You won’t see this newspaper with its defences down. Ever. It is just so subtle. Or sly. Today the Times of India front-paged news about how ‘Julia Roberts makes a leap of faith to Hinduism’. All very well. It then went on to talk about other ‘switchers’ among celebs, not just to Hinduism, but Buddhism, Kabbalah and Scientology. There was no mention of converts to Islam.
Just wondering.
- - -
On the Editorial page, where they post short news items under the arrogant title ‘Snap Judgment’, they mentioned the Afghan woman who made it to the cover of Time magazine with the words: “Bibi Aisha had her nose and ears cut off by the Taliban because she ran away from abusive in-laws. The photo underlines why it is essential not to abandon Afghanistan to the Taliban.”
Is this taken from somewhere and blindly copied here or is it some sub-editor dashing off a note? What was the op-ed department doing? It is indeed gruesome and there is every reason for people to question such practices. However, who has given this newspaper or any media group the right to decide who must rule another country? This incident took place a year ago and only because it appears on the cover of Time must we rush to aid the American effort at ruling by proxy and causing innumerable civilian deaths?
And, can we please pause for a moment and ask what we are doing about the attacks on women in our country – acid thrown on faces, paraded naked, killed in cold blood?
Just wondering…
On the same day, this news (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Victim-social-activists-seek-state-government-intervention/articleshow/6263539.cms) also happenned but was buried deep inside TOI- why are we more concerned about another country and not about putting our own house in order first..
ReplyDelete" There was no mention of converts to Islam."
ReplyDeleteProbably because Islam tends to advertise celebrity converts, and probably because Islam tends to attract people who are needy just like most cults. "Islam is the fastest growing religion" and in general making this a numbers game is akin to "Eat shit, millions of flies love it". Religious dogma can be followed by any monkey off the tree.
Religions suck in general and Islam more so than the rest, as it is yet to go through a required religious reformation, so that a majority of the Sunni muslims are not bigoted, bloodthirsty assholes like they currently are.
Ms. FV
ReplyDeleteThe dark red backgoround makes it harder on eyes to read. Being an artist also, may be you can experiment with other bacground colours and select one which both meets your choice and easy on the eye.
I watched a program where it was revelaed that this photo was taken by a South African journalist and not by any main media photographer, hence this possible delay. The difference between this and the other gruesome acts, such as throwing acid , parading naked is that it was decreed by a 'judge' and the execution of the judgement by dome by her own husband at the order of the judge- this is the face of 'Islam' which has to be exposed, does'nt matter if it is delayed but it hsould not be swept under the rug. How else would you expose the brutality on women if it is not widely disseminated?
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to me, Farzana, that the young woman depicted on the cover of this red-bordered magazine still retains (to my eye) her natural beauty, despite the hole in her face where her nose should be.
Of course, some find it hard to concentrate when presented with such dis-figurement. Nose rings and tongue posts can also have a similarly disconcerting effect, depending on what one is used to.
If the young woman cannot afford plastic surgery, do you suppose she'll be permitted the veil, say, if she emigrated to France?
It's also interesting to me, Farzana, the effect your color-scheme has had on a number of your respondents. No offense intended to Anonymous (doubtless s/he means well), but it has presented no end of fascination to me that, for all intents and purposes, perfect strangers (some of them even artists) should take it upon themselves to counsel you on your choices in this somewhat topical regard.
Of course, it may be that your omnipresence on the web has contributed to many thinking of you as extended family (and certainly we are freer with our opinions among family members); but wasn't it family that performed surgery on the young woman above?
Just some thoughts . . .
Ms FV
ReplyDeleteSomething for you to chew on:
Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years.
"She knows that she will become a symbol of the price Afghan women have had to pay for the repressive ideology of the Taliban
A bit of good news:
ReplyDeletePlastic surgery to restore her nose:
Her surgery is being done by the Grossman Burn Foundation in California.
The foundation campaigns on the issue of violence against women as well as doing free plastic surgery work.
