Quote:
Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate
First, it isn't Islam that treats women poorly. It is men that follow Islam that treat women poorly. Just as Christian men treated women as second class citizens in the past.
Secondly, I think it is getting better instead of worse as Muslim women see the freedoms of the west and are starting to stand up for themselves. There have been protests in Saudi Arabia by women demanding the right to drive.
My coworker has 3 daughters and he has let them make up their own mind... two CHOSE to wear the hijab, while the youngest did not. The youngest is treated no differently than the elder sisters. So not all Muslim women are forced to wear traditional clothes... some choose to completely of their own volition.
Wearing the hijab and conservative clothing isn't even a mandatory part of Islam... unlike the 10 commandments, it was more of a suggestion. An insulting suggestion that if men see a woman in provocative clothes they are more likely to be tempted to commit rape....
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Oh god, here we go. The "it is not all Islam" arguement. OF COURSE it isn't all Islam. Not one of my Islamic friends that I know are extremists or were Hijabs and such. However, most people who practice Islam do not live in the west with the same rights and freedoms.
IMO, the fact that your friend even allows the wearing of the Hijab says plenty. I don't think it is quite so easy to say your coworker let his daughters choose. Do they really have a choice? They are his daughters, they want to please their father. I have met plenty of women who wear the Hijab, and when I ask why it is ok for the men to wear western cloths but they have to wear a full burke, they always say it is their choice. BS. They have been brainwashed since they were born and there is a cultural expectation for them to comply with there traditions.
I will never buy the argument that women choose to make themselves out as nothing more than property.
I will agree with you that things generally are getting better for women overall within the Islamic world. Some countries no. One country that has made huge gains is Afghanistan thanks to NATO.
