Yesterday, I post this. And I was quite suspicious not only because I am naturally suspicious of Western agencies when it comes to women in the Middle East but because the language raised my alarm. I basically did not believe that "the vast majority" of Iraqi women are victims of domestic violence. Of course, the report was circulated in newspapers around the world and around the internet. I asked my readers to send me the full text of the report and several did (thanks Luay, Saeed, and Michele) send it to me. So what did I find? Well, my suspicions were founded. First, I do follow studies of domestic violence and I am aware that we have one of the highest rates of domestic violence here in the US where 23 women are killed EVERY WEEK by a boyfriend or husband. And I know that studies of domestic violence in the Arab world don't indicate that they have worse rates than here. The only comprehensive study ever conducted in an Arab country (and by a UN agency) was conducted in Syria and it showed rates similar to those in the US. It has been around 30% of all women are victims of domestic violence, although many believe that the rates here in the US may be much higher (see the studies that Catherine MacKinnion cites in her book Feminism Unmodified). So this study of Iraq which was publicized internationally said the following: "13 According to a survey published by the UN Information and Analysis Unit (IAU), 83.1% of Iraqi women are victims of marital control behaviour; 33.4% of survey group reported at least one form of emotional or psychological violence; 21.2% of Iraqi women are victims of domestic physical violence." The person who did the study either needs to resign or need to be fired. There was a deliberate attempt in this report to inflate the figures for victims of domestic violence. You read this and you learn that the rate of domestic violence in Iraq is actually 21.2%: quite high but quite smaller than the rate here in the US where one third of all women are victims of domestic violence. But the UN was not satisfied and wanted to make things worse than they are so they decided to expand the category to include "victims of marital control behavior." Now what the fuck is that? And we can safely say that the vast majority of all women around the world are in fact victims of "marital control behavior". You should be very critical and skeptical when you encounter "studies" by Western agencies of the status of women in the Arab world. You need to consult real books and real studies by real experts. I have been reading, for example, for a review Judith Tucker's Women, Family, and Gender in Islamic Law. This is a book that I recommend unlike the junk that is out there on the subject.
The Angry Arab
Friday, May 1, 2009
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Im very happy that Asad posted this message.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I saw the "study" he was referencing yesterday and considered for a moment posting it until I read it and saw this ridiculous stupidity that they were promoting to make the Iraqi men look criminal.
Im so sick and tired of western people with questionable intelligence posting lies about Arabs and Arab women.
I agree, and I don't think that lying and exxagerating help victims of domestic abuse whatsoever either...
ReplyDeleteNo doubt that this is a problem in the Arab world just as it is almost everywhere. And that it is a phenomenon that is not concentrated on enough or in the right manner.
Those who put this together were obviously manipulating the statistics in order to try and claim the higher moral ground for politically based reasons, such as justifying the meddling in and occupying of countries in the Middle East region.....
Of course.
ReplyDeleteAnd people from that region immediately recognize propaganda but we get told we are close minded and backwards when we resist the propaganda even when in its absurdity it wants us to believe that over eighty percent of Iraqis have criminal behavior and leanings.
This is racism not human rights advocacy.
Unlike some, people should know this is part of the orientalist framework. It is meant to imply the total vilification of a specific region, especially those that have been and are the target of imperial design. If they can "prove" the inherent nature of the treatment of a segment of society, gender based, it becomes the basis of another reason for "liberation."
ReplyDeleteSecond, it is always suspect when areas under direct oppression are showcased. It is like taking a war torn area and saying that there is inherently more violence - especially in the light of foreign invasion.
Claiming, as an example, that prostitution rates have risen in Iraq, quite apart from the destitution cased by war is just a plain falsehood, although the statistic of the rise might be correct. It is similar to a party that once showed me some Palestinian children holding weapons, apart from any information about the longest violent occupation in modern history. They were quite surprised when I exploded verbally because I know the terrain, whereas others who were totally ignorant just went along with the charade.