Just because you sit safely in Mumbai, where Islam's misogynism cannot touch, it does not mean other people are willing to overlook that. Unless a person is psychologically injured and needs the solace of absolute certainty (in all spheres of life) offered by Islam, or alternatively, extremely stupid women who are used to authority figures, would choose voluntarily join Islam.
ReplyDeleteAnd here you are, pretending to be some literati and openly advocating that women voluntarily choose Islam and male authority figures against their best interest. Nice.
Shad:
ReplyDeleteI do accept the need to report world events, but not as a response to justify our acts.
Anon 1:
Converts are always needy, and it is a fact that Islam has several converts. I don’t personally like the idea. However, let’s not talk about reformation. Incidentally, since Hinduism is marketed as a way fo life, what exactly would Julia Roberts or anyone be doing as ‘practising Hindus’?
Anon 2:
It does not matter who took the picture, but how it was flashed around. The reference to the delay is to underline the fact that many such incidents might have taken place in the interim.
As regards the difference between that horrific incident and the ones I mentioned here, you have put the word judge in single quotes, which itself is revealing and not a legitimate judiciary. And you might like to make a note of oiur Khap panchayats and Deoband mullahs who pronounce judgements too.
Anon 3:
Aisha posing for the picture is disturbing to me. Her doing so will be telling the world what it wants to know, nothing new. Do not forget the Taliban guys themselves shoot these things on their mobile cameras or release pictures. If she wants to be a symbol, then she is beign made to play to the gallery.
Anon 4:
It is good that someone is performing the surgery. Will she cease to be a symbol or will she become the symbol of the west’s ‘reconstruction’?
Anon 5:
I do not know what problems you might have with me sitting safely in Mumbai. Misogyny does of course appear in various garbs. Where have I suggested that people should opt for Islam? I think it is extremely stupid for anyone to join any organised belief system, especially if you are not born into ti.
Since I have not said or implied what you accuse me of, I guess I cannot even be held responsible for “pretending to be some literati”…again, something I have not done.
Nice?
Mstaab:
ReplyDeleteInteresting transposition, Mark.
However, is disfigurement natural? I understand what you are saying, but let me take this further. I know that we both would not see the act of cruelty in a positive light. The argument here is that disfigurement by itself is not unpleasant only because ti goes against the idea of standardised beauty.
You give the example of nose-rings and tongue posts as being disconcerting. (Ouch! Was this a swipe at this writer?) I think the reason is to see things decontextualised. A tongue on its own conveys several messages not to do with its role in the mouth. The nose ring (I assume you mean the heavy ones that bore large holes in the nose) goes beyond ornamentation. In the case of Aisha here, I think more than the discomfort in the viewer, there is an element of voyeurism. What if she did not have a name, a nationality or a religion? What is being disfigured here?
Someone has mentioned that she will get plastic surgery, but you pose a relevant query. I doubt they would make an exception for her to wear the veil; they’d probably suggest a surgical face mask.
The identity question poses such a threat.
Mark:
ReplyDeleteI decided to respond to the latter part of your comment separately. I should hope the anti-red anon reads this:
Part of the interest regarding the ‘look’ of the blog is because during the change I incited feedback. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether this Anon was around. I also thought that the arist reference was to me (feeble as my doodles are)… “Being an artist also, may be you can experiment with other bacground colours”, s/he said. There is also the reader’s need to not have to strain to read.
I find it fascinating when you say:
Of course, it may be that your omnipresence on the web has contributed to many thinking of you as extended family (and certainly we are freer with our opinions among family members); but wasn't it family that performed surgery on the young woman above?
Omnipresence is a relative term considering I am not on any networking site therefore there is not much scope for having ‘friends’, much less ‘followers’. I guess, therefore, your reference to ‘extended family’ gives it a more intimate touch, although I doubt many would wish to share their genetic structure with me. For example, how do we place someone like ‘Arjun’ in this family?
