BANGLADESH: PASTOR’S 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER GANG-RAPED

BANGLADESH: PASTOR’S 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER GANG-RAPED

Thursday May 08, 2008

Area Muslims bent on driving Christian expansion from northern part of country.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, May 8 (Compass Direct News) – Muslim villagers in Mymensingh district eager to rid the area of the Christian work of a local pastor have gang-raped his 13-year-old daughter, the girl’s father said.

Pastor Motilal Das of United Bethany Church said that at around 3 a.m. on Friday (May 2) the villagers sexually assaulted his daughter, Elina Das, and left her unconscious in front of his house in an attempt to drive him and his Christian ministry out of Laksmipur village in Fulbaria sub-district, 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital.

Local residents have long been angry with him for his ministry and evangelism, he said, and he has received death threats.

“I did not pay attention to any of the threats or hindrances – I continued evangelical and pastoral activities with prayer,” Das told Compass. “They targeted me to evict from this area to stop the Christian activities. When nothing stopped me, then they wanted to leave me scarred for life, so that I would be upset and not be able to show my face to the society for shame, and therefore I would leave the village.”

Das, who became the first Christian in the area in 1986 and has been key in an increase to more than 250 Christians and the emergence of 12 churches, said the brutal attack was pre-planned and calculated to stop further expansion of Christianity in northern Bangladesh.

“Otherwise, why would they rape such a minor girl?” he said.

Elina Das is the only Christian student at her school, he said. “Always local boys used to tease her on her way to school,” he said, “and used to tell her filthy words against Christianity and western culture.”

Five villagers attacked her when she went from her thatched house to an outdoor latrine, said investigating officer Sanwar Hossen of Fulbaria police station.

“Five people lying in ambush in the pitch-dark near the toilet snatched her by gagging her mouth with her body scarf [and taking her] to a nearby tea stall, 400 meters from the house, where they gang-raped her,” Hossen said.

Besides the religious opposition of some residents, the officer said villagers had no personal or commercial conflicts with the Das family that could serve as a motive for the assault.

“There was no family vendetta or personal clash or enmity of Motilal with the local people for which his daughter would be raped,” Hossen said. “There was even no land dispute between him and the neighbors, because he does not have any land.”

Family members found Elina Das lying unconscious in front of the house that morning.

“When I woke up in the early morning, I saw my daughter lying unconscious in front of my house,” Das said. “ A few hours after the gang rape, they had left her in front of my house.”

Das said he suspected friends of the rapists and perhaps some of the rapists themselves observed them as they went to the police station to file charges, as they later threatened to harm them if they did not withdraw the case, he said.

“I have received death threats against my entire family if I do not withdraw the case,” Das told Compass. “We, all the family members, were afraid and took shelter in the same police station, where my wife, daughter, son and I stayed for two days and one night.”

Elina Das has identified two of the rapists and could identify the others if she saw them or their pictures, said Das. Police have arrested Shebul Miah, 22. The girl identified another suspect, 32-year-old Dulal Miah, alias Dulu, who remains at large.

Fearful of his life if he returned to his home, Das relocated to the home of a friend in Dhaka on Saturday (May 3).

Derelict Police

When Das initially went to police to file charges, he said, police were reluctant to register the case.

“Police told me that it was a false case,” Das said. “They also said that it was a fabricated drama. Police spoke with my daughter in filthy language and showed prurient interest in the details of the incident in front of us rather than filing the case quickly.”

Area Assembly of God (AG) pastor Sento Mir requested that the local denominational chairman encourage police to file charges. Following a phone call from him on Friday (May 2), police immediately agreed to investigate the incident and filed a rape case in the afternoon.

Area Muslims expressed their outrage at the brutal incident, and they are afraid that the assailants are backed by powerful people, Das said.

“We know Motilal Das as a good man in the locality, though he is a Christian,” said a Muslim neighbor, 42-year-old Ruhul Amin, who owns a tea stall in the nearby area. “He had not any personal clash or enmity with others in the village.”

Mir, the AG pastor, said Das will not be able to return to the area unless justice is served.

“If the arrested rapist is not judged properly and is released from jail without any judgment, Motilal Das cannot live in this area,” Mir said. “He along with his family members should leave the village, otherwise they will be in serious trouble.”

Likewise, he added, if the identified absconding rapist is not caught and convicted, the family will no longer be able to live in the area.

Bangladesh on ‘Watch List’

The day of the rape, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announced annual recommendations for countries to be designated “Countries of Particular Concern,” but it did not include Bangladesh.

Rather, the commission put Bangladesh on its “Watch List” due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government. Other countries on the Watch List are Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

According to USCIRF, Islamist radicalism and violence, the threat of serious violence and continued discrimination against members of religious minority communities remain significant concerns in Bangladesh.

Has Patricia Said’s Last Remaining Child Been Ripped From Her Arms?

Welcome MyDeathSpace.com readers. Thanks Beth-Deth!
*Note: “Christina” is not related to either side of the family. She is just a long time commenter and interested third party.
We think commenter “Tony” is “Islam Said”
For more whacked out commentary from “Islam” and a few from his mom Patricia “Tissy” go here.

If anyone is interested I posted a follow up today (Aug 4 2008) here: Has Islam Said Admitted “Yaser Said” Murdered His Sisters Sara and Amina?

– Scarlett a.k.a. velvethammer
—————————————-
Patricia Said’s two daughters Amina and Sarah were allegedly murdered by her Muslim husband their father. In what could only be described as a horrid evil act of honorcide. Now Phyllis Chesler reports Patricia’s last remaining child Islam has been taken from her. Is Islam Said being groomed by his paternal male relatives in New York? If so, one can only imagine the levels of indoctrination going on behind closed doors within the inner Said circle. Reportedly Patricia (Tissy) Said has been disowned by Yaser’s (her fugitive husband’s) family and they have turned on her. They all know more than they are admitting. IMHO

Still Dead in Dallas
By Phyllis Chesler
Chesler Chronicles at Pajamas Media | Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Old News: The sisters, Sarah and Amina Said, are still dead; their father-murderer, Yasir Abdul Said, has not yet been found; the mainstream media continues its uncanny silence.

