“Muslimah Pride”

Apr 10th, 2013 5:32 pm | By

Sofia Ahmed of “Muslimah Pride” does not like Femen. She has reasons.

What Femen are doing is highly counterproductive and detrimental to Muslim women across the world.  For me and hundreds of other women who have got in touch with me over the past few days, their tactics are a part of the ideological war that is going on between neo-colonial elements in the West and Islamic societies. Their aim is not to emancipate us from our presumed slavery, but instead reinforce Western imperialism and generate consent for the ongoing wars against Muslim countries.

That “for me and hundreds of other women” is interesting, since it’s followed by a factual claim as opposed to an interpretation. “For me,” she says, … Read the rest

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How creepy is that

Apr 10th, 2013 4:32 pm | By

Via Ex-Muslims Forum on Twitter @CEMB_forum

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On Qatar Airways Flight QR76

Apr 10th, 2013 3:35 pm | By

More on Jackie Nanyonjo and what was done to her.

Jackie was a fighter for herself and for others: a lesbian who escaped from anti-gay persecution and a brutal forced marriage, and a member of the Movement for Justice. In Britain she had been able for the first time to live and love openly as a lesbian; she was much-loved by a wide circle of friends who kept in touch with her after she was deported and who miss her deeply.

I suppose I should say trigger warning at this point. What happened to her is not comfortable reading.

With all the limited avenues of Britain’s racist immigration laws closed to her and facing deportation to a country where it

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It can and does happen here

Apr 10th, 2013 3:12 pm | By

I’ve said this before, but it needs saying often. People don’t realize that it’s not just Ireland. It can happen here too, and it does. The National Women’s Law Center did a report on it two years ago.

A serious but little known problem is putting women’s health and lives at risk: because of their religious beliefs, certain health care providers do not give appropriate treatment to women experiencing serious pregnancy complications. A recent study by Ibis Reproductive Health entitled “Assessing hospital polices & practices regarding ectopic pregnancy & miscarriage management”  [1]  adds to the growing evidence that the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services have been applied to deny women experiencing both ectopic pregnancies and

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Mo is too busy being awesome

Apr 10th, 2013 2:52 pm | By

Mo is annoyed about the western colonial feminists.

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Usually in an attempt to make trouble

Apr 10th, 2013 2:35 pm | By

Paul Krugman thinks it’s not particularly reasonable to make comments on the internet while pretending to be Paul Krugman.

I do think that it’s kind of curious that I’ve had repeated incidents in which people pretend to be me, usually in an attempt to make trouble. Is my real output so hard to criticize that people looking for a way to discredit me have to make stuff up?

And for that matter doesn’t making stuff up kind of defeat the purpose?

 … Read the rest

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Jackie Nanyonjo

Apr 10th, 2013 1:40 pm | By

This is a terrible thing.

Very sad news tonight that a member of Movement for Justice, Jackie Nanyonjo, has died in Uganda last friday due to injuries she sustained during deportation from Yarl’s Wood 2 months ago.

This is another one of those stories that are under the radar.… Read the rest

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IHEU Call to action: Defend the bloggers of Bangladesh *

Apr 10th, 2013 | Filed by

Islamist political parties have provided government with a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” and are demanding the death penalty for “insulting religion”.… Read the rest



Wednesday at the inquest

Apr 10th, 2013 8:40 am | By

Fergal Bowers reporting for RTE, again.

The consulting obstetrician said there were system failures.

Dr Katherine Astbury said Mrs Halappanavar’s clinical signs were not checked every four hours after her membranes ruptured, which was a breach of hospital policy.

She told the inquest that when Mrs Halappanavar requested a termination from her on the morning of 23 October, she outlined the legal position to her.

She said that Mrs Halappanavar had told her she was finding it very upsetting and difficult given that the ultimate outcome would be that her baby would not survive.

Dr Astbury told her “in this country it is not legal to terminate a pregnancy on the grounds of poor prognosis for a foetus”.

Pause … Read the rest

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PNG: two women suspected of “sorcery” beheaded

Apr 9th, 2013 | Filed by

Two elderly women were beheaded in Papua New Guinea after being tortured for three days. Police were outnumbered by an angry mob and could do nothing to stop the murders.… Read the rest



Left untreated, the outcome is maternal death

Apr 9th, 2013 3:25 pm | By

Dr Jen Gunter has weighed in; I was hoping she would. She was informative and passionate about it last fall.

Savita Halappanavar was admitted at on a Sunday to Galway hospital at 17 weeks into her pregnancy with ruptured membranes, a dilated cervix, and an elevated white blood cell count (a marker of infection). It is clear that her diagnosis was chorioamnionitis, an infection of the fetal membranes. When left untreated the bacteria of chorioamnionitis march across the umbilical cord into both the maternal and fetal circulation. Left untreated, the outcome is maternal death.

Just walking through the door with ruptured membranes at 17 weeks Ms. Halappanavar baseline risk of chorioamnionitis was 30-40%. Her presentation should not have posed

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Tuesday at the inquest

Apr 9th, 2013 10:48 am | By

Fergal Bowers reports for RTE.

A midwife who was working on the ward where Savita Halappanavar was being treated has given evidence at the inquest into her death.

