started training to become police officers at the Kirkuk Police Academy, officials say. 

The 37 female recruits who began their training Saturday are the first women at the academy in a year and their numbers are unprecedented, the American Forces Press Service reported Monday.

An academy officer said female officers are badly needed because Muslim customs do not allow men to touch women. The female officers will allow searches of women at checkpoints and government buildings, he said.

In addition, the academy officer said, “women think differently than men. They will bring fresh ideas to how we conduct business.”

For the recruits, becoming a police officer is both a chance to earn a good wage and to serve their country. They hold no truck with terrorists.

“Terrorists are not welcome in the province of Kirkuk,” said one 29-year-old recruit who goes by the name Intesar. “They are not Iraqis; they are not Muslim. It is not our way. They are mad.”

An Iraqi police recruit earns about 185,000 Iraqi dinars monthly — about $81 in U.S. currency — and after graduating will make 500,000 dinar — about $360.

The female recruits must meet the same standards as men to graduate.

I’m trying to figure out whether this is a “good” story or a “bad” story.

The amount of money being paid to these cops is paltry, male or female.  Better than nothing I suppose.  But paltry, considering the risks involved.  But yup, you can get people to work for very little when there are no options.

And speaking of options, what options do these women have?  Aaron Brown’s excellent documentary on Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan played on PBS tonight and he noted that many Iraqi women and girls have been virtually forced into prostitution and other forms of sex trade work in Syria and Jordan because they have either lost husbands and fathers to death or kidnapping in Iraq or because they’ve been abandoned after having been raped.  Hard to believe that some of those female cops aren’t in similar positions and have just as little choice about taking on this equally high-risk work.

I’d hate to think that some of these women could end up doing prostitution work themselves someday.  To say nothing of what it does to women (and men) to do work that puts them in a position of having to harass their fellow Iraqis on behalf of the Bush administration.

What is a Feminist?

Posted on by elizabeth
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While trolling for news this morning, I came across Catherine Townsend’s blog at The Independent/UK.  It seems Ms Townsend is the “sex and dating” columnist for the paper.  She was blogging about a debate she had participated in at Cambridge Union:

Tonight, I’m due to partake in a debate at the Cambridge Union on the motion “This House regards Jordan as a Feminist Icon” along with, among others, Edwina Currie and Abi Titmuss. Depending on whom you ask, she’s either an evil, amoral slapper who corrupts children and is bringing on the downfall of civilisation, or a modern-day heroine.

Sadly, women can often be the most vicious misogynists. Men are historically brutal and competitive, but at least they are honest about it.  [emphasis mine]

more here

I didn’t have any idea who “Jordan” was so I went looking.  It turns out that Jordan is an alter-ego for the very high-priced and successful model, Katie Price.  On her website, Katie describes herself thus:

I’m well known for my frank, direct views and bold statements on issues that concern me. My no-nonsense approach has earned me the status of ‘thinking man’s crumpet’ as well as making me a strong, realistic female icon for many ordinary girls and women. [my emphasis again]

Townsend lost the debate.  But she loved participating and concluded that

For the record, I do think that Jordan is a feminist icon. Everyone may not agree with her choices, but she’s done everything on her own, and feminism is about the right to choose one’s own path. Besides, icons can be both loved and loathed, and this debate about women who use their sexuality to advance their careers is nothing new: we were having the same argument about Madonna in 1991.

Since Townsend believes she is in a position to decide who is a feminist and who isn’t, I guess she would stake that territory for herself as well.  I guess her definition of “feminist” would be something along these lines: a woman who does whatever she wants, including valorizing men for “brutality and competitiveness” and insulting women, painting them as [universally?] dishonest, vicious, manipulative.  Also, someone who elevates another woman to the status of “feminist”, that woman being someone who takes primary pleasure from being “the thinking man’s crumpet” and thus an excellent role model for girls and women.

Townsend claims to be a “sexual adventuress” and delights in publicizing her exploits:

Until I met James, my injuries during sex were pretty much limited to carpet burns, the odd bite-mark, and, since my skin is pale and tends to blacken on impact like an overripened banana, no small amount of bruising. 

But on our last date, right after several martinis and a very energetic session between the sheets, I felt intense pleasure – followed by a shooting pain in my right eye.

“Baby, the room is spinning,” I said, panicked. 

“Yeah, I know, that felt totally amazing to me, too,” he said, taking my hand in his.

“No… everything is out of focus. I can’t see!” 

So our romantic evening ended in casualty, where I was wedged between a guy with a hacking cough and a woman with three feral children trying to choke each other. I read an out-of-date magazine with my good eye and tried not to freak out. 

Finally, it was my turn, and after a brief chat with the nurse I was sent to see a young, fit doctor. After asking what medication I was on, he got to the, “So, do you have any idea what caused this?” question. 

I blushed, before blurting out that it happened when I had an orgasm. “What I think you have here is a popped blood vessel,” he said, “it’s not that uncommon, so you shouldn’t be embarrassed.” 