What’s New: The reward for Said’s capture has been doubled and Tissy Said, his wife and the mother of the two murdered girls, has been ejected from the home of her extended Muslim family. Her beloved son, Islam, (from whom she would not willingly part), has been sent away from her. The Said family presumably want him to be “around a man” (his paternal uncle in New York City) and not around his mother. According to Tissy’s great-aunt, the brave, outspoken, Gail Gartrell:

“I feel Tissy is in grave danger from her own son. This is what I think his uncle is working through with Islam in New York. I fear his return. All the nieces and nephews in the Said family are accusing Tissy of this being her fault. They have turned on her. They blame her for allowing her daughters to see American boys. She has become the enemy. When I spoke to Tissy, she seemed more upset about this betrayal than about anything else. She told me she did not care if he (Islam? or Yaser?) killed her or not. Now, her spirit is broken since her Muslim family has walked away from her. Tissy told me that she wants to be buried next to her daughters.”

Tissy is an American citizen who is about 36-37 years old. She was married to Yaser at fifteen.

Gartrell described being recently preyed upon by a local Texas reporter who said she was a private investigator-in an effort to gain access to Tissy. The ruse did not work but it sowed discord among family members. Gartrell and other great-aunts have, reportedly, been threatened online and warned not to write about this case. (One great-aunt was writing a book-she may no longer be doing so).

Gartrell tells me that no one can save Tissy but Tissy herself. She has to “contact the police for help. A detective said the only way to protect her was if she would be willing to leave Islam and go into hiding! ”

Why is the media so disinterested? Their disinterest makes it harder for the police to find Yaser and encourages the next honor murderer to strike. Chances are, he will not be successfully pursued. Chances are, the world will not much care. What about the young boys who tried to save Sarah and Amina and who remain in hiding? The media silence endangers them more each day.

Related:

[Update 4: Reward is now $21,125.00!] Sarah and Amina Said’s Family Fight to Keep Their Deaths in the Public Eye

if you have the time browse through the commentary at the related link. Someone who claims to be Islam Said (Sarah and Amina Said’s) brother and Patricia (Tissie ) Said (their mother) have posted comments. There you will find a plethora of comments in defense of Yaser Said. The commentary includes the unfortunate distressful infighting amongst the maternal side of the family fueled by the “local Texas reporter” The “local Texas reporter” contacted me via e-mail in an attempt to prod yours truly to release info to her regarding the where a bouts of a specific visitor. I ignored the request. I believe (though I may be incorrect) that she has been trolling the thread causing trouble between the family members. Known as the Great Aunts of Sarah & Amina Said the victims in the yet to be solved murder case. The Aunts are doing all within their power to keep this story alive in hopes the alleged murderer Yaser Said is brought to justice.

God bless them all. I pray they find it in their hearts to get past the division caused by the ‘outsider’ and move forward.

Related link also contains info on the reward, photo and description of the wanted man Yaser Said.

Update:

Due to an idiotic mindless flaming troll not getting the hint. I closed comments on [Update 4: Reward is now $21,125.00!] Sarah and Amina Said’s Family Fight to Keep Their Deaths in the Public Eye. After which all previously posted comments disappeared including the comment box. I tried to reverse the situation by opening comments and the situation remains the same. Must be a glitch with the particular theme I am using. I would copy/paste them if into a comment if there was a comment box to do so in. So for now unless anything changes my hands are tied.

My apologies. – Scarlett

May 23 2008

Indoneshia: Islamic Sharia Law Enforced On Non-Muslims!

04/24/2008 13:27
INDONESIA
In Padang, Islamic law is now imposed on all
by Mathias Hariyadi
The controversial local laws inspired by sharia are now being applied to non-Muslim citizens. Female students who do not wear the headscarf are suspended, and few have the courage to rebel, because of fear of reprisals.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – In Padang, capital of the province of West Sumatra, the atmosphere is increasingly that of an Islamic state. Female students who do not wear the headscarf (hijab) are frequently suspended from school. The requirement to observe Islamic customs, sanctioned by the controversial regional law of 2005, is also imposed on non-Muslim girls, and has generated an atmosphere of strong pressure on religious minorities. The proliferation of local laws inspired by sharia (perda syariat) is a growing phenomenon in Indonesia, but the central government has chosen not to intervene for now, in spite of protests from religious minorities and human rights NGO’s.

The situation is not limited to Padang alone, where the most active promoter of Islamic laws is the mayor himself, Fauzi Bahar. In this province, which has an overwhelming Muslim majority, since 2002 more than 19 districts have ratified the so-called “perda syariat”, norms that are, however, supposed to be applied only to Muslim citizens: some of them criminalise behaviours prohibited by Islamic law, like adultery, prostitution, games of chance, and consumption of alcohol, while others restrict the freedom of women. Men as well are required to wear Islamic dress: the traditional white robe called the “koko”.

The application of the headscarf law in Padang is going beyond all imaginable limits, the inhabitants of the area say. An anonymous Catholic young woman admits: “Wearing the headscarf is not pleasant for me at all, and it bothers me while I am studying in school”. Other female students in various schools complain about the same thing. If they are interviewed by journalists, the young women ask not be named, because they are afraid of “being persecuted by fundamentalists”. “We have to adapt”, they say, “we have no choice, otherwise they will send us home”. Sudarto, one of the members of a local NGO that works for interreligious dialogue, reports that the headscarf law is applied strictly in at least four schools in Padang.

