COLUMN: Uncovered Meat, and proud of it
Well, well, well. I do love Australia a little more after reading a story about a bikini march they've organized in protest of some rather offensive, inflammatory remarks.
''The Great Australian Bikini March'' took place December 9th in Melbourne.
Grandmother Christine Hawkins organized the march, asking Aussie women around the nation to wear bikinis or beach wear and rally outside of large mosques this past weekend in protest of remarks made by leading Muslim cleric Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly likening rape victims to uncovered meat.
''If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park, or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, then whose fault will it be, the cat’s, or the uncovered meat’s? The uncovered meat is the disaster. If the meat was covered the cats wouldn’t roam around it. If the meat is inside the fridge, they won’t get it.''
-Sheik Hilaly, Post-Ramadan Sermon, Sydney Australia 2006
Well gee, I guess if I wear a burqa, that means I'll be protected from rape forever. I mean, really, it's not the rapists' fault, they couldn't help themselves. I mean, us women who are showing ourselves off like uncovered meat really want it, deep down.
Tom Zreik, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, is requesting police guard the mosques to avoid problems and to arrest troublemakers, on both sides of the march. ''We are treating this as something that is funny and hilarious but also taking precautions. Some people may see this as provocation and the last thing that we want is to see anyone being attacked.''
Mr. Zreik also said, ''All this is doing is degrading women and giving men a great excuse to have a perv. There are better ways women can express their concerns. We're really asking people not to bother coming to the mosque.''
I'm sorry, but where is the degradation here, for a woman to wear a swimsuit? A woman is beautiful and does not need to be covered up in shame -- there is nothing wrong with wearing a swimsuit to the beach or to a pool! There is nothing wrong with showing more than your eyes, ankles, and hands. What is so degrading about my stomach? Or my legs? We've all got the same things on us, all women everywhere, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. And there is never -- ever -- an excuse to rape someone. I don't care how skimpy your bathing suit may be, or how short your skirt -- it is not an invitation to rape.
Says Christine Hawkins, ''We're encouraging people to wear beachwear. The reason for that... we've called it the 'The Great Australian Bikini March' because it's got an interesting, iconic image for Australians that most Australians, you know, even from their childhoods remember summer holidays with great fondness, of going down to the beach, sitting in the sun, warm, swimming, lots of nice memories. And that we're actually identified all the world for our beach culture, so it's a statement about maintaining our way of life through using the icon of beach culture. And there's a bikini because of the comments made about 'uncovered meat'. So, basically what we're saying is look, we're not changing, we're Aussies. We're not going to be covering up to avoid rape.''
Why I'm surprised by this comment, I don't know. This comes from the same culture which believes in ''honor killings'' for rape victims, subjugation of women, stoning of adulterers, and in some countries, FGM, or female genital mutilation.
I'm surprised that Gloria Steinem hasn't had a heart attack over this yet. But there's nothing for her to gain politically by speaking out against this, like the ally she gained in the Clintons by selling out her feminist principles. So I guess it's ok for her to stay silent on this one.
I don't see any reason for me to be ashamed of my body. I don't think it's a good idea to run around dressed like Paris Hilton, or that dressing conservatively is a bad thing, but wearing a swimsuit or a bikini at the beach is not an excuse to rape someone, nor is it vulgar or defamation to women. Period. And all Mr. Hilaly did was make the religion of Islam seem that much worse. But then again, women invite all of that upon themselves.
Even sadder is that Mr. Hilaly's views are not uncommon.
This can be evidenced by the response of Islamists in Pakistan, who were infuriated when Pakistani officials moved rape out of religious law, known as Hudood Ordinaces, and is now within penal code -- making it a criminal offense. Before, a woman needed four male witnesses under Shariah law to absolve herself from the ''crime'' of rape -- once again, because rape is always the woman's fault. You wear lipstick or expose your collarbone, and you are just asking for it!
However, some 10,000 supporters of the Islamist parties, most of them bearded, chanted slogans of ''Down with Musharraf'' [the Pakistani president] and ''Down with the Women Protection Law'' at the rally and demanded the government scrap the law. Under the Hudood Ordinances, which were introduced by a military ruler in 1979, a rape victim had to produce four male witnesses to prove the crime, or face the possibility of prosecution for adultery.
''We reject this law because it is unIslamic and also against women rights,'' Fazal-ur-Rehman, a senior leader of the main Islamist alliance and opposition leader in the National Assembly, parliament's lower house, told the rally. Rehman said the law is a conspiracy to make Pakistan a ''free sex zone''.
''It is a fight between the liberals and the religious believers... and we will continue our protest against this un-Islamic law,'' he said.
Taking the blame of rape off a victim's shoulders is against womens' rights?! Am I missing something here?! Obviously, the views of Mr. Hilaly are not rare. And no matter how many Islamists protest, it still isn't right. Women are not to blame for rape, ever. It's as simple as that.
Although we can't participate in ''The Great Australian Bikini March'', you can wear it proud thanks to a new ''Uncovered Meat'' clothing line. As columnist Tammy Bruce says, ''Show the Sheik how things really are and sheik your booty in this quality infidel clothing!''