Even in my humiliated state, I found it seriously hot that this man was taking charge.

more here if you can stand it

There’s an awful lot of embarassment and humiliation going on here for someone so sexually liberated.  The whole scenario could be a scene from a trashy Victorian porn novel – blushing woman in a compromised position swooning [almost] in the arms of virile but sensitive rescuer.

I thought that, perhaps, there was some cultural thing going on here that I had failed to understand.  Till a little more digging revealed that Townsend was born in Arkansas and lately wrote for New York Magazine.

If being a feminist means caving to the power of the male gaze and the objectification of women as sex objects, then I’ve gotten too old.  If women were defining their sexual behaviour in ways that somehow fell radically outside those parameters, and some women I know do, then I might understand …

But then I don’t think this is what feminism means to most feminists.  My day is saved.  Time to strap on my Birkenstocks and get some air.

VAW and Islam

Posted on by elizabeth
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The empirical research done by Elizabeth R. Sheeley to form the basis of her book, Reclaiming Honor in Jordan, is re-capped here, in her open letter to King Abdullah II of Jordan.  Another step towards a more accurate view of the Muslim world:

I … traveled to 21 cities, towns, villages, and refugee camps throughout the country conducting in-depth, face-to-face personal interviews with Jordanian citizens age 18 and older. People from all segments of society participated and were represented-male and female, employed and unemployed, educated and uneducated, young and old, rich and poor, Muslim and Christian, East Bank Jordanian and West Bank Jordanian, nomadic and sedentary, urban and rural. To all, I continue to be deeply grateful for the cooperation, the honesty, and, in many cases, the almost heart-breaking hospitality and kindness.

When I finished gathering and analyzing the data, I found that the people in the sample overwhelmingly support overturning Articles 97, 98, and 340 of the Jordanian penal code. It is not even a close call. It appears that the people are far ahead of the legislation and (dare I say?) the leadership on this issue. The news is good-most people do know right from wrong.

When asked if “honor” killings are morally just, 94.5% of the survey respondents said no (3% were neutral and 2.5% said yes). One respondent went so far as to equate “honor” killings with terrorism. Even among the few respondents who replied affirmatively to this question, there was strong support for codifying into law the specific behaviors that a victim must engage in before a successful “honor” killings defense can be had (80% agreement) and for clearly placing the onus of proof on the defendant that one or more of these behaviors was engaged in (100% consensus).

When asked whether “honor” killings should be punished the same as other murders, 87% said yes (3.5% were neutral and 9.5% said no). If anything, the extent to which the survey respondents agreed with this statement is understated. About 25% of the way through the administration of the survey, one of the respondents who replied negatively to this question added that he did so because he believes “honor” killings should be punished more harshly than other murders. Up until then, it had not occurred to me that respondents might reply negatively for that reason and not because they favor leniency. So, thereafter, each respondent who initially disagreed with this question was probed for his/her reasons. Many of the respondents who were surveyed after that expressed a desire to see the perpetrators of “honor” killings receive the death penalty. One respondent even went so far as to say, “”Honor” killers should be decapitated at Hadrian’s Arch [in Jerash, Jordan], in front of people. I will personally oversee the event.”

When asked if the perpetrators of “honor” killings deserve to be treated with leniency, 95.5% said no (2% were neutral and 2.5% said yes). Again, many of the survey respondents favor the death penalty for perpetrators of “honor” killings.

When asked if the victims of “honor” killings deserve what they get, 86% said no (7.5% were neutral and 6.5% said yes). A number of the survey respondents who either were neutral or responded affirmatively had quite nuanced explanations for their reply to this question. A recurring one was some variation of “yes, if the victim is married; no, if s/he is single, but then s/he should receive [variously] 80 or 100 lashes.”

When asked whether there is any honor in “honor” killings, 89.5% said no (8% were neutral and 2.5% said yes). One male survey respondent added, a woman’s “honor does not reside in the lower body.”

When asked if the penal code articles that offer leniency for “honor” killings will ever be overturned, 66.5% said yes (11.5% were neutral and 22% said no). Many who responded negatively to this question added that they hoped they were wrong. A number of the survey respondents even speculated as to what the time frame will be for overturning the three penal code articles, and it ranged from “Queen Rania [already] overturned them” to “it will take centuries.”

And when asked whether they support stiffening the penalties for “honor” killings, 89% said yes (3.5% were neutral and 7.5% said no). One respondent stated, “If I were king, I’d execute every person who murders.” Others noted that, if the relevant penal code articles were overturned, even the people who purport to believe in “honor” killings would be relieved because finally the peer and the social pressures would be removed.

And should you wonder whether my results might be statistical flukes, even though they were attained using standard scientific methodology, there is corroborating regional data. In an online referendum on “honor” killings conducted by Dubai-based Al Arabiya News Channel (www.alarabiya.net), 63.0% of the respondents stated that they believe these crimes are not justified, that they are unsupportable by any religion or law (24.7% were neutral and 12.3% indicated that they are sometimes warranted to eradicate bad influences and people from society).

Full text of the letter at Red.eVolution