Other residents report with concern that since 2003 in Padang, mayor Fauzi has moved forward “enthusiastically” the project of “creating a more Islamic atmosphere” in the city. Among the other norms inspired by sharia, they recall the obligation for students in the elementary schools to learn the Qur’an by heart.

Exactly what happens when Islamic fundamentalists gain the majority and step into the political area, gaining political control.

Think about it people!

Iraq: Teenage Girl Brutally Murdered in an “Honor Killing”

Teenage Iraqi girl who fell in love with BRITISH soldier in Basra is murdered by her own father in honour killing

An Iraqi teenage girl was brutally murdered by her father in an “honour killing” after she fell in love with a British soldier in Basra.

Seventeen-year-old Rand Abdel-Qader told her best friend how she had fallen for Paul, a 22-year-old she met at a charity where she worked as a volunteer.

When her father learned she had been seen speaking to a foreigner he rushed home and butchered her, strangling and stabbing her while screaming that he was “cleansing his honour”.

He was arrested, but Iraqi police took no action. His wife has since left him and is in hiding.

The Ministry of Defence was last night trying to trace the soldier. Officials stressed he appeared to have done nothing wrong by befriending the girl.

While there is no suggestion the two had any physical relationship, the case raises questions about the training given to British forces in understanding cultural values in a city where 47 women died in “honour killings” last year.[…]

On March 16 – two months after Rand last saw Paul – her father Abdel-Qader Ali heard from a friend that his daughter had been seen speaking to the soldier at the charity project.

Recalling Rand’s murder, her weeping mother Leila Hussein said: “I screamed and called out for her two brothers so they could get their father away. But when he told them the reason, instead of saving her they helped him end her life.”

Abdel-Qader Ali stood on the girl’s throat until she suffocated and then stabbed her, all the time shouting that his honour was being cleansed.

He was arrested and released within two hours. Sergeant Ali Jabbar of Basra police said: “The father has very good contacts in the Basra government.”

Because her family considered her impure, Rand was given only a simple burial. Her uncles spat in her grave to show their disgust.

Two weeks later her mother demanded a divorce from Ali, and she now campaigns against honour killings.

She lives in fear of reprisals. “I was beaten and had my arm broken by him,” she said. “No man can accept being left by a woman in Iraq.”[…]

H/T JammieWearingFool Via Larwyn

Related:
[Update 3: Reward doubled to $20,000] Sarah and Amina Said’s Family Fight to Keep Their Deaths in the Public Eye
[Update 4] Texas: Dis-Honor killing of two sisters

Brigitte Gabriel on Honor Killings
When religious devotion outweighs the sanctity of life

Yemen: Eight year old girl wants divorce [Update divorce granted]

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser’s father Nojoud Muhammed Nasser, threatened to beat her if she did not agree to a forced marriage to (30 year old) Faez Ali Thamer. After two months of beatings and molestation at the hands of her so called ‘husband’ pedophile captor, she ran away and notified the courts.

What a brave strong little girl. Eight years old and standing up for her rights as a legitimate human being. As opposed to being treated as chattel. Hopefully she will become a role model in the future. I wish her all the best.

For the first time in Yemen
8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court

By: Hamed Thabet

SANA’A, April 9 – An eight-year-old girl decided last week to go the Sana’a West Court to prosecute her father, who forced her to marry a 30-year-old man.

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse.

According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute, as she is underage. However, court judge Muhammed Al-Qathi heard her complaint and subsequently ordered the arrests of both her father and husband.

“My father beat me and told me that I must marry this man, and if I did not, I would be raped and no law and no sheikh in this country would help me. I refused but I couldn’t stop the marriage,” Nojoud Nasser told the Yemen Times. “I asked and begged my mother, father, and aunt to help me to get divorced. They answered, ‘We can do nothing. If you want you can go to court by yourself.’ So this is what I have done,” she said.

Nasser said that she was exposed to sexual abuse and domestic violence by her husband. “He used to do bad things to me, and I had no idea as to what a marriage is. I would run from one room to another in order to escape, but in the end he would catch me and beat me and then continued to do what he wanted. I cried so much but no one listened to me. One day I ran away from him and came to the court and talked to them.”

“Whenever I wanted to play in the yard he beat me and asked me to go to the bedroom with him. This lasted for two months,” added Nasser. “He was too tough with me, and whenever I asked him for mercy, he beat me and slapped me and then used me. I just want to have a respectful life and divorce him.”
Nasser’s uncle, who does not want to reveal his name, is following the case now as her guardian. According to her uncle, after Muhammed Nasser, the girl’s father, lost his job as a garbage truck driver in Hajjah, he became a beggar, and soon after suffered from mental problems.

Thamer is in jail now. “Yes I was intimate with her, but I have done nothing wrong, as she is my wife and I have the right and no one can stop me,” he said. “But if the judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it’s ok.”

So far, no accusations have been made against her father, who was later released due to health problems, or Nasser’s husband, who will remain in jail for further investigation.

“So far there is no case and no charges, as Nojoud arrived by herself to court asking just for a divorce,“ said Shatha Ali Nasser, a lawyer in the Supreme Court who is following Nojoud Nasser’s story.

Shatha Ali Nasser confirmed that item number 15 in Yemeni civil law reads that “no girl or boy can get married before the age of 15.” However, this item was amended in 1998 so parents could make a contract of marriage between their children even if they are under the age of 15. But the husband cannot be intimate with her until she is ready or mature,” said Nasser.

“This law is highly dangerous because it brings an end to a young girl’s happiness and future fruitful life. Nojoud did not get married, but she was raped by a 30-year old man.”

Nasser confirmed that Nojoud Nasser’s case is not the first of its kind in Yemen, but it is the first time that a girl went to court by herself to ask for a divorce.

