feminine-genius

"She's not Albanian!"

So sayeth a group of unhappy young Muslims from Peja, Kosovo, who are unhappy both with the plan to place a statue of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in their town, and with the construction of a Catholic Church named after her, being built in the capital city of Pristina.

"She was of Vlach origin, born in Macedonia. She is not an Albanian," Zhita said.

The celebrated and now beatified Catholic missionary, famed for her work in the slums of India, had done nothing for Kosovo or Peja but had spent her life serving a foreign religious organisation, they said. 

So far, the mayor of Peja is no mood to back down. The municipality responded positively on March 11 to the request from a group known as the Council for Mother Teresa Statues, run by Catholic Albanians in New York, asking for space in town to put up the statue.

Mayor Ali Berisha said he had received the letter of protest from the Muslim youth group on Wednesday. But, downplaying the relevance of Mother Teresa's religious identity, he said her work for the poor and dying transcended the whole issue.

“I think that there should not be a religious connotation to this question, but a humanitarian one alone,” Berisha told Balkan Insight.

He said the request for the statue had been discussed several times in the local assembly and a majority of councillors had decided in favour. He also said he had discussed the matter with head of Islamic Community in Peja who showed no sign of disagreement.

“We will go ahead with our plan,” Berisha said.

The article concludes: "Born in Skopje, when it was a city in the Ottoman Empire, Mother Teresa was the youngest child of a family that hailed from from Shkoder in northern Albania." While she was clearly Albanian, this attack is most unfortunate, given her instinting generosity and care for people of all creeds and backgrounds.

UPDATE: This is not a good sign.

"You'll have to ask a woman"

Talk about a major dodge. Timothy Geitner was either 1. aware of the predatory atmosphere around DSK and the IMF and did nothing; or 2. unaware of it, being incredibly obtuse. But remember? When he was nominated as Treasury Secretary, Obama insisted that he was so smart that we had to overlook his delinquent tax record. Here is that brilliance on display:

 

Simple courtesy. One learns manners as a form of charity, to be kind to others. Treating women with respect has historically been intrinsic to being a gentleman, but now knowing what women like and don't like is as mysterious to men as whether or not there's been life on Mars.

Is this the fault of women who send scrambled messages about what's appropriate, or is there a higher code, still embedded in the Good Ol' Boy network, that says randy men get a pass when they're successful--either at slaying woolly mammoths or dragging wimmen back to the cave. 

ADDENDUM: I just saw Matt Archbold's excellent comments --

It seems to me that this faux feminism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Here's the thing Timmy boy -a real man stands up for women when they need standing up for. I'm not saying a woman can't stand up for herself but a man turning a blind eye to a predator isn't a man. He's a coward.

What's at stake in Afghanistan

Among other things, the future for girls. The Taliban, which ruled from 1996-2001 places serious constraints on their lives:

Under the Taliban women were barred from access to healthcare and made to wear burqas covering them from head to toe, and only boys were allowed to attend school. Many of those customs are still widespread. Girls have had acid thrown in their faces by hardline Islamists while walking to school and schools have been set on fire. Last year there was a spate of mysterious gas poisonings at girls' schools, including some in Kabul, in which dozens of girls fell ill.

A report by aid groups in February said girls' education was at risk because of poor security, lack of funds and equipment and inadequate teacher training. It said 2.4 million girls were enrolled at school but about 20% of those did not attend classes regularly. Those who did often faced obstacles such as open-air classrooms and journeys of up to three hours. The report noted a shortage of female teachers – as few as one in every 100 educators in the most remote and conservative areas – which limited girls' hopes of receiving anything more than a primary education.

So the presence of the US-led NATO forces has changed the rules, but has a long way to go to changes "hearts and minds."

Taliban gunmen have killed the headteacher of a girls' school near the Afghan capital after he ignored warnings to stop teaching girls, government officials have said.

Khan Mohammad, the head of the Porak girls' school in Logar province, was shot dead near his home on Tuesday, said Deen Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the Logar governor.

"He was killed because he wanted to run the school," Darwish said.

Mateen Jafar, the education director in Logar, about an hour's drive from the capital, Kabul, said Mohammad had received several death threats from the Taliban warning him not to teach girls.

Jafar said Mohammad's son was wounded in the attack.

Practically speaking, the current military mission is focused on security and power -- which is to be expected -- rather than culture or human rights. Concerning the latter, one must recognise that cultures like these cannot be convinced, only converted. Only with an authentic Christian worldview will people come to see that everyone is in the image and likeness of God, worthy of respect and sacrifice. Until then, people will continued to be sacrificed for ideology -- and most of them women.

The Swedish utopia -- aint.

