Feminism and Militant Islam

[houseelf]

Last night I read an article in Playboy by Phyllis Chesler
on what she decries as a major shortcoming of the feminist movement today: Gender Apartheid.
Parts of this theory can be found on her website:

See (http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/articles ... _trial.htm)

(Yeah--I didn't know what gender apartheid meant either. ) Essentially, Chesler criticises the "hands off" posture taken by today's feminists of the wide spread violence against females perpetuated by EXTREMIST Islam. (i.e. forced rapes, forced marriages, female genital mutilations, honor killings, acceptable assaults for disobedience, etc.). She opines that because many feminists lie squarely within liberal and lefty camps, and as such, loathe to lie in bed with W. and the uber conservatives, they create an unspoken and tacit acceptance of the WORST type of misogny in the form of legalized violence against women and children. (Although, who is kidding who---G. W. ain't slammin' Bagdad daily to "Free the Little Ladies from Oppression" or otherwise guarantee human rights. Else we'd be in Rwanda, the Sudan, and a half of other bastions of depravity towards humanity).

Chesler further arguess that this issue is acerbated (sp?) by the fact that interfering feels a little too imperialistic in light of the West's sordid history with colonization. Although it is unspoken in her article, I would guess that many also feel frustration with the current state of feminism in the West. As in "What-- free them from an ultra-paternalistic , ultra-conservative culture so that they can come around to our way of life?" Meaning we have a long way to go in our culture so let's not go finding problems elsewhere: i.e. the so-called "pornification" of everything, rampant eating disorders, the continued oversexualization of everything.

Anyway, I thought this was a very thought provoking article. What do you all think about this? It IS an uneasy topic, as in, "Let's go in and smash up a country with bombs on behalf of human rights?". Definitely a topic that needs more conversation.

Kelly

I know a few Muslim women from online who consider themselves to be feminists. According to their take on it, the anti women actions being taken are NOT Islamic, but more dependent on the culture in the area where there are done. For female circ, its not just Muslims who do it, but followers of tribal religions as well, its a regional thing.

There are an increasing number of Muslim women who are speaking out about mysogeny in Islamic nations. One victem of rape, who was used as punishment for her brothers alleged sex with a woman, is touring the US. The president of Pakistan just recently "allowed" her to leave for the tour, he had tried to stop it because it would be bad for the countries rep, but keeping her home was even worse for it.

That a younger generation of women in the US seems to be focusing on the abilty to show skin as having won the war of equality, which is totally NOT what observant Muslim women favor, certainly couldn't be helping the older feminists get their point across either.

I read somewhere that if we can get women medical care, proper nutrition, and basic education the other things will follow. those are certainly things that both sides of the poliitical fields can agree on.

[Rapunzel]

Wellll, in Australia there is a a new official document circulating among one of the major police forces there that recommends police take into account Islamic teachings or something to that effect in domestic disputes. One of the first things I did after 9-11 was run out to the library and check out (and READ) a Koran. Yup, I've read it. Not the easiest read in the universe (but, hey, neither is the Old Testament or Revelations in the Bible). Anyway, it is permissible according to the hadiths to smack your wife if you feel she is disobedient. Sooooo, take that for what it's worth. Anyway, that could cause some interesting issues in Australia (ie is it OK to hit your wife if you are Muslim but not if you're say Buddhist?).

Here's the article:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printp ... 63,00.html

POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits.

Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together.
Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence.

The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers that also recommends special treatment for suspects of Aboriginal, Hindu and Buddhist background.

Some police officers have claimed the directives hinder enforcing the law equally.

Police are told: "In incidents such as domestic violence, police need to have an understanding of the traditions, ways of life and habits of Muslims."

They are told it would be appreciated in cases of domestic violence if police consult the local Muslim religious leader who will work against "fragmenting the family unit".

Islamic Women's Welfare Council head Joumanah El Matrah called the guidelines appalling and dangerous.

"The implication is one needs to be more tolerant of violence against Muslim women but they should be entitled to the same protection," Ms El Matrah said.

"Police should not be advising other officers to follow those sorts of protocols.

"It can only lead to harm."

Ms El Matrah said Muslim leaders should be brought into domestic violence investigations only if requested by the abused woman.

The guide also advises officers not to hold interviews with Aboriginal suspects or set court hearings during Aboriginal ceremonies involving "initiation, birth, death, burials, mourning periods, women's meetings and cultural ceremonies in general".