“We are not planning to return Nojoud to her family. Who knows? Maybe after a few years the same thing will happen to her again,” said Shatha Ali Nasser. “We are planning to put her in Dar Al-Rahama [an non-governmental organization that works with children], where she can have a better life and education. We do not want her family to pay her expenses, as they are poor.”

H/T Doctor Bulldog

Update:

8-year-old girl’s divorce is finalized while a law to prevent early marriage stalls

Excerpts

On April 15, with support from her lawyer Shatha Mohammed Nasser and Judge Abud Al-Khaleaq Ghowber, Nojoud paid her way out of marriage with YR 100,000 from an anonymous donor in the Emirates and happily became an 8-year-old divorcee.

“This was the first time a girl came to us for a divorce. We are going to do our best to push the parliament to change the marriage law,” said Judge Ghowber.

A divided society

The Yemeni personal status law stipulates that a girl cannot be wed until she is ready for intercourse, which in essence leaves the judgment up to the girl’s parents or guardians.

Judge Ghowber explained that early marriages are usually the fault of the parents. He insisted that there must be increased awareness among Yemeni families in order to avoid these serious mistakes.

A number of Yemeni religious scholars, including some in the Evaluation and Jurisprudence Committee in the Parliament, say that since there is no religious statement defining a minimum age for marriage, then early marriage is perfectly fine if not desirable.

Other scholars and religious authorities, like Judge Hamoud Al-Hitar, the Minister of Endowment, want to create legislation to prevent parents from marrying their girls off at a young age and to prevent religious sheikhs from endorsing such marriages.

“Those who approve of girls marrying at 13, 14 or even below 18, are barbaric men who abuse childhood and are irresponsible,” said religious scholar Yahiya Al-Najar, the former Minister of Endowment.

He explained that there should be a minimum age for boys and girls to marry in order to complete their physical and mental development and so that they can manage the so that they can manage the responsibilities of marriage and raising a family.

Al-Hitar said that the minimum age of marriage should be 16-years-old, no less. He added that previous religious bodies in charge of jurisprudence wrote such laws in 1976 and in 1988.

“Those who say that defining a minimum age for marriage is un-Islamic do not understand the religion at all,” said Al-Hitar. “Defining a minimum age of marriage is a need dedicated by life’s nature.”

The Yemeni parliament is equally divided between MPs who believe in safe motherhood (and thereby banning early marriage) and those who don’t. Deputy speaker of Parliament, MP Himyar Al-Ahmar, said that he supports the creation of legislation against early marriage, requested by the Women’s National Committee, but prefers to forward the issue to the Evaluation and Jurisprudence Committee, which is strongly against such legislation.

Rasheeda Al-Hamadani, chair of the Women’s National Committee, promised to continue to raise awareness about the issue by holding workshops soon with religious leaders, MPs and decision makers. Source.

The “Barbarians” Strike Again

The “Barbarians” have abducted and tortured another young Jewish man. This time the victim escaped alive. Thank God. Sadly not the case for Ilan Halimi who the “Barbarians” kidnapped and tortured to death two years ago.

Francia: se repite el caso de Ilan Halimi @ Spanish Pundit (II)

French officials voiced outrage Wednesday after it emerged a gang had locked up and attacked a Jewish youth in the same Paris suburb where Ilan Halimi (pictured) was tortured to death two years ago.

Six youths from the southern Paris suburb of Bagneux, aged 17 to 25, are accused of locking up 19-year-old Mathieu Roumi in a storage room on February 22, beating and sexually tormenting him.

Aged 17 to 25, the six youths — who knew the victim — had falsely accused him of stealing from them in order to lure him into a trap, judicial sources said.

Once he arrived in the apartment of one of his aggressors, the young man was handcuffed on a radiator and beaten.

With a pen, the aggressors scrawled “dirty Jew” and “dirty faggot” on the face of their victim. Later they forced him to swallow down cigarette butts and to suck a condom on a stick. The man’s ordeal reportedly lasted nine and a half hours.

He was later hospitalised “in a state of shock”. He lodged a complaint.

They identified themselves as members of the “Barbarians,” the same gang that kidnapped Halimi from his store, demanded ransom for his release, and when that was not forthcoming, tortured the 23-year-old over the course of three weeks. Moments after he was dumped on the street, Halimi died. Roumi told police investigators that throughout his ordeal, his assailants employed measures with sexual and sadistic connotations.

The “Barbarians”. How apropo. Monsters. Vicious sadistic barbaric monsters.

The face of a monster. A monster who acts like an animal. How can we look at him as if he is human? May he and his minions roast in hell!

_{Youssouf Fofana. ‘Brain of the Barbarians’ Photo: AP}

Gang to face trial for brutal murder of French Jew

Twenty-one suspected members of a self-styled “gang of barbarians” will be tried in France for the kidnapping and murder of a young Jewish man in 2006, a legal source said on Tuesday.Another seven suspects face trial for failing to report a crime, while one will be tried in a court for children because she was under 16 at the time of the attack on Ilan Halimi.

The kidnappers used a pretty young woman to entice Halimi into a trap, dragging the telephone salesman into a cellar where they proceeded to beat and torment him.

Police say the gang attempted a string of kidnappings of Jewish youths before capturing Halimi. They then sent a series of ransom demands to his parents, asking for as much as 450,000 euros, but lengthy negotiations failed to secure his release.

The self-proclaimed “brain of the Barbarians,” Youssouf Fofana, was eventually arrested in the Ivory Coast.

The ‘Barbarians’ are at the gate!

For years the Parisian establishment has quaked at the prospect of angry hordes invading their affluent heartland and last week that nightmare came true as gangs of hooded youths robbed and bludgeoned white students attending anti-government demonstrations.

Disquiet about the spread of barbarism across the boulevard périphérique has been fuelled by the chilling story of Yalda.

