Afghan men wear Burqas in "Women's Rights" Protest

A group of Afghan men have taken to the streets of Kabul wearing full length Burqas to highlight women's rights
ahead of World Women's Day, March 8.

Unfortunately the photos show there were less than 15 men who participated in the protest and they were
heckled by men, and women as a merely a "...foreign project to create a bad image for the burqa and Afghanistan"


Source

Linky


There's a fight worth fighting (without a war).

When you made your hotlink, you copied the hyperlink in both fields, breaking your whole link!

[ur l=http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/afghan-men-take-to-streets-wearing-burqas-to-highlight-womens-rights-issues/story-fnh81ifq-1227252273985 ] you should have written something clever here for your hotlink![/ur l]

^ i broke the link there (in the [/url] section at the end) to show you where you'd have typed 'linky' or something.

"others said women’s rights encouraged prostitution."

a reply to: Kalixi

The presence of an English language translation included on the sign always makes me question the veracity of these Middle Eastern/foreign "protests." I don't want to be that jaded, but if someone is pressing for actual change within their own culture, why place a foreign language on the signs in the first place? Americans protesting crap don't march around with signs that have Chinese or Arabic translation on them... the signs are in English and (sometimes) Spanish depending entirely on the community the protest is happening in. I highly doubt there are man English only speakers in Afghanistan pressuring women to wear burqas. That makes this seem like little more than a publicity stunt orchestrated for Western media.

a reply to: Kalixi

Good for them!!

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Or...it's the most widely spoken language by people with access to media.

originally posted by: Forensick
a reply to: burdman30ott6

Or...it's the most widely spoken language by people with access to media.

Kinda fits into my statement regarding western media, doesn't it? Those who are pro-burka aren't heavily represented in English media regions. The practice seems to be most heavily adopted in the Arab speaking world, which makes the English translation needless.

a reply to: Kalixi

Women who subject themselves to wearing a Burqa is nothing but pure stupidity. The brainwashing and primitive aspects of this religion have caused women to enslave themselves. This custom is used to oppress Muslim women, period. This belief has been ingrained into the minds of Muslim women for the sole purpose to remind them they are subordinate to men. It's a prefect example of how religion has been used to control the minds of their followers.

originally posted by: Forensick
a reply to: burdman30ott6

Or...it's the most widely spoken language by people with access to media.

Spot on
United States of English

a reply to: WeRpeons

I agree with the gist of your post

This bit is inaccurate though:

Women who subject themselves to wearing a Burqa is nothing but pure stupidity.

Life isn't great for women in Afghanistan and they can't be called 'stupid' for being so disempowered that males can beat them into silence. Protest will be met with stonings, beatings and hospital visits. Even if a child-bride runs away from a forced marriage, she gets imprisoned and then sent back to the husband.


Afghanistan: ending child marriage and domestic violence (pdf)

Those guys in the burkas are brave as they're acting like proxy women in the society and ran a high risk of an ass-kicking and/or being shunned. Civil Rights movements are borne from these tiny little protests, but most of the time they sputter out.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Life isn't great for women in Afghanistan and they can't be called 'stupid' for being so disempowered that males can beat them into silence. Protest will be met with stonings, beatings and hospital visits. Even if a child-bride runs away from a forced marriage, she gets imprisoned and then sent back to the husband.

Here's my thought on this. If you were these women, would you still practice the Muslim religion? Would you still want to live in a country where you're oppressed, and your life is threatened because you're not following a religious habit? They can flee their country for a better life, but they choose to be enslaved. I've seen Muslim women wearing Burqa's in the U.S. and there's no threat of stoning here and we have laws against physical abuse. There's no threat here, so really they have chosen to be enslaved. Stupidity.

a reply to: WeRpeons

So, not only do they "subject themselves" to wearing a Burqa, they do so with "pure" stupidity.

Wow you would've the women would be repressed and forced into doing this and beaten or raped if they didn't comply, I'm glad you tarnished all who wear the Burqa as stupid, thanks for the exposé on Muslim society.

Do you not year about problems still undergoing this in western countries and people being forced to stay where they live?

a reply to: WeRpeons

I don't really understand why anyone would follow any religion and I don't call those that do stupid.

A Muslim women wearing a burka in the US or here in the UK will still be a part of a male-dominated household and *probably* within a local Muslim community that includes family and friends. Sure, she could leave home with nothing and throw away the burka and yet life's never so simple is it?

I also wonder if the ones we see with the full meshed letterbox look aren't raised on the fundamentalist side? Cultural brainwashing I can go for, but broad swipes of 'stupid' are too simplistic imo : )

"Your women are oppressed..."

"Ban the burqa..."

"Make them wear something else..."



Irony overload!!!

I'd smite these people if i could manage to find the keys to the mothership.

Damn, Sorry. Been a while. I was drunk in my passed life, died at some point and forgot where i hid them.

Well as soon as i find them il get right on top of that.

And we'll have a real independance day for the middle east but for now, I support these burka wearing men. Tho. I'v seen a lot of muslim men basically already wearing a burka. Only difference is the lack of a veil over their face.

a reply to: AnuTyr

The irony of different kinds of veils over the eyes (minds) of some people on ATS is alarming.

We each get acclimated to our social conditions. To burka or not to burka is a stupid question. In the West we have learned to view the burka as burden upon women and can't stand the thought that those women might want to be free to display their bodies as if they were our typically driven and self-deluded media stars. --Kim et al, comes to mind.

I love viewing a decent female body. But can none of you understand that seeing how unappealing a yard of thigh on a Fox News hostess is to someone that has different standards? And then at the same time, those flashes of thigh on carefully crossed legs are done there as a distinct display of cultivated social guidelines that are perhaps outside the personal choices of those gals. To compete in the society of media, they must conform to its standards. To argue that they WANT to dress that way begs the point. They have been taught to WANT to dress that way. You want to tie moral standards into this argument, you must allow that the burka keeps sexuality more in a respected place than openly displaying it by totally unrelated examples on a news talk show, etc.

As for the Afgan protest, I must surmise that the guys merely want more T&A in their culture. Let's hope they can strike a better balance than what our Western cultures have clobbered together.

Well I see this as a step in the right direction of joining modern day civilization. And I for one will look at them as scum till they change much of their ways of treating fellow humans.
But sadly there only seems to be a handful that care for a better life even after moving into other countries..

This is really good for them. Would like to see growing numbers of aware and decent men and women gather stand together and grow courage wisely, ie. I don't want anymore martyrs on this planet but this is really needed and brave and good.

Misogyny and massive power over women and children always appeals to the little powerless guy in dictatorship or theocracy type dictatorship because he still gets power and therefore the fascism is safe. Its a political thing. And they need to strive for equality and topple the dictatorships. But our western elites prop up their terroristic fascist control systems and have armies of black op rebels to enforce this.

World wide solidarity for those standing up to free their brothers and sisters from slavery, fascism, and domination of any kind, mind/body/spirit, is one of the most important issues in the world.

Women choose to wear them? Some do in the end, have "honor" strongly embedded in their minds, its massive brain washing and pressure from families, and here they are even murdered when they cross the line and choose to be free, and receive many threats. There, there is no choice.


honor diaries 001

This is one of the most important issues in the world today. Along with starvation, homelessness, and fascism/slavery. This ranks up with the very top of what needs to be overcome world wide.

a reply to: Kalixi

Its nice to see things like this happening in the ME. Maybe there is a small sliver of hope.