 

Nothing shocking, but only a confirmation of what we instinctively know about family relationships and what makes children (and parents) thrive. Full article here, including this discouraging information:

Sweden has offered a comprehensive daycare system since 1975; since the early '90s, negative outcomes for children and adolescents are on the rise in areas of health and behaviour. While direct causation has been difficult to prove, many Swedish health-care professionals point to the lack of parent involvement beyond the first 16 months as a primary contributing factor. Psychosomatic disorders and mild psychological problems are escalating among Swedish youth at a faster rate than in any of 11 comparable European countries. Such disorders have tripled among girls over the last 25 years. Education outcomes in Swedish schools have fallen from the top position 30 years ago, to merely average amongst OECD nations today. Behaviour problems in Swedish classrooms are among the worst in Europe.

After some more Q & A's with Mr Himmelstrand, we discover this plaintive voice in the combox:

Thank you Mr. H for telling it as it is!!! Here's a newsflash from a grown-up child who was in F-T daycare her whole childhood: Being outsourced makes you feel unloved, like your parents want to get rid of you in order to do more interesting things than spending time with you. Even if your parents *say* they love you, their actions speak louder. Parents, ask your little children what they think about daycare. If they scream, ''Mommy, daddy, don't leave me! Don't go!'', listen to your children!!! You'll save them from real emotional scars that last all life long, and here's talking from experience.

Exclusive interview at Lifesite

They have just posted an account offered by Julia Holcolm, who had an abortion over 30 years ago. It begins:

In November of 1973, shortly after my 16th birthday, I met Steven Tyler at a concert in Portland, Oregon. To understand what leads a 16-year-old girl to find herself backstage at an Aerosmith Rock Concert, and in a three- year live-in relationship with Steven Tyler, you need some essential background information....

Such a remarkable story of faith, healing and forgiveness. May God continue to bless her!

A stopped watch...

Yes, there is a nugget of truth in this farce, and we have to acknowledge what is accurate about this address of Ahmadinejad (while our Catholic faith tells the rest of the story):

"The role played by women (in our society) is unique and exclusive and cannot be exchanged," Ahmadinejad said, addressing a conference dubbed 'Lady of Insightfulness' in Tehran on Monday, on the threshold of the national 'Women's (and Mothers') Day.' He stressed the necessity for turning Iran into a role model in economic, social and cultural fields, and added that women play a significant role in Iran's move towards this goal.

"For this attainable dream to come true, the top role and responsibility once again lies on the shoulders of Iran's cultivated, courageous and courage-nurturing women," Ahmadinejad said.

He also blasted the West for mistreating women, saying that capitalist system is damaging the "reality and essence of women".

We have to admit that commercialism built on women's bodies is vile. Think of all the ads for unrelated items which depend on feminine flesh, which is nothing new:

And yet hiding women in mounds of fabric as temptresses and unworthy of active participation in normal life is not the answer, indeed it is a parody of the western vulgar view of women.

Let's review the Islamic texts:

Omar [one of the Khalifs] was once talking when his wife interjected, so he said to her: 'You are a toy, if you are needed we will call you' (Al-Musanaf, Vol. 1. Part 2, p. 263).

Narrated Usama bin Zaid: The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women" (Bukhari 7:62:33)

For if a man purchases a slave girl, the purchase contract includes his right to have sex with her (Abd ar-Rahman al-Gaziri, al-Fiqh 'ala al-Mazahib al-Arba'a).

Muhammed said: "Tell the men with you who have wives: never trust a woman" (Ishaq: 584).

Narrated Usama bin Zaid: The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women" (Bukhari 7:62:33).

If a woman offered one of her breasts to be cooked and the other to be roasted, she still will fall short of fulfilling her obligations to her husband. And besides that if she disobeys her husband even for a twinkling of an eye, she would be thrown in the lowest part of Hell, except she repents and turns back (Tuffaha, Ahmad Zaky, Al-Mar'ah wal- Islam, Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnan).

[Muhammad said] "A believing woman is the same among women as a white-footed raven among the ravens. Fire has been created for the senseless, and women are the most senseless of all" (Kanz al-'ummal, 22:11).

I think you get the idea. So what does the Islamic view offer women? Motherhood, but sadly a one-dimensional type that is strictly physical, bearing courageous children who will further the Umma -- with the daughters being worth precisely half of each son, and always subject to control by the men in their lives where Muhammed is honoured. No room for spiritual motherhood, creativity, freedom, complementarity or even fundamental equality with men. They are tilth to be plowed according to the desires of their husbands (cf. Quran 2:223) -- which is just as one-dimensional as pin-up girls and sexual toys.

Believing women must understand that they are the answer to both extremes. We must live our vocations in a prudent, mindful way that speaks of the dignity of women, that honours the dignity of men, and reminds the world that together thy build a civilisation of love and mutual respect.

