Honour her body by killing her

The 'honour' killing of Rand Abdel-Qader a short while ago makes me doubt humanity as a whole, it really does. I mean, it's bad enough that a 17-year-old girl was violently murdered by her father for some fleeting conversations with a British soldier, but for the father to then stand up and be proud of what he did is disgusting. The poor girl's mother attempted to help her, but the girl's two brothers just assisted their father in the murder.

(As a side note, to avoid ambiguity, when I talk about men here I'm meaning those who would behave like this or condone such behaviour, not men in general.)

The disrespect shown to this young woman is appalling. How dare she have a teenage crush? How dare she act like any ordinary young person? How dare she disobey the terrifyingly strong patriarchy of her culture?

Abdel-Qader, 46, a government employee, was initially arrested but released after two hours. Astonishingly, he said, police congratulated him on what he had done. 'They are men and know what honour is,' he said.

Perhaps what the bastard is trying to say here is that honour is pulling apart your daughter's life and throwing it unceremoniously into a grave because you're slightly embarrassed that she was doing something against the rules you put in place. Perhaps honour is just a word, to them, for keeping in line with the harsh system they've built up around them. I suppose they've got to be pretty careful because once women realise how powerful we are, there's no stopping us.

What really got to me, though, was this quote from the father:

People from western countries might be shocked, but our girls are not like their daughters that can sleep with any man they want and sometimes even get pregnant without marrying. Our girls should respect their religion, their family and their bodies.

For a start, 'your' girls are their own person, and us Westerners are our own people too. Quit with the possessive language; it's disturbing and weak. Moreover, though, how can this utter idiot say that a woman should value her family and body when he's just stomped a member of his family to death? How is that respecting her body? What has her body got to do with talking to a British soldier? (Another side note; I bet that soldier is utterly disturbed by this).

One last snippet that made my stomach turn:

Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman.

Yes. Her life.

The Hypocrisy of the Media

Over at The F-Word they've linked to an article about Fergie's daughter Beatrice and, basically, how fat she is. She isn't. She's an awesome shape. All curves in the right places. But that, that's not the point. The point is how inarticulate my rage is making me right now as I find, on the same god damn site, this article.

In the Fergie and Beatrice article, they say:

Puberty can be a cruel thing, but there is a time when a young woman must take responsibility for her own thighs and accept that whatever genes you inherit, you can - and probably should - make changes to your lifestyle and diet in an effort to do something about it.

The next moment in the other article, they say:

These super-skinny legs are not attractive, or remotely sexy, but you can rest assured their owners always make sure their pins (and never has a word been so apt) are on display.

It is as if they were saying: "I deny myself every day to obtain legs like these. They prove how committed I am to fame, to being a fashion victim. I have starved and exercised my way to the top - and I am bloody well going to stay here."

I would elaborate, but I think it speaks for itself. Besides, I have to go and hit something. Hard. With a heavy blunt object. I am so, so angry at this. Sure, it's just The Daily Mail which is pure trash, but how are young women supposed to be confident with themselves when people are forcing girls to make themselves thin and simultaneously telling them that thin is bad?

This is a crazy world.