Violence against women isn't cultural
One of the things that's so distressing about the death of Aqsa Parvez (and there's plenty to be distressed about) is the way it's being interpreted in the media. Reading the stories, listening to the radio, you'd think this was all about culture -- speficially, Muslim/immigrant/'other' culture.
It's not. This is about violence and control.
Muhammed Parvez didn't kill his daughter because she wouldn't wear a hijab; he killed her because, for whatever reason, he felt he could. That's not a characteristic of Muslim culture. That's a characteristic of all patriarchies. There are plenty of white, 'western' men who've killed or hurt women because they felt they could.
It would be nice to talk about the fact that Aqsa felt threatened by her family, that she said she was being beaten, that she had to flee her home more than once. It would be nice to talk about the background and how we can stop this from happening again.
Instead, all the stories lead with this idea of a cultural clash.
This isn't about a hijab. This is about patriarchy and violence.
1 comment:
Yes. Thank you for this. When the story first broker I was nervous this would blow up into a hijab dialogue and 'muslim women are so oppressed' shout and sure enough; it's upon us. Refreshing to see there's others not buying the blame-islam for the murder. I received a lovely comment re: the same sentiments the other day on my blog: "you're as crazy as Muslims who believe it's okay to murder..." So a tip of the hat to you, Jael, to spread the unpopular word that this wasn't a muslim wardrobe issue.
In solidarity,
Lilith Attack
Post a Comment