“BLESSINGS on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.”
-William Ross Wallace
1819-1881
As widely reported on social media and confirmed by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Dina Ali Lasloom attempted to escape subjugation and abuse in Saudi Arabia by seeking asylum in Australia on Tuesday April 11, 2017. Unfortunately, Dina needed to take a connecting flight from Manila, Philippines to Sydney to complete her escape. The Government of Saudi Arabia was able to “influence” the Philippines to arrest Dina and physically force her on a flight back to Riyadh where according to HRW Dina “is at serious risk of harm if returned to family.” In fact, many Arab women on Social Media believe that Dina will face honor killing by family members. Incredibly, the Western Media has been silent about the case. Only today, April 16th, the Associated Press and ABC News published a piece on the fate of Dina, perhaps now too late to make a difference. Even more incredibly, no statement or call to action was made by the National Organization of Women for Dina, and nothing can be seen from Gloria Steinem or Hillary Clinton on social media. In fact, we should think of Dina’s reported scream in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as a silent one, one that almost all of us in the West are guilty of neglecting.
Contemporary Western “Feminism’s” Warped View
Assuming the National Organization of Women is a proxy for modern day “feminism” in the West, some simple Web research demonstrates that at a minimum today’s movement suffers from a shocking level of provincialism, but more likely, a warped view of women’s rights that is more concerned with maintaining a far left world view and espousing political correct ideology. Just look at some of the recent news items promoted on their NOW’s web site: “With #MuslimBan2.0, Donald Trump doubles down on cruelty and prejudice”, “The Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to confirm Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is a dereliction of its duty to uphold the Constitution”, “NOW condemns Trump’s plan for sweeping changes in immigration policy”, “Democratic Party Platform is Most Progressive Ever; GOP Platform Nutty and Dangerous” and, quite ironically, “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” in which, while promoting the Women’s March on Washington, NOW President Terry O’Neill wrote, “NOW stands in unwavering solidarity with our sisters whose communities have been insulted, demonized and threatened in recent months, including communities of color, LGBTQIA people, those with diverse religious faiths particularly Muslims…”
In fact, the search results on the NOW website for any information or advocacy on behalf of the plight of Arab women were so paltry and disappointing that I found myself hoping to find some, in fact any, evidence of concern or caring. As a result, you might imagine my disappointment when I came across the article “Muslim Women: Damsels in Distress?” only to find the sub-title read “Writer and researcher Soumaya Ghannoushi argues that the west should stop using the liberalisation of Muslim women to justify its strategy of dominance.” Later, I came across a promising piece by Liza Doubossarskaia, then a NOW Communications Intern, entitled “Control through Fear Common in Honor Killings and All Violence Against Women.” Here Liza correctly points out, “The threat of honor-killings is not exaggerated…The victim of an honor killing may have ‘disgraced’ her family in various ways, including a refusal to enter into an arranged marriage, being sexually assaulted, seeking a divorce, or sexual activity outside marriage.” Only to later descend into a paean of politically correct, leftist equivocation, “Islam’s detractors view honor killings as proof of the religion’s intolerant and misogynistic nature. However, there are several flaws in that line of reasoning. Firstly, the Quran doesn’t condone honor killings. Secondly, honor killings are not exclusive to Islam. The organization Human Rights Watch reports that honor crimes ‘are not specific to any religion, nor are they limited to any one region of the world.’ Thirdly, honor killings are just part of the wider problem of violence against women, which knows no boundaries and is woefully under-acknowledged. It may well be that it is easier to attribute honor killings to certain religious and cultural origins than to admit that they spring from the same gender biases that infect all societies. In India a bride can be killed if her dowry is considered insufficient, and in Latin America ‘crimes of passion’ receive lenient treatment.”