They are told to interview Baha'i suspects only after sunset in the fasting month.

And they are cautioned that when a Sikh is reading the Sikh Holy Script -- a process that normally takes 50 hours -- "he should not be disturbed".

The 50,000 handbooks instruct police to take shoes off before entering Buddhist and Hindu houses and mosques, and remove hats before entering or searching churches.

They are warned that taking photos or samples from Aboriginal suspects could raise fears they could be used for sorcery and spiritual mischief.

Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau head Gerard Daniells, who created the 82-page full-colour handbook, said common sense would prevail over the guide in an emergency.

Mr Daniells said the next edition would include Maori spiritual beliefs and practices.

The glossy guides would have cost at least $300,000 to produce, a printing industry expert said.

Police Association secretary Paul Mullet said members had an appreciation of different cultures but their overriding concern was for safety of the community.

Jennifer

[Rapunzel]

This is actually an intensly interesting and timely subject. From a bit of traveling on the old 'net it appears that it's very hard to discuss this particular subject without inviting into the discussion some violent views. So, I found the following article that attempts a cursery examination of the psychological make-up of a young man who would be attracted to the mysogeny inherent in the Islamic terrorist movement. It's an intriguing article and worth reading:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_4_s ... mbers.html


And, now I need to get off the internet! I think I've been on it now for over two hours!!

Jennifer

[SueC]

I think what Tracy said is pretty much in line with my thinking--regarding getting women proper medical care, nutrition, and education. I think it would be seen as arrogant of us to go into these countries and try to make them more like us, even if our motives were pure. It seems like the changes need to be made internally and not forced onto them by a country that they likely do not respect or aspire to be like.

I think what Tracy said is pretty much in line with my thinking--regarding getting women proper medical care, nutrition, and education. I think it would be seen as arrogant of us to go into these countries and try to make them more like us, even if our motives were pure. It seems like the changes need to be made internally and not forced onto them by a country that they likely do not respect or aspire to be like.

Well put.

[Rapunzel]

I think what Tracy said is pretty much in line with my thinking--regarding getting women proper medical care, nutrition, and education. I think it would be seen as arrogant of us to go into these countries and try to make them more like us, even if our motives were pure. It seems like the changes need to be made internally and not forced onto them by a country that they likely do not respect or aspire to be like.

That's a very good idea - no doubt about it!

But....

What if women are not allowed to receive an education?

What if it is against the law for a woman to see a doctor that is not female and there don't happen to be any female physicians around (partly because women are not allowed to receive an education - see above)?

What if "outside" help is frowned upon by the male heirarchy (ie being viewed as unable to take care of your own doesn't sit well with a "manly man" kind of culture)?

What if funds given for the above needs for women never actually get used for those needs?

It seems to me that you can have all the hopes and aspirations in the world for women in other cultures and other circumstances, but if they reside in an environment that does not permit them to rise above chattel then they will never do so unless a major paradigm shift of some sort occurs in that environment.

What we're really dealing with here is slavery - and on a much grander scale than anything that was ever conducted in the United States. I think if we examine it from the viewpoint of slavery it makes more sense. We're talking about women being the equivalent of property to the males in their family and society. I'm not going to argue whether that is in keeping with Islam or not. I'm simply saying it's the current reality of the situation. I don't know that we could get medical care, proper nutrition, and basic educations to these women.

I'd argue that what needs to happen is a huge change in thinking among the men in the cultures we're discussing. It doesn't matter how educated or healthy a woman is - if the men around her view her as less than them she will always be such. You have to some how change the views towards women to improve their situation. I don't know that that can happen or will happen....

:| Jennifer

It doesn't matter how educated or healthy a woman is - if the men around her view her as less than them she will always be such.

And then she might seem like a threat....

I think the slavery anology is spot on.

[SueC]

It seems like an insurmountable problem, but I think countries like ours can only really effectively function in a supporting role. I don't think we should turn our heads and pretend it isn't happening, but I slo don't think we should send in the troops to get the job done that way.

[houseelf]

Wow...I'm impressed that this potential hotbed topic has been very civil, thoughtful, and dare I say it...somewhat consensual.

Tracy alluded to the fact that this also smacks of racism...that is yet another reason why I have a really hard time buying into the author's take. And yet, Jennifer's response is spot on. How do we look aside from crimes against humanity? Not just in predominantly Muslim countries, but within our own.

Honestly, I am VERY conflicted about this and I don't really know how it should be addressed, but I am bothered by it.

