Hezbollah and  women's rights. Now I grant you that the wikipedia
isn't an immaculate source, but it's as good as, if not better than,
any shoddy polemic from a mouthpiece of that American citizen, Rupert
Murdoch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah

<Quote>
Women's rights

In keeping with Lebanon's generally secular and egalitarian culture,
Hezbollah recognizes and promotes women's rights (in the mold of the
Western liberal tradition) somewhat more strongly than do other groups
associated with Islamic jihad, or for that matter than does Iran,
Hezbollah's self-proclaimed "model and example"[36] (see Women in
Muslim societies).[54]

One member of the Hezbollah Political Council, speaking to an Online
Journal correspondent in July 2006, claimed that "Hezbollah differs
from many Islamic groups in our treatment of women. We believe women
have the ability like men to participate in all parts of life."[54]
The Online Journal correspondent writes,

    From its founding in the 1980s, Hezbollah women have headed
education, medical and social service organizations. Most recently
Hezbollah nominated several women to run in the Lebanese elections. It
named Wafa Hoteit as a chief of Al Noor Radio (also recently bombed),
and promoted 37-year-old Rima Fakhry to its highest ruling body, the
Hezbollah Political Council. Part of Fakhry's duties include
interpreting Islamic feminism in Sharia law for the Committee for
Political Analysis.[54]

Hezbollah's inclination towards secular liberal values should not be
overstated, however. For example, its official stance on homosexuality
hews close to traditional religious teachings (see Gay rights in
Lebanon: Politics).
</Quote>

The fact that they call for the destruction of the State of Israel
isn't surprising given that they were formed as a reaction against
Israel's occupation of Lebanon in the 80s. Oh bloody days, lest we
forget, and it seems we have.

I see, too, the ghost of Hitler raised in this article. Pah!

What is worth considering is that the Americans have gone through the
UN process (Bolton has STFU), they've involved France in the Lebanon
peace-keeping force (oh, I thought they were cheese-eating surrender
monkeys? Bush, FFS, is even *rumoured to be reading Camus's
L'etranger?????!!!!), the right-wing shock-jobs have suddenly gone
silent about the end of days
(http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n16/klei01_.html). Is it because the
congressional elections are coming up soon? Perhaps the Israel-Lebanon
War suddenly played ill in the focus groups? All those pictures of
dead kids on the 9 o'clock news and it's *our side that's doing it ...
Is is it because the anti-war Lamont made a good showing?

Roger

On 8/16/06, Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Definitely, but who is the 'I' speaking here?
>
> I would agree with 'Part of it feels the wrong side is winning.' But
> also with most of the post Stephen forwarded. Israel (& the US behind
> it) may still understand something about tactics, but the strategy is
> failing mightily, & that's not good for Israel, for democracy ever
> coming to the rest of the mid_east, or for any lessening of the rabid
> fundamentalist Islamist/terrorists. So I'd have to agree that no one
> really won, but what 'we' in the West seem to see as terrorism got a
> big boost.
>
> Still, I'd also agree with this woman (I presume) that feminists
> supporting Hezbollah are making a big mistake (anyone supporting them
> is). But I do no t think that making some criticisms of Israel's
> policy, in this latest war, & in much else it has done, makes one an
> anti-Semite, so I hope they can move forward in order to begin to build
> a Mid-East in which Israel is accepted, & the countries around it are
> working (democracies of some kind) for all in them, not least the women
> accorded full citizenship (oh, around a century from now, at the rate
> things are going...).
>
> Doug
>
> On 16-Aug-06, at 4:22 AM, Frederick Pollack wrote:
>
> > Wimmin at War - Review - Times Online
> Douglas Barbour
> 11655 - 72 Avenue NW
> Edmonton  Ab  T6G 0B9
> (780) 436 3320
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
>
> Latest book: Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
> http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
>
> surely when they fell
> it was into grace
>
>         bpNichol
>


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