I am going to protest..........

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

verte76

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
May 22, 2002
Messages
23,331
Location
hoping for changes
I posted a note about reading Jean Sasson's "Princess Trilogy" in LS. Although I was aware that in some countries women are treated like second-class citizens, the only really graphic information I'd read on the subject was the treatment of women in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The "Princess Trilogy" is the true story of a princess of Saudi Arabia. She is called "Sultana" in the book to protect her identity. She risked her life to have Jean Sasson write this book, because it's all about the shocking things that happen to women in that country. Women are routinely raped, beaten, and even killed every day, and it's perfectly legal. Men have absolute power over women. This can happen to royal women, middle class women, and servants. Many women servants are just sex slaves. This woman is trying to do something about it, but it's incredibly difficult. They practice a very strict, conservative brand of Islam in Saudi Arabia called Wahhabism. We recently had a thread on FYM about this school of Islam. It's a problem. This is not to demean the Islamic religion; many Moslems believe in equal rights for women. Sultana herself is a devout Moslem. But she's up against the religious establishment of Saudi Arabia. I don't know how much we can do about this, realistically, but I want to do something. This is too horrific to do nothing. Amnesty International, HumanRightsWatch, and feminist organizations all over are active in fighting this evil. I'm going to get involved.
 
This is a trilogy now? I read the first 2 (and clearly haven't opened the thread in Lem Stand, lol) and was amazed to find out after the first one was written her identity had been uncovered and her fucknut brother Ali couldn't do a damned thing about it all. I was pleased and saddened for her at the same time.
What is the 3rd one about? I should probably head into Lem Stand...
 
Yeah, the third book is called "Princess Sultana's Circle". Her brother is indeed a :censored:. What a jerk. But I think Sultana is an amazing person. She is a living, feeling, sensitive human being in a situation where it's unbelievably difficult to be that way. She does more gutsy, heart-warming stuff in this third book, so I advise anyone who liked the first two books to read this one!:heart: :heart:
 
Scarletwine said:
I had heard of the conditions in Saudia Arabia for women thru AI, but thanks so much for the heads up on these books. I'd love to read them :up:

Oh, do read them Scarletwine! This is the best way to tell just how much pain and suffering social injustice causes, from the heart and soul of people like Sultana who have to deal with this pain and suffering every day of their lives. I am in a state of shock from reading these books. This is a completely different way to be exposed to these emotions. It's hard to imagine anyone coping with something like this in their life. I can't help but imagine, what if this was me.............I don't know how I'd deal with it. You're going heart-to-heart with incredible sadness. I've never experienced anything like this in my life.:sad: :sad:
Egads, I'm going to listen to Zooropa *again*.
 
You have my support.

One thing we can all do to help this cause is send a message with our pocketbooks. All the Saudi's have is oil. That's their main cash crop. So, if we all conserve our oil usage, if will ultimately hurt their profit, and thus make their lives a little less extravegant.

Even if we don't do that simple little thing, we should at least acknowlegde that we're getting our oil from rapists and plain ole assholes!
 
Egads, I never quite felt it this graphically. We are indeed getting our oil from a bunch of :censored:'s!!! They have a web site about Sultana and you can actually write to her and tell her you support her! It's at www.PrincessSultanasCircle.com. The site includes a link to an international feminist organization and information about AI and HumanRightsWatch. Check it out!
 
I will try to find the 3rd one very soon I think.
I've got even more concerns about her safety after hearing about all the publicity she is getting. At the start or the end of the second, it was said that the infamy is going to be her best protection. I agree mostly, but the more infamy and protection she gets from that means more risk ultimately. She is a very lucky woman in a very unfortunate way of life, having a caring husband and some of her sisters supporting her. You only need to look at what has happened to her friends and some sisters to realise it is very fragile though.
 
I really don't know. I think it'd be a huge embarrassment to the government if anything happened to her. At the same time she's hardly any stranger to risk, and her situation is fragile. Her own brother is such a :censored:. Ugh.:scream: :scream: :censored: :censored:
 
Verte, here are some websites that are trying to help the women of Afghanastan.

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and they have a page on how to help

V-Day They try and stop, among things like "honor killings" and the traffiking of women, the Female Genital Mutilation that occurs in these countries.

Help Afghan Women by contacting Bush and spreading the word on the tragedies that take place in Afghanistan.

this is an issue that always stirs my emotions and anger. We need a revolutionary leader to really eliminate this evil treatment of women in the world. Until then (ha) I'm thankful for these organizations.
 
verte76 said:
I really don't know. I think it'd be a huge embarrassment to the government if anything happened to her. At the same time she's hardly any stranger to risk, and her situation is fragile. Her own brother is such a :censored:. Ugh.:scream: :scream: :censored: :censored:

I'm a hopeless cynic, so I personally doubt the government would actually bat an eye. Despite the worldwide out cry if something did (God forbid) ever happen to her, I suspect the response would be for all of us to mind our own business and allow them to continue following the word of Allah regardless of how grossly misinterpreted it actually is over there. Which is another thing which surprised me after reading 'Princess' and 'Daughters of Arabia' and that is just how far misinterpreted he (He?) appears to be. From Sultana's words, he is for promoting love for women, respect and compassion and all the things we pretty much strive for in our western ways. How the male populace of these countries ever twisted that to justify their actions is absolutely beyond me. How can one book and the words of one be so drastically opposing in perception?
 
I'm not a cynic, so I don't know. They very well might tell us to stay out of their business and respect the will of God, etc, etc. I'd demonstrate at the Saudi embassy or something myself. They've twisted the daylights out of the Islamic religion. Those stupid religious guys in Saudi Arabia are just in it for power and money. They couldn't care less about God. I honestly believe that. How else could they condone all of this cruelty? Sultana is right about these men. They're doing Islam a great disservice. The worst thing is that they just don't care. What a nightmare for good people. The good men, like Sultana's husband, really suffer too. Protesting can't hurt in the long run and it could bring results. I got into NPO fundraising during the Kosovo war because that was so heart-breaking and I've seen some amazing results. Fourteen wells in Uganda! Maybe I am too naive but I like to thing something could happen with Sultana's struggle as well. If you'd told me, eight months ago when we started the AWF, that we'd have fourteen well projects going in Uganda by August, I would have told you that you were insane. But--it happened. I don't know, I just believe in hope.
 
oliveu2cm said:
Verte, here are some websites that are trying to help the women of Afghanastan.

this is an issue that always stirs my emotions and anger. We need a revolutionary leader to really eliminate this evil treatment of women in the world. Until then (ha) I'm thankful for these organizations.

Thanks Olive, me too! It's inexcusable that these horrible things are being done to women every day. I get newsletters from RAWA, they are a great organization. I want to get this :censored: :censored: :censored: stuff stopped!
 
I was just skim-reading this thread, so i apologise if this has already been mentioned, but has anybody read "Sold" or "A promise to Nadia" by Zana Muhsen? There is also a book by her Zana's mother, Miriam Ali, but i forget what that one's called. It's the story of two British-yemeni girls who were sold into illegal marriages by their father on a 'holiday' to Yemen in the 1980's. one is still over there.
I've read the princess trilogy, it's very sad. These books i mentioned above are quite similar. It really is sad :(

And Princess Sultana's Daughters, though it has been a while since i read it, is my favourite of the three... it's hard to explain, but it's really.... empowering in a way i guess. Ahh, it all makes me so mad :|

Nice thread though :)
 
Back
Top Bottom