Kelly

Things like this help...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4434782.stm

Warlords and women in uneasy mix

By Andrew North
BBC News, Kabul


It should be no surprise that Afghanistan's first parliament in more than 30 years looks set to be one of the world's more colourful and controversial assemblies.
Former mujahideen commanders, alleged opium barons and ex-Taleban figures, including Mullah Rocketi, famed for his past fighting skills, will sit alongside large numbers of women politicians, one of whom says many of her fellow MPs should be on trial for war crimes.

It looks like a combustible mix. And one many Afghans are not happy about.

"I do not trust them. Most of them are warlords and drugs dealers," said Ghafour Ahmad, a shopkeeper in central Kabul.

He voted for Ramazan Bashardost, a former minister whose outspoken campaign against what he says is widespread misspending by international organisations won him third place in Kabul, beating many established political figures.

Mr Bashardost struck a chord among Afghans frustrated at the slow pace of change. He is one to watch in the new assembly.

But with the release of the last results from September's elections over the weekend, delayed by checking fraud allegations, many Afghan political watchers and diplomats here say the parliament that's emerged is what President Hamid Karzai wanted.


Approval needed

Despite their varied backgrounds, it is thought a clear majority of the new MPs back President Karzai.

That matters because he will have to get their approval for his legislation and ministerial appointments.


Many who won seats in the 249-member lower house are President Karzai's fellow Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. They are also likely to dominate the 102-seat upper house (Meshrano Jirga) when that is formed.

Ethnic and tribal affiliations remain key here.

Large numbers of the former Mujahideen commanders who are MPs are Karzai supporters, among them Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf, who human rights groups say should face war crimes charges.

A staunch Islamic conservative, he is thought to be planning a bid to become parliamentary speaker.

Former Taleban figure Abdul Salaam Rocketi, who has reconciled with the government, is also in the Karzai camp.


By contrast, "the proportion of MPs who are anti-Karzai and anti-system is low," said one western official, who followed the election process closely but cannot speak publicly.

Another reason why many say the situation suits Mr Karzai is that political parties are weak in the new body.

Afghanistan's history of factional fighting has left him deeply suspicious of party formations. He deliberately chose a voting system for the 18 September elections that worked against them.

Most candidates ran as independents, although many still received undeclared backing from party factions.

But no one can tell how things will work when the parliament sits for the first time next month.

It could be a very fractious body.

'Women untainted'

There are fears among many Afghan intellectuals and liberals that the parliament has an inbuilt conservative Islamic majority and that this will lead to greater restrictions on the media and in other areas.


Bashardost appealed to those wanting faster change

But standing against them, many Afghans hope, will be 68 women MPs. They give Afghanistan one of the highest proportions of female parliamentarians in the world.

Many men said they voted for female candidates because they regarded them as being untainted by the past.

One of the more outspoken is Malalai Joya, who won in the western province of Farah province. She was already famous after speaking out against the alleged crimes of mujahideen leaders at the 2003 meeting that decided on Afghanistan's constitution. Now she will be sitting with these same people.


But she is sticking to her position. "Criminals are criminals," she told the BBC.

"Communists, mujahideen or Taleban, if they killed our people, they should be on trial."

She says she is concerned that many of those who have won seats are "hiding under the flag of democracy, but they don't believe in it."

Although there is much scepticism about this new parliament, both within and without, some still argue that it could surprise. It is under pressure to do what parliaments are supposed to do.

"The mood out there is much more anti-government," said one diplomat. "The new parliament will have to be seen to be listening to that."

[Rapunzel]

Yay Afghanistan! :ra:

Hopefully this egalitarian attitude will spread to its neighbors....

But, see what I was saying? In order for women's positions to change within a society the men have to undergo a change of heart.

Jennifer

[Rapunzel]

Just read this today and wanted to vomit:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051228/ap_ ... r_killings

MULTAN, Pakistan - Nazir Ahmed appears calm and unrepentant as he recounts how he slit the throats of his three young daughters and their 25-year old stepsister to salvage his family's "honor" — a crime that shocked Pakistan.

The 40-year old laborer, speaking to The Associated Press in police detention as he was being shifted to prison, confessed to just one regret — that he didn't murder the stepsister's alleged lover too.