More than 30 neighbours in the building knew what was happening but said nothing about the crime, part of a worrying wave of attacks against Jews all over the country.

With that horrid news in mind. I invite you to view this video.

The Path To The Final Solution

The path to Hitler’s “final solution to the Jewish question” has branched and deviated since his death, but it’s fundamental principle remains the same.

Antisemitism did not end with WWII, and it’s seen a fresh resurgence in recent years. While some might have you believe that talk of antisemitism is merely a ploy on the part of Jews to divert attention or curry some advantage, the threat it poses cannot be ignored.

In an age of rogue nations armed with WMD, a worldwide Islamic jihad and the resurgence of various hard-left and hard-right militias, how long before someone will successfully enact Hitler’s ‘final solution’?

This video is dedicated to the men and women of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Also see this post not entirely related. But pertinent just the same.

Qassam Rocket Hit @ Dj Konservo

Even though this clip is not in English, the footage alone is enough to get the message. The video is from Israeli TV, and shows a Qassam rocket hitting a house in Sderot.

The next time you hear of a ‘humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza, remember this, and put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Palestinians who commit these acts of terrorism.

Sierra Leone: Women Protest In Favor of Female Genital Mutilation

Sierra Leone women demonstrate for ‘traditional’ mutilation

FREETOWN (AFP) – Some 800 women in the Sierra Leone town of Kailahun paraded Tuesday in favour of genital mutilation and told donors opposed to the practice to keep their money, demonstrators and witnesses said.

Women wearing colourful beads and adorned with seashells chanted songs in the local dialect that warned authorities and foreign organisations against “any attempt to take away our traditional ritual.”

A group called the National Emancipation for Progress has led workshops and seminars to have FGM banned in Sierra Leone, but faces opposition from people who hold the practice is harmless, promotes marital fidelity and is in tune with religious values.

Source.

H/T Dj Konservo

Related:

Britain: Female Genital Mutilation

Fighting Female Circumcision & Debating It’s Religious Ruling

Niger: Where Childhood Ends On the Marriage Bed

Niamey

Fifteen-year-old Hadjo Garbo’s child-like features belie a history more tragic and life-altering than many adults four times her age will have experienced.Two years ago this petite girl, who likes to fiddle with her elaborately braided hair and once dreamed of being a housewife, was married to one of the older men in her village in the Dosso region of southwest Niger. She was just 13 years old.

The marriage was consummated, and by 14 she was pregnant with her first child. But before her 15th birthday she had lost the baby – and her husband.

Hadjo’s anatomy proved unready for the task of delivering a baby and after an excruciating three-day labour, the unborn foetus was cut out of her, stillborn.

The horrific labour left the girl with what gynaecologists call an obstetric fistula, a tearing of the tissue that develops when blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and bladder and/or rectum is cut off during prolonged obstructed labour. The condition mostly affects child victims of underage marriage.

Hadjo was ostracised by her husband and his family, and forced to secrete herself away from the prying eyes and laughter of her former school friends.

Not pedophilia

In many Western and Muslim countries what happened to Hadjo would be called paedophilia and the male attacker would be arrested and imprisoned.

In Niger that word is only applied to men who have sex with girls outside of marriage, said Idrissa Djibrilla, head of the Niger branch of Defence for Children International (DCI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

“Here we only talk about paedophilia when sex happens outside marriage,” Djibrilla said.

“If we look at it from the biological, physiological point of view, it’s clear that at nine, 10, 11 or 12 years old a girl simply is not ready for sex and child bearing. That’s the reality, but it is hard to make our communities understand.”

The effects can be long-lasting and extend beyond physical health, human rights workers and psychologists who have studied child brides say.

Forced sexual intercourse, denial of freedom and domestic violence are “frequently” found in child marriages, the long-term effects of which are poorly understood, according to a confidential NGO study shown to IRIN.

Eventually, the girls are likely to be abandoned when their polygamous husbands take another young bride. In Niger, women have little or no rights after a divorce.

Widespread problem

Hadjo’s case is not an isolated one in Niger. The problem affects all the regions of the country, Djibrilla said. At least a third of girls are married by the age of 15, and 75 percent before the age of 18, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

In reality, activists say 13 is a common age for marriage, and some girls are married off as young as nine or 10. They will be forced to have sex even before their first period.

Negotiations over the Family Code (Code de la Personne et de la Famille) – a piece of domestic legislation which would have defined the legal relationship between husbands and wives and children and parents, and included a legal minimum age for marriage and sexual intercourse – collapsed in 2006.

According to Alice Kang, a University of Wisconsin researcher who studied the process, the Family Code was “vilified and abandoned” after mainstream Islamist associations lobbied against it.

“Women’s NGOs [in Niger] sometimes compete with each other and therefore do not always get along together… the influence of religious leaders on politics is, more often than not, indirect… and the Family Code was an extremely contentious issue to the point of being a taboo subject in certain circles,” she wrote in a report after conducting research in Niger in 2006.

Reticence

Diadié Boureima, deputy representative of UNFPA in Niger, said the government is “a bit reticent” about tackling early marriage “because of the religious reaction” and said if things are going to change “the ‘marabout’ (religious leaders) will have to be involved.”

“If there was a law against paedophilia it would be applied here,” said Boureima. “But, instead, Islam has legalised it by saying the Prophet had a nine-year-old wife, even though that marriage was not consummated.”

(Page 2 of 2)

UNFPA wants the age of marriage to be changed to 18. It says that would give girls longer in school, give their bodies time to develop, and allow them to reach adulthood. It would also help curb Niger’s runaway demographic growth by reducing a girl’s reproductive lifespan.

Keeping girls in school has wider benefits, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In a 2001 study, the agency found that women with seven or more years of education marry an average of four years later and have 2.2 fewer children than those with no education.

