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THE EASIEST PIECE OF RESEARCH I'VE EVER DONE.
Slate's Emily Yoffe apparently noticed the other day that honor killings exist, even among Muslim immigrants in countries like Canada. But then she asks:
Where is the outrage from the Muslim community, from feminists, over atrocities such as this? I went to the National Organization for Women Web site, and I would be thrilled if someone could find the place in it in which NOW denounces forced covering and "honor" killing.When the Washington Post's fashion writer wrote about Hillary Clinton's cleavage, NOW was outraged. Their section on violence against women seems to cover every possible permutation except that of Islamic extremism.
Well Emily, prepare to be thrilled! I thought this sounded a bit fishy so I clicked the link to the NOW website, went to "hot topics" then "more issues" then "violence against women" and what do you know, the fifth item in the news section is entitled "NOW Supports Legislation that Denounces 'Honor' Killings and Violence Against Women." Finding it took me about 30 seconds. An excerpt:
The United States must call strongly for the protection of the millions of women who will become victims of stoning, stabbing, maiming, forced suicide, beheadings, acid throwing and many other cruel punishments with the false justification of "family honor."
A search of the NOW site yields 43 results for "honor killings" compared to 6 for "Robin Givhan" to use Yoffe's example.
This wouldn't be too important, but the larger narrative Yoffe is peddling is deeply pernicious and is usually associated with the nastier elements of the far right. Attacking feminist organizations (falsely) for failing to care enough about the plight of Islamic women both continues the vilification of the religion and makes those groups look hypocritical and selfish. This also isn't the first time Yoffe has soft peddled a Republican talking point with an odd wide-eyed innocence. Remember that hilarious global warming piece from a few months back?
--Sam Boyd
COMMENTS (12)
It's a wonder she still knows how to breathe.
Posted by: kth | December 17, 2007 12:00 PM
This is the same scumbag trick used by Nick Kristof in the NYT when he goes on one of his prostitution in the Third World jags. "Only the fundies care about sexual exploitation of women," Kristof simpers, "Where are the feminists?"
Lies, all lies.
Posted by: Roger Ailes | December 17, 2007 12:32 PM
it's amazing how often we see that if a reporter isn't spoonfed information by a "source," he or she is totally unable to track it down him or herself.
20 years ago, that made sense, in that the barriers to research were much higher. today, i'm more careful about fact issues when i post a comment on the internets than many well-paid journalists are when they are going to be immortalized in ink.
Posted by: howard | December 17, 2007 1:16 PM
The faux indignation about honor killings is a D.C. staple. Because Saudi Arabia is a key nation in keeping America afloat in oil and debt, that it happens to be the veritable center and heart of the honor killing ethos just goes unremarked. So, the press will infinitely repeat any inane and stupid remark that the Iranian president makes, and will never pay any attention whatsoever to the standard everyday insanity that rules in Saudi Arabia - until a story like the recent one, in which a woman who was gang raped was sentenced to 900 lashes, comes out. The utter and complete hypocrisy of the D.C. press corps and the sycophantic moralists like Yoffe (writing for Slate, the White Supremicists magazine of choice!) is beyond disgusting.
Posted by: roger | December 17, 2007 1:30 PM
Kind of sums up everything that's wrong with Slate. Kinsleyism (which was always overrated) degenerated into Saletanism. Even Kausism.
Posted by: Jim | December 17, 2007 1:31 PM
I've been working on "honor" killings for years. I've requested support from many human rights and women's NGOs over the years, but not one has stepped up. They give "honor" killings lip service but, substantively, I haven't been able to see what they are doing to address the problem.
And I am not on the far right. . .I'm just a person who believes in universal human rights and has put my own money where my beliefs are.
Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"
Posted by: ERS | December 17, 2007 1:50 PM
In Yoffe's defense, this may be a generational thing.
When the first wave of academic multiculturalist theory began to impact feminism in the 80s, feminists at that time retreated from positions that criticized the treatment of women in other cultures. The primary example of this is female genital mutilation. For a while, most of academic feminism was unwilling to criticize this practice, some went so far as to argue in its favor.
This ran counter to the preceding feminists, like Steinam, who had been arguing against FGM for years.
It's really only been since the mid-to-late nineties that academic feminism has partly/mostly reversed course and is again willing to criticize other cultures for their mistreatment of women, Islamic cultures included.
But for those of us who have been feminists for several decades, especially those of us who came of age in the Steinam era, the multicultaralist-dominant period which avoided or took a soft-line on women's rights in non-Western cultures looms large. It was a very frustrating period for me, for example, and if I weren't paying attention, I'd not know that the tide has turned.
Is Yoffe middle-aged like me? I don't know. And this is a weak defense in any case, as she has the responsibility to be fully informed if she's going to write on the topic. Even so, I sometimes wonder if younger people aren't aware that there was a time when much of leftism turned a blind-eye to Islam's treatment of women.
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