Hundreds of girls and women are murdered by male relatives each year in this conservative Islamic nation, and rights groups said Wednesday such "honor killings" will only stop when authorities get serious about punishing perpetrators.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in more than half of such cases that make it to court, most end with cash settlements paid by relatives to the victims' families, although under a law passed last year, the minimum penalty is 10 years, the maximum death by hanging.

Ahmed's killing spree — witnessed by his wife Rehmat Bibi as she cradled their 3 month-old baby son — happened Friday night at their home in the cotton-growing village of Gago Mandi in eastern Punjab province.

It is the latest of more than 260 such honor killings documented by the rights commission, mostly from media reports, during the first 11 months of 2005.

Bibi recounted how she was woken by a shriek as Ahmed put his hand to the mouth of his stepdaughter Muqadas and cut her throat with a machete. Bibi looked helplessly on from the corner of the room as he then killed the three girls — Bano, 8, Sumaira, 7, and Humaira, 4 — pausing between the slayings to brandish the bloodstained knife at his wife, warning her not to intervene or raise alarm.

"I was shivering with fear. I did not know how to save my daughters," Bibi, sobbing, told AP by phone from the village. "I begged my husband to spare my daughters but he said, 'If you make a noise, I will kill you.'"

"The whole night the bodies of my daughters lay in front of me," she said.

The next morning, Ahmed was arrested.

Speaking to AP in the back of police pickup truck late Tuesday as he was shifted to a prison in the city of Multan, Ahmed showed no contrition. Appearing disheveled but composed, he said he killed Muqadas because she had committed adultery, and his daughters because he didn't want them to do the same when they grew up.

He said he bought a butcher's knife and a machete after midday prayers on Friday and hid them in the house where he carried out the killings.

"I thought the younger girls would do what their eldest sister had done, so they should be eliminated," he said, his hands cuffed, his face unshaven. "We are poor people and we have nothing else to protect but our honor."

Despite Ahmed's contention that Muqadas had committed adultery — a claim made by her husband — the rights commission reported that according to local people, Muqadas had fled her husband because he had abused her and forced her to work in a brick-making factory.

Police have said they do not know the identity or whereabouts of Muqadas' alleged lover.

Muqadas was Bibi's daughter by her first marriage to Ahmed's brother, who died 14 years ago. Ahmed married his brother's widow, as is customary under Islamic tradition.

"Women are treated as property and those committing crimes against them do not get punished," said the rights commission's director, Kamla Hyat. "The steps taken by our government have made no real difference."

Activists accuse President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a self-styled moderate Muslim, of reluctance to reform outdated Islamized laws that make it difficult to secure convictions in rape, acid attacks and other cases of violence against women. They say police are often reluctant to prosecute, regarding such crimes as family disputes.

Statistics on honor killings are confused and imprecise, but figures from the rights commission's Web site and its officials show a marked reduction in cases this year: 267 in the first 11 months of 2005, compared with 579 during all of 2004. The Ministry of Women's Development said it had no reliable figures.

Ijaz Elahi, the ministry's joint secretary, said the violence was decreasing and that increasing numbers of victims were reporting incidents to police or the media. Laws, including one passed last year to beef up penalties for honor killings, had been toughened, she said.

Police in Multan said they would complete their investigation into Ahmed's case in the next two weeks and that he faces the death sentence if he is convicted for the killings and terrorizing his neighborhood.

Ahmed, who did not resist arrest, was unrepentant.

"I told the police that I am an honorable father and I slaughtered my dishonored daughter and the three other girls," he said. "I wish that I get a chance to eliminate the boy she ran away with and set his home on fire."

So, this woman flees an abusive husband who then starts claiming she really ran away with a lover (yeah, right, buddy ) and then her stepfather proceeds to murder her AND her three little sisters - one of them not much more than a baby at the age of 4. Sick. The fact that hundreds of these situations occur every year in just one country and that it takes something as extreme as a mass murder of innocent little girls to "shock" that country is astonishing - and nauseating. I truly don't know that women's situations will change anytime in the near future with cultures that support this behavior.

[Rapunzel]

So, after reading that article above today I decided to do some research on so-called "Honor" murders.

Here's what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing

According to the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the 58th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (2002) concerning cultural practices in the family that reflect violence against women (E/CN.4/2002/83):

The Special Rapporteur indicated that there had been contradictory decisions with regard to the honour defence in Brazil, and that legislative provisions allowing for partial or complete defence in that context could be found in the penal codes of Argentina, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Peru,Syria, Turkey, Venezuela and the West Bank. [8]
Some of these, including those of Turkey, have since been abrogated.

