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Originally Posted by Skinwalker
I love you Arabesque but I think you are wrong about domestic violence in the Middle East and other Islamic countries. I'm not saying thast Domestic Violence is endorsed by Islam, but that the way Islam is interpreted by many men, they feel they have a licence to do it. Of course domestic violence happens in reverse, but in general women are the greater number of victims.
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I love you, too, Skinwalker, but I think you missed my point.
What I meant to say is that men from Muslim countries don't necessarily dig up that verse to justify their violence in front of a judge. I doubt most men remember the existence of this verse. The verse most commonly used to promote patriarchy would be the one about
qiwamma "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means." [4:34], not the one about beating wives if one fears them to be disobedient. Plus,
nushooz in this verse doesn't really mean "disobedience", but more like infidelity.
Similarly, a judge ruling in a case of domestic violence will not ask the man, "Do you think she was cheating on you? Maybe we can find a loophole here, you know." Domestic violence is a punishable act by Shariah. Men get fined, jailed and are made to sign papers stating that they will seek therapy and they will not again repeat their act. Of course, this only can happen if the incident is reported.
Because women rely more on their families and tribes, these cases are not usually reported, so they're dealt with privately. It's not because women are afraid to report cases of abuse. Family provides support most of the time, and there's no need to go to the police.
I'm sure there are women who do not involve their families or anybody, simply out of shame or the need to protect the husband somehow ... but that's rare, I'm sure. It probably happens more often in cases of non-arranged marriages, where the woman chooses the man, and maybe even forces her family to accept him ... if abuse happens, it becomes difficult to seek family support out of shame, I think.
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There are a number of organizations dedicated to aiding women who are victims of domestic violence throughout the Middle East.
UAE- General Women's League
You can find information at these sites regarding the problem of domestic violence in these areas and what is being done to combat it.
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I looked at the last one, because it's about the UAE. It says nothing about domestic violence. It's just a woman's association. That's not to claim there aren't any shelters here or stuff like that. In fact, we have a famous shelter for abused women called
City of Hope, run by Sharla Musabih.
I'm glad these associations exist. But I don't think they are indicators of more violence in the societies in which they exist, because they are also widespread everywhere, both in Muslim and non-Muslim societies. So domestic violence and the abuse of women is a global phenomenon, and I don't think those who engage in it look through religious texts to justify their crimes.
What I'm trying to say is that, those who look through religious texts are the ones who do not practice such abominable acts.