Still unconvinced? Perhaps the fact that NOW’s web site returns exactly zero search results on the term “Yazidi,” despite voluminous documentation of the horrible crimes committed against Yazidi girls and women over the past few years. At the same time, search results indicate NOW has approximately 6,800 news items related to “abortion.” Regardless of one’s views on abortion, it should be self-evident to all that such behavior indicates a gross imbalance of priorities. Or finally consider the audacity of Terry O’Neill in her blog “Immigration Is a Feminist Issue” to reference Standard Law School Professor Vivek Wadhwa unbelievably saying, “I hate to say this, but the women in Saudi Arabia have more rights than the spouses, the wives of H-1B visa workers [in the U.S.] It’s inhuman the way we treat them.”
A Few Facts about Saudia Arabia
- All women living in Saudia Arabia are subject to “Male Guardianship.” As HRW describes it, “In Saudi Arabia, a woman’s life is controlled by a man from birth until death. Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian, normally a father or husband, but in some cases a brother or even a son, who has the power to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf.”
- Women are still, to this very day, not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia
- Women are given unequal and cruel punishments in Saudi Arabia, often far harsher for women than men. For example, in Saudi Arabia women committing the “crime” of adultery are subject to being stoned to death, while men can receive up to 100 lashes.
- Saudi Arabia is considered by many experts to be the root of Islamic Terrorism in the world today.
A Petition to Trump Supporters and the Political Right
It is clear that modern “feminists” as represented by NOW have miserably failed the women of the Middle East. This neglect, whether engendered by the dehumanizing visual effect of the burka, an unnatural and illiberal worship of a politically correct world view, or from some invidious form of “soft” racism against Arabs, has allowed the untold misery of Arab women to incubate and spread throughout the Middle East. This is a moral failing. But at the same time, it is not sufficient for us on the political right to simply recognize and highlight the hypocrisy and illogic of such “feminists.” The moral failing on the left to take notice and amplify the silent scream of Arab women does not take the burden off our shoulders, rather it puts even more weight on us to do something about it. Yet, this is not a moral burden without potential reward, as Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Radhika Coomaraswamy argue in their article in Foreign Policy: “Women Are the Best Weapon in the War Against Terrorism”:
“The international community must take up the challenge to combine militarized action with governance, human rights, and development — including women’s empowerment and gender equality. Drones, airstrikes, and boots on the ground can halt the advance of extremist groups, but these tools cannot defeat radical ideologies nor build resilient families and communities. Empowered women are the best drivers of growth and the best hope for reconciliation. They are the best buffer against the radicalization of youth and the repetition of cycles of violence. Women and girls are the first targets of attack — the promotion of their rights must be the first priority in response.”
Over the long term, educated and empowered Arab women may be the most effective and underutilized weapon against ISIS and Al-Qaeda we have. Building a wall and securing the borders of the United States is a policy we support as a necessary pre-condition of the nation-state. However, there is no getting around the fact that “building a wall” is a negative doctrine, at its root it is about keeping people out of our country. The current condition of Arab women in the world creates a real opportunity for the political right to supplement our strong borders policy with a positive doctrine. In this period before the mid-term elections, can we rally our energy and resources to create an organization focused on the steady improvement of women’s rights in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia? There is no question that the government of Saudi Arabia uses its money to create a corrupt swamp of political influence, which is why poor Dina Ali was forced on a return flight to Saudi Arabia to face torture or death without due process. What a wonderful, positive contribution we could make not just to the world, but our own national security, if Trump Supporters could create an organization to apply incessant political pressure on Congress to reject Saudi influence and to force the government of Saudi Arabia to make immediate fundamental changes on women’s rights in their country. Even better, could you imagine if Melania, or Ivanka, or Kellyanne would help us lead the charge? I call on Trump supporters and Tea Party activists (of both genders) who know how to organize to take this as a calling and help us to make the world a better and safer place.
For those seeking to provide immediate assistance to the cause of Saudi women, please see S.A.F.E Movement (Twitter: @SafeMov).
FALSTAFF'S BRIEFS 