Countries where the law can be interpreted to allow men to kill female relatives in cold blood (premeditated) as well as in flagrante delicto (in the act of committing adultery) include:

Jordan: part of article 340 of the Penal Code states that "he who discovers his wife or one of his female relatives committing adultery and kills, wounds, or injures one of them, is exempted from any penalty" [9]. This has twice been put forward for cancellation by the government, but was retained by the Lower House of the Parliament[10].

Isn't Jordan considered one of the more "Westernized" or at least Western 'friendly' nations in that part of the world?!

Countries that allow men to kill female relatives in flagrante delicto (but not in cold blood) include:

Syria: Article 548 states that "He who catches his wife or one of his ascendants [sic], descendants or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sexual acts with another and he killed or injured one or both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty."

Countries that allow husbands to kill only their wives in flagrante delicto (based upon the Napoleonic Code) include:

Morocco: Article 418 of the Penal Code states "Murder, injury and beating are excusable if they are committed by a husband on his wife as well as the accomplice at the moment in which he surprises them in the act of adultery."
Haiti: Article 269 of the Penal Code states that "in the case of adultery as provided for in Article 284, the murder by a husband of his wife and/or her partner, immediately upon discovering them in flagrante delicto in the conjugal abode, is to be pardoned."
In Turkey, murder laws formerly contained a specific provision for reduction in sentence from an maximum of 24 years imprisonment to 8 years if the perpretrator was "provoked". The sentence was raised to 24 years in 2003. After EU pressure, Turkey prohibited family members from being able to claim "provocation" and thereby receive lighter sentences. [11][12]

And, then there's this:

Countries where honor killing is not legal but is frequently ignored in practice include:

Pakistan: Honor killing are supposed to be prosecuted under ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it [14]. On October 26, 2004, Pakistan's lower house of Parliament passed a bill that would make honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years and the death penalty in the most extreme cases. The bill must be approved by the upper house before becoming law. The bill was introduced by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf due to the hundreds of honor killings that occur each year in Pakistan, government officials reported. Nilofer Baktiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings. [15]

From the research I've done women are murdered for being raped, for talking to a man the family disapproves of, for not wearing a head covering (a bunch of schoolgirls were not allowed to escape their school burning down because they weren't wearing their headcoverings - all were burned to death).

Everything I've read on the subject says that the estimation is at least 5,000 of these legally-approved or culturally-approved murders of women and girls happen every year. How can women ever be considered equal to men in a nation or culture that allows them to be slaughtered. And, how can a woman be considered a man's equal when even her own father and brothers feel it a duty to kill her if she makes, in their eyes, a mistake?

Very disheartening, indeed.

[Rapunzel]

Here's an informative article on the subject:

http://www.worldandi.com/newhome/public ... /clpub.asp

It's a long article - but very much worth the read. Here's a snippet:

Critics claim honor killings are sanctioned by the educated elite, who pass laws that enable murderers to get off with little or no punishment. "Many groups want harsher punishment for those who commit such acts," continues Nimrat, "but the cultural dimension plays an important role. To eradicate this will take time."
Even when apprehended, murderers serve little or no jail time because honor killings are accorded special status in the courts. Men convicted of premeditated murder may be imprisoned for as little as three to six months. Upon their release, friends and relatives treat them like celebrities. Ahmed, a Palestinian boy who killed his teenage sister because she refused an arranged marriage, was commended upon his release from jail. Neighbors showered him with compliments, and his father called him a hero for restoring the family honor.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip are governed by the Palestinian Authority under a combination of Jordanian, Egyptian, and tribal laws. Israel has no jurisdiction in these territories. There are at least twenty-five "official" honor killings a year among the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and thirty-five a year in Jordan. The actual number of deaths is much higher.
Hundreds of women have died from strange and unusual accidents or questionable suicides. Many more are buried in the desert, unreported and unaccounted for. The secret of their fate is entombed with them in the sand. The lack of reliable statistics has hindered women's groups and human rights organizations in their campaign to eliminate honor killings.
"Uncontrollable rage" at having lost their honor is another reason given to excuse perpetrators of these killings. It's the American equivalent of innocent by reason of insanity.
The brutality of the attacks is shocking. An eighteen-year-old Palestinian man stabbed his teenage sister forty times because of a rumor that she was involved in an extramarital affair. The family thanked God for her death. In an adjacent neighborhood, a sixteen-year-old boy killed his divorced mother, stabbing her repeatedly as he chased her into the street. The boy told authorities he was upset because neighbors were gossiping about her allegedly immoral behavior.
Among Palestinians, all sexual encounters, including rape and incest, are blamed on the woman. Men are presumed innocent; the woman must have tempted him into raping her or enticed him into having an affair. A woman is expected to protect her honor, even at the cost of her own life. If she survives a violent rape, she is condemned for her "mistake" and may be killed by her family.
"The issue of consent is irrelevant when it comes to honor killings," says Marsha Freeman, director of the International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). "It has to do with the woman being defiled. It completely objectifies the woman as being about her sexuality and purity. It makes her not human."
For Palestinian women accused of sexual infidelity or disobeying their family, there is little recourse. Few are given the opportunity to refute the charges or prove their innocence.
A Palestinian girl near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It's difficult for women to flee the situation. Arab societies are close knit, and most women lack the resources to live alone. Palestinian newspapers include advertisements placed by families who are looking for female relatives accused of immoral behavior. "When they find her, they'll kill her," says Jameel, a Palestinian businessman, "because the whole family wants the girl dead." The community is warned not to interfere, not to hide the woman.
The Palestinian community has limited resources and shelters. Women accused of inappropriate behavior are frequently jailed to protect them from their families. At least fifty women a year are imprisoned in Jordan on honor-related cases. The number held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is unknown. The length of detention ranges from a few months to several years. Some of the female detainees expressed concern that they would never be able to leave jail because their families would kill them.
Once imprisoned, women can be released only to a male relative, who must first agree not to execute them. Regardless of assurances, women are often murdered within hours of their discharge. Fayez Mohammed secured the release of his seventeen-year-old daughter, Lamis, from a Jordanian detention center where she was staying for her protection. He guaranteed her safety and then slit her throat. Fayez was sentenced to nine months in prison for the crime.
Victims of dishonor
In Palestinian communities, a woman's purity reflects directly on a family's reputation. If a woman is raped, missing, or even rumored to have engaged in premarital sexual relations, she is taken to a medical clinic for a hymen exam. This process can have fatal consequences. Over 75 percent of the Palestinian women in Jordan subjected to hymen exams were subsequently killed by family members, even when tests proved they were still virgins.
Some women, including virgins, have operations to reattach their hymen prior to marriage, in part, to ensure that they bleed on their wedding night. This procedure, illegal in most Arab countries, can save a woman's honor, and perhaps her life. Among Arabs, it is essential that the new bride be a virgin. If the bride's hymen is not intact, or if she fails to bleed during initial penetration, the husband can declare the marriage void and return her to her family. Viewing her as damaged goods, her family may feel they have no alternative but to kill her, even if they believe she is innocent of any wrongdoing....

Another snippet:

In some areas, a Palestinian woman is required to have a male relative accompany her whenever she leaves the home. Unfortunately, her male "guardian"--father, brother, uncle, or cousin--may be a sexual predator who rapes her. Should she become pregnant, he will publicly condemn her for dishonoring the family after killing both her and their unborn child. Last year, seventeen-year-old Afaf Younes was killed by her father, who had allegedly been sexually molesting her. Afaf had tried to escape his sexual abuse by running away, but she was caught and returned to her father. He then shot her in the name of honor.
A sixteen-year-old Palestinian girl became pregnant after being raped by her younger brother. Once her condition became known, her family encouraged her older brother to kill her to remove the blemish from their honor. Her brothers, the rapist and the murderer, were exonerated. The girl was blamed. "She made a mistake," said one of her male cousins. "She had to pay for it."
A young Palestinian girl peers through a window in her home in the Gaza Strip.
Even more horrifically, a four-year-old Palestinian girl, raped by a man in his mid-twenties, was left by her family to bleed to death. They did this because they felt her misfortune would sully their honor.
Women often accept their fate and expect to be executed, even in the case of incest and rape. "They have to kill us," exclaims Ritza, a middle-aged Palestinian woman, "to keep others from doing wrong. It is the law of our society." It is hard to grasp the logic.
Girls, feeling they are ruined by scandal, go submissively to the slaughter. Such is the power of culture that has conditioned both victim and killer to accept their roles. "He had no choice but to kill her," says Rateb, whose son killed his sixteen-year-old sister after she was raped. "He was tormented. The community was persecuting him because of what his sister did. Her death has helped to wash away his shame."