In Niger, only 15 percent of adult women are literate, and less than one-third of girls enrol in primary school.

Compromise with religious leaders needed

There are also economic reasons behind early marriages, Boureima noted. “There is the chance that the girl will go to a better home or just that the marriage will be celebrated with a good party and food,” he said.

University of Wisconsin’s Kang noted in her report that it is not just men who will have to be convinced of the need for change.

“I was… surprised to learn that there were some women who opposed the Family Code and publicly demonstrated against it, and the legal experts with whom I spoke emphasised that I study this,” she noted.

DCI’s Djibrilla – like all the officials IRIN spoke with – insisted nonetheless that reaching a compromise with religious officials is the most important part of ending the practice. “We have advocated that religious officials can perform marriage ceremonies between adults and children, but that people should not consummate the marriage until the child reaches puberty,” he said.

“The real problem is that at the national level the government is afraid to take certain measures,” he added.

Hadjo’s story

Hadjo’s story does at least have a somewhat happy ending. She underwent two operations for the fistula and spent 12 months at a recovery centre in Niamey, and is ready to go home again.

Hadjo’s husband abandoned her. Her father, a peasant farmer, insists that even if he were still around she would not be going back to him.

“No more husband,” the father insisted. “I was ignorant before but now I know what we did was very wrong.”

However, she will not be able to have any more children, a grave condition in a country where women’s fertility is prized. Unlikely to be able to remarry and without having completed her education, her future might yet turn out to be just as difficult as her past.

This is the second story in a three-part series on maternal mortality and child marriage in Niger

AllAfrica

 

[Update 4] Texas: Dis-Honor killing of two sisters

Comments closed. Cross posted at my current blog here. Those who wish to leave a comment can do so there.

Go to my follow up post to read comments by someone who claims to be Islam Said (Sarah and Amina Said’s) brother and Patricia (Tissie ) Said (their mother). I also have posted updated reward information. The reward has now doubled, from $10,000 to $20,000 thanks to a generous donation from THE NORTH TEXAS CRIME COMMISSION.

————————————
I am not going to knee jerk this and call it an honor killing. Although it is quite possible. I will play it by ear. As so far the info is minimal at best. Given the latest reports coming out on this case. I now wonder believe if it was an ‘honor killing’…

Please scroll down for updates.

Police seek father in teen daughters’ slayings

Yaser Abdel Said, the 50-year-old Lewisville father, remained at large, police said. He is accused of fatally shooting his 17- and 18-year-old daughters, police said.

Investigators did not describe the domestic issues or say who was involved.

Police said they suspect that Said may have shot his daughters — Sarah Yaser Said, 17, and Amina Yaser Said, 18 — and left them for dead in his taxi.

A 911 cellphone call, believed to have been made by one of the teens about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, alerted police to the shootings, but the caller couldn’t say where she was. Officers were dispatched to O’Connor Road and Riverside Drive but couldn’t find anyone.

An hour later, a witness reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the 200 block of Las Colinas Boulevard in the parking lot of the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas.

“Someone walked by the vehicle and saw them inside,” said David Tull, an Irving police spokesman.

Officers found the two sisters dead in that vehicle, owned by Jet Taxi. Company

A MySpace profile picture registered to a Sarah Said of Lewisville depicts two young girls goofing around in funny hats.

Sarah Female
17 years old
LEWISVILLE, Texas
United States
Last Login: 1/1/2008

Police described Yaser Said as about 6-2, 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Yaser Abdel Said

He was last seen wearing a black turtleneck shirt and sweater, a brown coat and tan pants. (50 years old)
He may be armed, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Irving police at 972-721-2518.

Update:

So beautiful. So young. So bright. So full of life…

Online video here, and a photo of the girls:

Dallas Morning News

Police provided no clues about the motive for the killings. “There are several things we’re looking into,” said Irving police Officer David Tull, noting that the suspect faces capital murder charges.

Officer Tull said there have been some “domestic issues” with the family, but he did not elaborate.

Police did say they are looking into the possibility that the father was upset with his daughters’ dating activities.

“It’s something well worth looking into,” Officer Tull told WFAA-TV (Channel 8).

Officer Tull said at a news conference that the mother of the victims is cooperating with police and that she and her 19-year-old son are in a safe place. He believes the couple is married, but he didn’t know whether they had been living together.

Mr. Said, who is from Egypt, has lived in the Dallas area since at least the mid-1980s, records indicate.

“The victims’ mother provided information that pointed to the victims’ father as the suspect,” the police report stated.

Friends describe Amina and Sarah as quiet but well-liked students at Lewisville High School. They played tennis and soccer and were in many Advanced Placement classes.

Sisters, Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, were each shot to death. Friends of the girls say their father was Egyptian and critical of popular American lifestyles. “I’m definitely 100% sure that it was her dad that killed her,” said Kathleen Wong, a friend of the dead teenagers.

Wong says the girl’s father was verbally abusive and that Sarah, especially, lived in fear. “She’s always told me that she was always so scared of her dad,” says Wong. “Even at school if a teacher joked around like, ‘I’m gonna tell your parents about this’, she would like totally flip out and start crying like, ‘please don’t tell’.” (Emphasis added)

Liz Marines, secretary of the Lewisville High School Student Council, had classes with both of the sisters and also remembers their scholastic abilities.

“Amina was very nice with everybody. She helped me in [Advanced Placement English] class,” she said. Sarah was a sophomore when she took an Algebra II class with Liz, who was a junior at the time.

She said the sisters, who wore typical American clothes, didn’t talk much about their family. “I didn’t know they were Muslims until she told me they were Egyptian and Muslim,” Liz said.

Update 2:

The girls were well-liked and made good grades at Lewisville High School. Their father was strict and rarely let them spend time with friends. When Sarah, 17, recently met a boy at her job, she told a friend that her father would kill her if he found out.
Friends are now rethinking the way they understood that turn of phrase.

