EU censors film on Afghan women prisoners
Summary of story from BBC News, November 10, 2011
The European Union (EU) has blocked the release of a documentary it commissioned and paid for itself, on Afghan women who are in jail for so-called “moral crimes”.
Despite strong support from human rights workers who argue the injustice in the Afghan judicial system should be exposed, the EU says it decided to withdraw the film because of “very real concerns for the safety of the women portrayed”.
Half of Afghanistan’s women prisoners are inmates for “zina” or moral crimes. Some of the women convicted of “zina” are guilty of nothing more than running away from forced marriages or violent husbands, and activists say hundreds of those behind bars are victims of domestic violence.
The documentary tells the story of a 19-year-old prisoner called Gulnaz.
After she was raped, she was charged with adultery. Her baby girl, born following the rape, is serving her sentence with her.
Despite an initial sentence of only two years, her jail time was increased to 12 years following an appeal. She may shortly be pardoned, but only because, after months of resisting, she has agreed to marry her rapist.
Stories like hers are tragically typical, according to Heather Barr, of Human Rights Watch, who is carrying out research among Afghan female prisoners.
“It would be reassuring to think that the stories told in this film represent aberrations or extreme case,” she says. “Unfortunately that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“It’s very important that people understand that there are these horrific stories that are happening now – 10 years after the fall of the Taliban government, 10 years after what was supposed to be a new dawn for Afghan women.”
A statement from the EU’s Kabul delegation said the welfare of the women was the paramount consideration in its decision not to release the film.
What’s the difference between moderate Muslims and fanatical Muslims? Fanatical Muslims will cut your hand off with a sword; moderate Muslims will amputate your hand with local anaesthetic. The result is the same.
Anyone who seriously thinks the Enlightenment will reach Afghanistan and liberate women all because we’ve exchanged one bunch of fanatics for another, is utterly, utterly deluded. Islam from its very inception was a deeply misogynistic religion, itself descended from a long line of other patriarchal, misogynistic faiths. Muhammad married Kadija (the first convert to Islam) only because she happened to be a member of the richest family in Mecca (they controlled the only source of water in Mecca). He married her for her money; in one hadith he even said “marry a woman for her looks, her money or her religion”. And don’t get me started on his ‘marriage’ to Aisha bint Abu Bakr (child brides and under-age pregnancies inspired by Muhammad are also a major problem afflicting the world). With such a great role model, is it any wonder the Islamic world is in such a perpetual mess.
Stop ignoring Islam as if it’s not part of the problem, when it so demonstrably is. There’s a big elephant in the room and it has the word ISLAM written on its backside in big luminous green letters. Stop pretending it isn’t there.
I doubt I’ve ever seen a more hateful comment on this site.
If I remember rightly the plight of women was no part of the reason the US invaded Afghanistan. They were after Usama bin Laden and his cohort. I recall articles printed from years before this invasion about how women were persecuted in Afghanistan and yet no Western governments did anything about it. Same as when women are persecuted elsewhere, really. Same old problem, the men in power treat others like things, objects and throw their weight around. This should be deplored instead of turning the situation into another excuse to have an anti-Islam rant.