don't pity Muslim women

Submitted by noor (United States), Sep 24, 2008 at 19:51

I am woman of Islamic faith and up until now, I have not experienced any injustice just because of my gender. I live in a developing a country where the majority is of similar faith as mine and we are monitored very closely by an Islamic body. There is no stories of underage marriage in my country and even so, nothing "worthy" to be put up on this page. I guess what I am trying to say is, underage marriage exists in many other cultures and countries. Just because these cases happened to Muslims, in Islamic countries doesn't mean that the religion is flawed. People have to understand that societies have been using women as a bartering materials since the beginning of time. And the practice of contract marriages began even before Islam began. So don't pity us just because we are Muslim women but blame the men (note, I am not saying "Muslim men") for still thinking they can pay off their debt or climb up a social ladder by trading off their daughters. And don't blame Islam as it never states this sort of practices were allowed. And just because there isn't a hard copy that forbids people from practicing these actions, doesn't mean that Islam condones it either. Most men are just inconsiderate, not because their Muslims or any other faiths, but because most of them are driven by sexual drive. People should also realize that there are American and European men who go to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam thinking they can get away with having sexual relations with younger girls (or boys) because they cannot do so in their own countries. Also understand that when Islam started to expand, women's status and condition got so much better than it ever did before that.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".