Chilling words after the fact.

Texas dad suspected of honor killings Fox News video link – Honor Killings?

Family members tell our Dallas Fox affiliate father was upset about the girls western clothing and behavior. Saying it brought him shame. If that was indeed the motive then these two teenage girls are just the latest victims of the so called radical islam honor killings.

Americas Most Wanted has posted the case No Islam connection mentioned.

Photos from rest in peace, sarah & amina – facebook

Amina Said MySpace profile

Update 3:

LEWISVILLE – The brother of two teenage girls who police believe were killed by their father this week pleaded Thursday night for his dad to surrender to authorities.

I never thought this would happen,” said Islam Said, 19. “Tell him to turn himself in.”

Mr. Said also disputed widespread rumors and media reports that his Muslim father’s religion may have been part of the motive.

“It’s not religion,” he said, declining to speak in detail about a possible motive. “It’s something else. Religion has nothing to do with it.”

Zohair Zaidi, a close friend of Sarah’s, said she told him her father had recently threatened to harm Amina when he discovered she had a boyfriend.

“She said that one day when she came home – the day he found out about Amina’s boyfriend – he told Sarah, ‘I’m going to put a bullet through Amina’s head, and you better get used to her because she’s not going to be around much longer.’ “

From Amina’s MySpace page. H/T Hot Air

Lovely Mother Said (Patricia) was a Muslim child bride.

Patricia and Yaser Said were wed in February 1987 when she was 15 and he was 30, Tarrant County marriage records show. The two have had addresses in Euless, Bedford, Grand Prairie and Arlington, public records indicate.

Ok maybe not really young, but…he was 30!!!
and she was 15!!!
H/T JamieWearingFool Via Larwyn

Update 4:

Connie Moggio, the girls’ aunt, said there had been turbulence in the Said household for a while.

She said her sister married Yaser Abdel Said at the age of 15 and was pregnant shortly after, adding she had tried to leave her husband many times over the years, most recently, on Christmas Eve.

“A few days before she called me at my job and told me she was leaving because he had threatened the girls because they were dating,” Moggio told MyFOXDFW.com.

“Dad, just turn yourself in and if you do, I’ll get you a lawyer to help you out.” The girls’ brother, Islam Said, made that emotion plea.

“Maybe they won’t put you on death row, but you can sit in prison and think about what you’ve done.

Officials understand Yasser Abdel Said could be anywhere in the world, but police are concentrating on local contacts.

Schepps Dairy is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.

EXCLUSIVE – Aunt of Dallas Muslim Honor Killings to Schlussel: THIS WAS AN HONOR KILLING, Blames ISLAM

Debbie
I am an aunt to these two beautiful girls! I am from the mother’s side. YES! This was an honor killing! You nailed it sweety! My sister tried to get those baby’s away years ago and you know…she was never allowed to see them again…well, they were brought to the hospital…only after she was comatose! My sister was punished for trying to tell the world what was going on! She died four years ago! But, these girls had no honor in life and no honor in death! Amina and Sarah both, told their mom if their dad killed them…they DID NOT WANT A MUSLIM funeral! Well, they had one anyway! Yeah, there was a “baptist” funeral before the muslim funeral….PLEASE, get out the word it was a farce! They were placed in a mUslim funeral home. The son, Islam…he walked out and went to get the Iman to stop it! My nephew got up and took him outside! The funeral proceeded but, many spoke and all but one…was a MUSLIM!

The Muslims who ran the funeral home…they had us all in a room a little larger than my walk-in-closet! The friends from school…..they could not fit in that room so, they lined them up, against the wall, and in front of the freezers for dead bodies! When it came time for the first song…we sat, sat, and finally, my husband told them he had a system just like theirs and would run it himself…OH…they miraculously got the music going! Then, they set it up so that they same song would play, instead of the other two. My hubby caught this and demanded it be paused, so that the other songs would play!!

As soon as the funeral was over, there was trouble, outside with the brother of Amina and Sarah, ISLAM, is his name! He got into it with one of his aunts and was telling her…get the f —, out of here and then started running through the parking lot yelling….this f-ing funeral is over ….LEAVE!

Yes, this was an honor killing and I believe with all my heart that ISLAM, the brother, is just as guilty as his dad. Why? Because Amina would not go back home! He went over, where she was staying and was crying. “Please come home Amina and talk things out with Dad! He will not hurt you, I give you my word! I promise, you will be safe!” She trusted those words and went with him. Not an hour later….Sarah made that infamous call! She died immediately after she called as he took his time killing her. In fact, all we have been told is, “she had multiple gunshots”…..I still have no clue how many bullets he fired at her. I do know she fought for her life as there is a bruise on her forehead which shows that she did not go out without a fight…one this precious and beautiful girl lost…to a man she knew as daddy!

Please feel free to contact me as I want their story told. They could not tell it but, Aunt Gail is making sure they are honored….even if it is by mere strangers!

Sincerely,

Gail

Now for a couple of comments left on this article by folks who state they either knew or are related to Sara and Amina Said

maestro – I had the pleasure of educating one of the sisters in my class, along with her classmates. She had told me one time that her father expected her and her sister to marry a Muslim who resided in Egypt. She had the idea that right after graduation, he would take her there immediately to find a husband. Being only a 10th grader at the time, I didn’t really think she was too serious because she always had such a happy demeanor along with a warm smile. Both her and her sister were two very intelligent girls who really could have had a bright future. I hope they nail the bastard.

CAN’T SAY!! – i know how the story went i am one of there family members but yall post stuff up like they wanted you to be sad they wanted yall to be happy!!! i read on a thing that they posted up the day before they died “you live your life good because you never know when you die” another way to say it is they know that they were going to die but they didnt know it was that close i am very sorry to say this but they wanted you yall to be happy and right know i think yall need yo say a pray for there dad to be caught i know i will!!

THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE AND YALL HAVE TO KNOW THAT!!!

Welcome AR15 readers! Thanks NimmerMehr!

Welcome Atlas Shrugs Readers!

Related:
When religious devotion outweighs the sanctity of life

Original post date Jan 3 2008 a.m.

Britain: Third Party Forced Marriage Protection Order In The Works

Teachers could get power to stop forced marriages

January 4, 2008

Teachers, social workers, women’s rights groups and local councils may be given the power to stop forced marriages, under government plans to protect vulnerable teenagers.

Ministers are preparing a list of third parties who would have the authority to go to court to try to prevent families from forcing children into marriage in Britain and abroad.

Eighty-five per cent of victims of forced marriages are women, most are aged 15-24, 90 per cent are Muslim and 90 per cent are of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage.

The plan is aimed at helping those who are too young, too unwilling or too frightened to go to court to stop their families from marrying them out.

A third party seeking to prevent a forced marriage would be able to ask the courts for a forced marriage protection order, which would result in a jail sentence if broken.

“An application made on a victim’s behalf allows the victim to be one step removed from the court proceedings,” according to a paper drawn up by the Ministry of Justice.

“Victims may feel unwilling or unable to take action against the perpetrators who may be members of their family.”

Those served with a forced marriage protection order would be required to stop the marriage and keep away from the victim, and may also be required to hand over their passports to the courts.

Police would have the power of arrest where there was a risk of significant harm to the victim. Anyone breaching the order would be in contempt of court and liable to a heavy fine or up to two years in jail.

The third party would not need to get the victim’s permission before going to court to ask for the order.

Bridget Prentice, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, said: “This is really vital work. When you look at the situations some of the people affected by forced marriages will be in, it is clear that not all of them will be able to apply personally to the courts for protection. And some victims might not want to take court actions against members of their own family.”

Among the organisations the Ministry of Justice has indicated could act as third parties are Victim Support, Asian women’s groups, women’s refuges, groups that help victims of domestic violence and the local authorities.

The ministry’s consultation paper said: “There are many people and organisations that support victims of forced marriage. There are voluntary and charitable organisations dedicated to offering support and assistance to forced marriage victims. They often work closely with local communities and offer frontline practical support.”

Pragna Patel, of Southall Black Sisters, a London-based organisation that helps black and Asian victims of domestic violence, said that the change to the law was absolutely necessary. “We are looking to help people who might not have the confidence to seek help. We are talking about young girls, sometimes held against their will and some in isolated places,” Ms Patel said.

“They may be being monitored by their family and members of the extended family which makes it very difficult for them to go and get help for themselves”. The consultation paper contains an analysis of the likely effects of the legal change. This suggests that between 5 and 50 cases a year would end up in court.

The Government’s Forced Marriage Unit receives about 5,000 calls for advice annually. Of these about 300 become cases, with a quarter resulting in overseas rescue of victims and their return to Britain.

Latest figures published by the Home Office show that 15 per cent of the 300 cases involved men and 30 per cent minors.

A total of 250 girls aged between 13-16 were taken off the school rolls in Bradford last year because they failed to return from a trip abroad. (one town!)

In conjunction with the introduction of the forced marriage protection order, the Home Office plans to raise from 18 years to 21 the minimum age at which someone can sponsor a spouse or be brought to the UK as a spouse.

The Home Office has also outlined a plan that would allow young men and women who were sponsoring a foreigner’s trip to Britain for the purpose of marriage to make a confidential statement about the motives for the visa application. This would give the sponsor the chance to express reservations and allow immigration authorities to turn down a visa without other members of the family being alienated.

The forced marriage protection order will come into force later this year and will give the civil courts much stronger powers than they have already. At the moment courts can ban a person from molesting someone but the forced marriage protection order will go much farther in the restrictions it will be able to make.

An order can be made against a wide range of people including a person who is in England and Wales; who is outside England and Wales; who is or may become involved in other respects as well as the person who is trying to or has forced another into marriage and other persons who are, or may become, involved in other respects of any kind such as relatives.

Unlike other orders in the 1996 Family Law Act, an application for a forced marriage protection order can be made by an “interested party” such as a teacher.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3129016.ece

Chew on that MCB!

“FORCED MARRIAGE – A Wrong not a Right”
Thu 08 Dec 2005
MCB Response to Consultation Paper[doc.]
The MCB welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Home Office consultation document – “Forced Marriage” – Wrong not Right”.
The response is based upon wide consultation amongst out affiliates and reflects a strong consensus of views amongst the Muslim community in Britain.

The practice of, “arranged marriages” has sometimes been confused by the media and ill intentioned persons as “forced marriages”. An arranged marriage is one where the marriage is facilitated and certainly not forced upon parties.

The consultation paper attempts to address the problem of forced marriages in the United Kingdom and as we understand it does not raise any concerns on the practice of arranged marriages followed in some cultures

MCB is of the firm opinion that, as appears acknowledged in the paper, there are already laws in place to prosecute the perpetrators of this offence. In the circumstances the MCB sees no justification for a new law in this regard.

In the view of the MCB the solution to this evil act is to raise awareness in the communities of the existing laws that apply to situations of forced marriages rather than create a new law.

A new law on forced marriages will have the real risk of being seen to target ethnic minorities.

Any law in this regard which is promoted as a tool to help the victims and deter the offenders is most unlikely to be effective because of the nature of the problem and the cultural as well as familial sensitivities involved. A coercive tool in a family and cultural setting is rarely, if ever successful

The family bond and loyalty will deter many from using the law. The tool when used will in effect tear the family unit and create division and distress.

Shameless…

Related: Forced Marriages: Sexual Slavery Rape Child Molestation