War on Women

                The Democrats continue to claim that Republicans are waging a war on women.  Even with the Democrat lies, no one would consider Republican words and actions as a war on women if they knew more about the real thing.  Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a global advocate for women’s rights, knows and continues to warn Americans about how women are treated in Muslim countries and other people involved in mainstream Islam.  

                Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and was subjected to female genital mutilation when she was five years old.  Her father opposed the traditional practice and was in prison when the mutilation took place.  When her father escaped from prison, he moved his family to Saudi Arabia, then to Ethiopia, and finally to Kenya.  By that time, Hirsi Ali was 11 years old.  She grew up as a Muslim woman; she read and accepted the Quran and its teachings.  She fled to the Netherlands when her family tried to force her into an arranged marriage.  She then became a translator for Somali women seeking asylum. 

                When Hirsi Ali learned of the many women in the Netherlands who continued to suffer under Islam, she became a politician to bring attention to the problem.  She was elected to the Dutch parliament in 2003.  She gained the attention of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker.  She wrote and narrated a film “Submission” about oppressed women.  The film outraged Muslims in the Netherlands.  As a result, van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death in Amsterdam on November 2, 2004, as he rode his bicycle to work.  The killer used a knife to pin a letter to the body of van Gogh; the letter contained a death threat against Hirsi Ali.  She resigned from parliament and moved to the United States in 2006, but she continues to be accompanied by a security detail wherever she goes.

                Hirsi Ali continues to be a “fearless critic of Islam” and often speaks out about the treatment of Muslim women.  She was slated to receive an honorary degree from Brandeis University last April, but the university reversed its decision under pressure from student activists and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).  A CAIR spokesman called her “one of the worst of the worst of the Islam-haters in America.”

                Hirsi Ali is not the only person speaking out against the harsh treatment of women.  Ashe Schow gave seven examples with pictures of this real war on women.  His examples are (1) Malala Yousufzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting education for women; (2) Fakhra Younus who left her abusive husband and was attacked with acid for her actions; (3) Jyoti Singh Pandey who was gang raped and murdered; (4) Afghan Senator Roh Gul Khairzad who was shot while traveling home; (5) Noor Faleh Almaleki who was murdered in an “honor killing” for being too “westernized;” (6) Amena Jan who was poisoned for attending school, and

(7) Gendercide – “the practice of aborting a child based on its gender.”

                Ashe Schow wrote another article about the war on women; she referenced a New York Post writer who listed “5 places women shouldn’t spend their travel dollars.  The article listed four countries that keep women down:  Turkey, Indonesia, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia.  The fifth place on the list is Utah.  The author of the article apparently thinks Utah treats women as badly as the four nations named above!

                “The reason?  Women in the Beehive State earn less than men by a wider gap than the other 49 U.S. states.  Citing the Global Gender Gap Index – which lists the U.S. as 20^th out of 142 countries in terms of gender parity – the Post piece makes its case that Utah is horrible for women….”

                The first two articles show the blindness of people who claim Republicans are waging war on women; the third article shows the stupidity of a reporter who apparently looked at statistics and did not take other facts into consideration in making her judgment.  With all the horrible treatment of women in the world, how can anyone think Republicans are warring against women?