Miriam Dunleavy told the Coroner’s Court in Galway that entries were put into Mrs Halappanavar’s medical notes by the hospital’s internal investigation.

Coroner Dr Ciaran McLoughlin raised questions as to the appropriateness of this.

Yes that does sound slightly inappropriate.

Dr Katherine Astbury also testified.

In a detailed chronological account of the treatment she provided, Dr Astbury said that she had requested an ultrasound on Monday 22 October after Mrs Halappanavar’s membranes ruptured.

On the following day when she asked for medication to assist a miscarriage, she said she told Mrs

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Formation of reformatories and industrial schools

Apr 8th, 2013 | By Marie-Thérèse O'Loughlin

I would like to begin by summarising an overview of parts of a report into the historical background of reformatories and industrial schools in Britain and Ireland. The report laid out by *experts was requested by the commission to inquire into child institutional abuse (CICA), which was set up to deal with allegations of child abuse in Irish reformatories and industrial schools. Prominent survivors had raised their voices to tell Ireland and the world of the secretive systemic inter-generational abuse that occurred behind closed reformatory and industrial school doors. They demanded to be heard. Hence the instigation of the CICA by the then taoiseach, Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fáil-led government. The Commission was thus established on 23 May, 2000, pursuant … Read the rest



No threat to Savita’s life

Apr 8th, 2013 3:46 pm | By

And there’s RTE’s account.

Praveen Halappanavar said they asked for a termination three times over two days.

The inquest has been told that the evidence from Dr Astbury will be that there was only one discussion about a termination of pregnancy and it was on Tuesday 23 October.

Dr Astbury says a termination was not warranted at that time, as there was no threat to Savita’s life and so no reason to consider an abortion.

According to Dr Jennifer Gunter (an OB-GYN) that’s bullshit; there was a threat to Savita’s life.

One wonders if medical training in Ireland is actually shaped according to Catholic dogma and Irish law.

The inquest heard that when Mrs Halappanavar attended Galway University Hospital

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Sorry, no can do

Apr 8th, 2013 2:33 pm | By

The Galway Independent gives a very detailed account of Praveen Halappanavar’s testimony to the inquest today.

On Sunday, they were told the fetus would not survive.

Mr Halappanavar said that he could hear his wife crying and, on returning to the room, was told that there had been some cervical dilation and the foetus would not survive. He said that they had asked if the baby could be saved by putting in stitches but were told that this was not possible.

But waiting around for no reason, giving infection a chance to set in – that was possible.

MONDAY

On Monday morning, Mr Halappanavar said that Savita was taken for an ultrasound and started to cry when she saw the

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Sadly, no, you can’t have everything

Apr 8th, 2013 12:07 pm | By

That Al-Jazeera report on the “Muslimah pride” reaction to Amina and Femen -

It has some odd stuff.

  • Sofia Ahmed This event is open to ALL muslim women, Hijaabi’s Nikaabis and women who choose not to wear it. Muslimah pride is about connecting with your Muslim identity and reclaiming our collective voice. Most importantly it is about diversity and showing that muslim women are not just one homogenous group. We come in all shapes and sizes, all races and cultural backgrounds. Whether we choose to wear hijaabs or not is nobodies business but ours. So please get clicking, get creative, get loud and proud. #Muslimapride

That’s incoherent. It wants everything. It wants to combine all the incompatibles. It wants identity … Read the rest

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As no threat to Savita’s life

Apr 8th, 2013 10:58 am | By

The inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar has begun in Galway. Today Praveen Halappanavar testified.

The Sunday it all went wrong, they were told Savita’s cervix was dilated and she would miscarry.

Mr Halappanavar said they were both shattered on hearing this news and his wife asked repeatedly why this was happening to her. They were told it would all be over in a few hours when she miscarried.

On Monday October 23rd her obstetrician Dr Katharine Astbury sent Ms Halappanaver for an ultrasound. Dr Astbury told her that “unfortunately” the foetus was still alive, Mr Halappanavar said.

He said the couple asked Dr Astbury for a termination but she told them this was not possible.

Fergal Bowers, health … Read the rest

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Kenya: Kakenya Ntaiya swapped her genitals for high school *

Apr 8th, 2013 | Filed by

When she was 12, she made a deal with her father: she would undergo the Maasai rite of passage of FGM if he would let her go to high school.… Read the rest



Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina rejects new blasphemy law *

Apr 8th, 2013 | Filed by

In a BBC interview, she said existing laws were sufficient to punish anyone who attempted to insult religion. Whew, that’s a relief!… Read the rest



If the genitals are severely mutilated, that’s another thing

Apr 7th, 2013 5:53 pm | By

And then another post the same day.

It didn’t stop there

Chapter 2 of the ‘I’m more postcolonialist than you’ follies.

Another respondent:

Why do feminists still have to analyze everything using the concept of ‘oppression?’ Why are -you- using the term as though everything feminist has to be talked about in terms of oppression. There are times when that’s okay, but there are other times when it is not…When feminists label some kinds of behaviour problematic, by naming them oppressive, for instance, they may be putting other women into situations which could be dangerous for them, or which could at least change the course of their lives, and not always favourably, if they decided to act on this new

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