And then you transpose it with Aisha’s surgery being performed by her family. It does indeed qualify as an opinion, however dastardly it might be. Anon does not agree with my views (from what I have read), which amounts to not liking them. Yet, s/he wants to read me with ease despite the views not being cognizant with her/his own POV. I only don’t know what is considered worse – the red or the starkness of my opinions!
PS: If I do alter the background colour now, would it be seen as catering to others or making myself more clear? Guess what? I have problems reading my own stuff, but that’s because I am still pretty much bedridden and use a Netbook.
Hi Farzana,
ReplyDeleteInteresting transpositions of your own. :)
>>If I do alter the background color . . .<<
Speaking from personal experience (my "education," as it were), I can't see how you will avoid the multiplicity of ways your moves might be mis-interpreted, deliberately or otherwise. *You* will know, however; and some of your long-time readers with whom you've accumulated capital (so to speak) will know -- or, at least, will extend you the benefit of any doubt.
Thinking about it, that's kinda the definition of family -- one that transcends genetic structure perhaps . . .
>>Anon does not agree with my views (from what I have read), which amounts to not liking them. Yet, s/he wants to read me with ease despite the views not being cognizant with her/his own POV.<<
So it would seem. You do better than me keeping track of the stance and viewpoints of the identity-less anonymi. :)
That being said, the rate of scroll on your site has slowed considerably since the change. While I figured you may have been facilitating a more leisurely perusal of your site, an alternative might have something to do with the filesize/resolution of the graphic in your far background. If a stately scroll is not intrinsic to your presentation, conversion to jpeg may help to speed things up a bit.
With respect to your new colors, it's interesting to me that it's the red that keeps taking the hit rather than the white. While I'm no more a fan of red than any other color, my sense is that it's the white lettering on a darker background that may be messing with folks' concentration. For lack of a better expression, the white creates a kind of a "glare." Folks can either ratchet up the intensity of their own concentration, or you can tone it down a bit (at least in the content areas). Of course, most would prefer that it was you that did the accomodating. :D
>>. . . how do we place someone like ‘Arjun’ in this family?<<
I think s/he may be sweet on you, aggressive posturing notwithstanding.
>>is disfigurement natural? . . . The argument here is that disfigurement by itself is not unpleasant only because ti goes against the idea of standardised beauty.<<
Well, going by her pose and facial expression she certainly doesn't look cowed by the experience -- an interpretable "look" that may even have prompted her being sort of "singled-out" for such extraordinary measures -- however, there's no telling what she may have and may *be* internalizing consequent to that "look" both before and after her ordeal -- how her look may have influenced the way she'd been treated -- how such treatment may have influenced her comportment.
If, as they say, it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly follows that it would likewise take a village to "disfigure" a child, whether literally or figuratively . . .
Mark
Mstaab:
ReplyDelete>>is disfigurement natural? . . . The argument here is that disfigurement by itself is not unpleasant only because ti goes against the idea of standardised beauty.<<
Well, going by her pose and facial expression she certainly doesn't look cowed by the experience -- an interpretable "look" that may even have prompted her being sort of "singled-out" for such extraordinary measures -- however, there's no telling what she may have and may *be* internalizing consequent to that "look" both before and after her ordeal -- how her look may have influenced the way she'd been treated -- how such treatment may have influenced her comportment.
I might see it as a sort of Stockholm Syndrome where a victim (a double victim really) is ‘captivated’ by the capture and begins to follow that stream of consciousness. In this case, the media. The saviour is also the predator. The internalisation could well act as a camouflage for the ‘pose’.
Regarding the discussion about the blog look, the scrolling is slow, but the files are all jpeg. I think you are also right about the ‘glare’ factor. It needs working on and I guess I ought not to worry too much about how any change I might make would be perceived. The internal script is always kaleidoscopic and offers a multiplicity.
>>. . . how do we place someone like ‘Arjun’ in this family?<<
I think s/he may be sweet on you, aggressive posturing notwithstanding.
Haha…we can be sure he shall stay away, if indeed he does look in at this.
PS: I don’t keep track of the anons; I just manage to figure out the pattern of predictability, Mark :)