When it comes to setting women free from every kind of exploitation and domination, the Gospel contains an ever relevant message which goes back to the attitude of Jesus Christ himself. Transcending the established norms of his own culture, Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness. In this way he honoured the dignity which women have always possessed according to God's plan and in his love.

I am convinced that the secret of making speedy progress in achieving full respect for women and their identity involves more than simply the condemnation of discrimination and injustices, necessary though this may be. Such respect must first and foremost be won through an effective and intelligent campaign for the promotion of women, concentrating on all areas of women's life and beginning with a universal recognition of the dignity of women. Our ability to recognize this dignity, in spite of historical conditioning, comes from the use of reason itself, which is able to understand the law of God written in the heart of every human being (Blessed John Paul II, Letter to Women).

Some thoughts on DSK

I put down a few ideas about the DSK saga at Catholic Lane. One's blood boils at the response to this atrocious episode, especially the French insults concerning our justice and virtue.

In fact, many across the pond are tut-tutting American provincialism, in the manner of Socialist member of European Parliament, Gilles Savary, who noted, “Everyone knows that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a libertine, and that he is distinguished from others by the fact that he doesn’t try and hide it.” The problem is “puritanical America, infiltrated by rigorous Protestantism,” which cannot deal with issues concerning “pleasures of the flesh.”

Alas, he is not alone in that way of thinking.

UPDATE: In response to one of the comments, let me clarify that abortion has always been essential to socialists, from their inception. They also denigrated marriage (a bourgeoise trap) and flaunted their libertinism through cohabitation and shared intimacy. That is why abortion always had to be available, for children weren't terribly welcome. When they did arrive, collectives were set-up for their care, because the mothers' priorities had to be the revolution, or their work.

Ultimately, "left" and "right" are inadequate terms, because those on the right often share the disdain for conventual morality. That is why I indicate that the Catholic ethic stands squarely in the center to counter excesses from all angles. We are the one who always serve the person first, without allowing him to be subsumed in ephemeral schemes.

UPDATE II: More details are emerging of escapades old and new, including other incidents with hotel staff on the trip that ended his career.Another fascinating article addresses the curious question, Why do French women put up with this sort of thing? The only woman, journalist Hélène Jouan sat on a panel that addressed this issue:

Every woman journalist, she said, knew the pervasive atmosphere fostered by powerful men in France, in which females were at the very least importuned with impunity, and disregarded – not even disbelieved – when worse happened. This had created, she said, the culture in which someone like Strauss-Kahn could, and did, think he could get away with anything.

She herself, Jouan said, hadn't been the victim of over-the-red-line harassment, but the very atmosphere in which salacious propositioning texts or late-night knocks on her hotel room door by politicians on the campaign trail were a common occurrence. She said it "was so heavy sometimes that at the beginning of my career, I almost gave up journalism."

The lack of response from the hitherto voluble other guests was spectacular...

The men around her couldn't grasp the problem, with one saying "Why all the fuss? It's merely a bit of hanky-panky with the help," and another insisting it was "overblown:"

Really, nobody died in that hotel room.

The understanding is, she notes, that French women will not take any of this seriously or fight back (there will be repercussions), and she points out that First Ladies have always studiously ignored their husband's transgressions. Furthermore, France's leading feminist, Elisabeth Badinter, is married to a Socialist leader, and thus we come full circle: socialism is anti-virtue and anti-family, and pure feminists see their struggle as the next stage in the dialectic. There is no other path to "progress." 

Keep that in mind when considering the merits of the left. Women must pay a very high price for their utopia.

 

Free speech and domestic violence

The constraints set in place in parts of Europe limit the practical discussion about domestic violence in Islamic homes and the honour killings associated with that creed, despite the statistics that highlight the problem:

[A] Danish court has convicted [Lars Hedegaard, President of the Danish Free Press Society and The International Free Press Society] of racism for drawing attention to violence in Muslim families. The message Denmark has thus sent out is that it is racist and a crime to seek to defend Muslim women and children from the phenomenon of ‘honour violence’.

Where are the western feminists and defenders of free speech now?

A portion of his own words of defense are here:

What does the public prosecutor hope to accomplish by my conviction? He may drag me in front of a court. He may portray me as a racist, a right-wing extremist and a non-human. He may do the same to hundreds and thousands of others who insist on their right of free speech to describe Islam and Muslim culture just like we would deal with any other phenomenon in a free society. ...In conclusion permit me to mention the true victims in this case. The public prosecutor has not considered the 20,000 women in the Muslim world who every year fall victim to so-called honour killings, or the 50,000 Muslim girls in Germany who the federal police consider threatened with genital mutilation, nor the hundreds of thousands of little girls in Muslim majority societies who have been sold into marriage with much older men and who must therefore live a life of constant rape, while Islamic scholars preach that this is in complete accordance with religious orthodoxy. I hope that the judge as opposed to the public prosecutor will consider the fate of these unfortunate human beings.