As always, I welcome your thoughts.
''The Great Australian Bikini March'' took place December 9th in Melbourne.
Grandmother Christine Hawkins organized the march, asking Aussie women around the nation to wear bikinis or beach wear and rally outside of large mosques this past weekend in protest of remarks made by leading Muslim cleric Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly likening rape victims to uncovered meat.
''If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park, or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, then whose fault will it be, the cat’s, or the uncovered meat’s? The uncovered meat is the disaster. If the meat was covered the cats wouldn’t roam around it. If the meat is inside the fridge, they won’t get it.''
-Sheik Hilaly, Post-Ramadan Sermon, Sydney Australia 2006
Well gee, I guess if I wear a burqa, that means I'll be protected from rape forever. I mean, really, it's not the rapists' fault, they couldn't help themselves. I mean, us women who are showing ourselves off like uncovered meat really want it, deep down.
Tom Zreik, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, is requesting police guard the mosques to avoid problems and to arrest troublemakers, on both sides of the march. ''We are treating this as something that is funny and hilarious but also taking precautions. Some people may see this as provocation and the last thing that we want is to see anyone being attacked.''
Mr. Zreik also said, ''All this is doing is degrading women and giving men a great excuse to have a perv. There are better ways women can express their concerns. We're really asking people not to bother coming to the mosque.''
I'm sorry, but where is the degradation here, for a woman to wear a swimsuit? A woman is beautiful and does not need to be covered up in shame -- there is nothing wrong with wearing a swimsuit to the beach or to a pool! There is nothing wrong with showing more than your eyes, ankles, and hands. What is so degrading about my stomach? Or my legs? We've all got the same things on us, all women everywhere, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. And there is never -- ever -- an excuse to rape someone. I don't care how skimpy your bathing suit may be, or how short your skirt -- it is not an invitation to rape.
Says Christine Hawkins, ''We're encouraging people to wear beachwear. The reason for that... we've called it the 'The Great Australian Bikini March' because it's got an interesting, iconic image for Australians that most Australians, you know, even from their childhoods remember summer holidays with great fondness, of going down to the beach, sitting in the sun, warm, swimming, lots of nice memories. And that we're actually identified all the world for our beach culture, so it's a statement about maintaining our way of life through using the icon of beach culture. And there's a bikini because of the comments made about 'uncovered meat'. So, basically what we're saying is look, we're not changing, we're Aussies. We're not going to be covering up to avoid rape.''
Why I'm surprised by this comment, I don't know. This comes from the same culture which believes in ''honor killings'' for rape victims, subjugation of women, stoning of adulterers, and in some countries, FGM, or female genital mutilation.
I'm surprised that Gloria Steinem hasn't had a heart attack over this yet. But there's nothing for her to gain politically by speaking out against this, like the ally she gained in the Clintons by selling out her feminist principles. So I guess it's ok for her to stay silent on this one.
I don't see any reason for me to be ashamed of my body. I don't think it's a good idea to run around dressed like Paris Hilton, or that dressing conservatively is a bad thing, but wearing a swimsuit or a bikini at the beach is not an excuse to rape someone, nor is it vulgar or defamation to women. Period. And all Mr. Hilaly did was make the religion of Islam seem that much worse. But then again, women invite all of that upon themselves.
Even sadder is that Mr. Hilaly's views are not uncommon.
This can be evidenced by the response of Islamists in Pakistan, who were infuriated when Pakistani officials moved rape out of religious law, known as Hudood Ordinaces, and is now within penal code -- making it a criminal offense. Before, a woman needed four male witnesses under Shariah law to absolve herself from the ''crime'' of rape -- once again, because rape is always the woman's fault. You wear lipstick or expose your collarbone, and you are just asking for it!
However, some 10,000 supporters of the Islamist parties, most of them bearded, chanted slogans of ''Down with Musharraf'' [the Pakistani president] and ''Down with the Women Protection Law'' at the rally and demanded the government scrap the law. Under the Hudood Ordinances, which were introduced by a military ruler in 1979, a rape victim had to produce four male witnesses to prove the crime, or face the possibility of prosecution for adultery.
''We reject this law because it is unIslamic and also against women rights,'' Fazal-ur-Rehman, a senior leader of the main Islamist alliance and opposition leader in the National Assembly, parliament's lower house, told the rally. Rehman said the law is a conspiracy to make Pakistan a ''free sex zone''.
''It is a fight between the liberals and the religious believers... and we will continue our protest against this un-Islamic law,'' he said.
Taking the blame of rape off a victim's shoulders is against womens' rights?! Am I missing something here?! Obviously, the views of Mr. Hilaly are not rare. And no matter how many Islamists protest, it still isn't right. Women are not to blame for rape, ever. It's as simple as that.
Although we can't participate in ''The Great Australian Bikini March'', you can wear it proud thanks to a new ''Uncovered Meat'' clothing line. As columnist Tammy Bruce says, ''Show the Sheik how things really are and sheik your booty in this quality infidel clothing!''
As always, I welcome your thoughts.