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Edited 8 y ago
As it would happen, many feminists are fighting for the rights of Arab and Muslim women. It's just not as strong as it should be, for the reasons this video articulates.

Unfortunately, this modern notion of "intersectionality" is wounding particularly modern liberalism's ability to live up to its own ideals, not that feminism in its purest form should be either liberal or conservative. The oppression narrative with their hierarchies of virtue smothers the old notions of individual liberty. Identity-associated victimhood trumps individual liberty. And solidarity with those protected identity groups is far more important than the nuance of whether or not they have something in common. Even though wider Muslim society and feminism have practically nothing in common, they're expected to ally solely on the merits of a nebulous oppression.

It's very frustrating for human rights organizations with a focused mission. One of the positive things to come out of the Syrian refugee crisis has been the gradual improvement of women's rights both in refugee camps and in host nations. Part of this is on account of the high numbers of widows and single working mothers, the other part is the service economics, where women have skill sets as refugees serving refugees that make them more employable then men.

It's not loud and assertive like the virtue-signalling women warriors we see here, championing liberties that are a pipe dream in Arab cultures. It's quiet, practical, applied feminism that structures, funds, and works for NGOs with presence on the ground in Syrian refugee camps, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

I'm always curious why people are almost gleeful about exposing the hypocrisy of one side or the other. Do they do it because they like to say "gotcha", or because they truly want to see people live up to their ideals? For me, it's the latter. I'm exhausted of the asinine claptrap of "conservatives" vs. "liberals" here at home, though admittedly, I'm more frustrated with so-called liberals precisely because of how idiotic intersectionality is, and how it hampers progress.

If people do want to fund or help "feminist" endeavors in the Arab world, they can research the following:
ASUDA - fights violence against women in the Arab world
City of Hope - provides shelter for abused women and children
CNWN - promotes women's rights NGOs in Iran
Save the Children
Desert Flower Foundation - fights genital mutilation

Here at home, for women in American Muslim communities - these tend to be regional:
Apna Ghar - shelters for abused women in American Arab/South Asian communities
Arab American Action Network
Baitul Hemayah - shelters and resources for abused Arab/Muslim women and children
CPT Jack Durish
CPT Jack Durish
8 y
One of the best responses I've ever seen on RallyPoint (or anywhere on the Internet for that matter). Congratulations. Thank you. I keep clicking "Vote up" but it simply adds and takes away alternately.
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1px xxx
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8 y
CPT Jack Durish - Thank you for the original post! It's better than the ordinary incendiary fare on RP.
MSgt Danny Hope
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The same reason the LGBT community doesn't speak out about the murders taking place in Muslim countries....they have blinders on...
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CPT Jack Durish
CPT Jack Durish
8 y
We teach infantrymen to focus on a 15 degree swath of battlefield in front of them. It's like wearing blinders, isn't it? Your buddies to your left and right will do the same and no enemy will escape notice. Sadly, in cultural battles, there are only fighters to the left and right and enemies have a clear path right down the middle. Stone Age jihadis simply don't care about Left and Right. They'll kill us all given the chance...
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1SG Civil Affairs Specialist
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So here's the rub.
In order to really make a difference in the Muslim World (or anywhere) the answer is empowerment through education and self-sustainment. Independent women need not fear nor be subject to paternalistic oppression. However, at odds with that in the Muslim World is a traditional society with deeply engrained gender roles. Some places take it to extremes with honor codes involving up to killing and other physical punishments for slights or violations. Those are well-known to those of us who have travelled the region. But what is more or less ubiquitous in Muslim society is those deep cultural ideas of gender roles and male-dominated society.
This has worked for them for thousands of years, and many in the area get indignant if not downright hostile to morally bankrupt (in their view) Westerners trying to tell them how to behave, live, and making their wives and daughters uppity.
Well-meaning folks trying to make a difference in the hinterlands of Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere building schools for girls and the like had the fruit of their labor be girls burned with acid or worse. It isn't right that this happens, but even a cursory knowledge of the culture and attitude of the indigenous population would have led one to conclude these were very often not just bad ideas, but horrifyingly bad ideas.
But I do have a solution to offer to do-gooders who would like to make a difference. Many traditional societies have room for women to gain empowerment through work and skills in areas traditionally reserved to women. Things like making clothes, traditional crafts, midwifery, caregiving, and many more are ripe for investment, particularly in rural areas. Everybody wins, so long as the syllabus stays clean of any prostelitizing or indoctrination in ideas that go against tradition.
The way to move the needle is gradually over time. When they are ready, more robust change can happen.
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