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India 2014-05-29 Two girls found gang-raped and hanged in India Indian teen girls gang-raped and hanged from a tree: police India’s gang rapes — and the failure to stop them
That the victims are principally “untouchables” does not surprise me. What does surprise me is that higher-caste men take the caste difference as license to engage in these acts and expect impunity. It would appear that police indifference is a big problem.
Pakistan 2014-05-30 Pakistani woman stoned to death because she married the man she loved Husband of Pakistani ‘honor killing’ victim killed his first wife, police say
The first news account I found yesterday made the point that, under Pakistani law, a murderer will escape prosecution if the victim’s family “forgives” him or her. Thus the remaining family members will probably “forgive” the perpetrators of this stoning; but in many cases, where family members want such a murder to occur, they will contract with an outsider to do the deed, whom they then “forgive.”
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The Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women Facebook page invited women to share photos of themselves with uncovered heads, celebrating non-traditional dress in Iran’s hottest summer months. As of its creation last month, 450,000-plus Facebook users have liked the page, and thousands of women have submitted their photos to journalist and founder Masih Alinejad. Alinejad, a London-based journalist affiliated with Voice of America’s “On Ten” program, said she expected a backlash from those who oppose Iranian women’s freedom to dress as they choose — but she didn’t expect the story that aired on Iranian state television. The television report claimed three men raped Masih in a London subway station after she took drugs and undressed herself in public. The report also claims her 17-year-old son was a witness to the rape. Alinejad vehemently denies these allegations, saying they are “imagination.”
The balance of the article makes clear that Alinejad is engaged in activities I have to believe most Iranians would find highly provocative. Were I in authority at Voice of America, I would have serious reservations about her affiliation. That said, for Iranian state television to have aired this segment says a lot about what they see as being at stake here, and about who they believe can be persuaded of what.
(Reblogged 05/16/19.)
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