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This blog is not about political parties. This blog is about women.



“…in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.”



Living in the center of the Middle Eastern conflict—namely, Jerusalem—my perspective on life, freedom, and faith has changed quite a bit. No longer is a riot in Egypt or a murder in Syria far removed from my everyday routine. These constantly swirling issues are all around me and all around Israel. These countries are my close neighbors and their events are directly relevant to me. Sometimes these events are in Israel, in my neighborhood, on my street. I will never again read Scripture with the same view, nor will I feel indifferent toward Middle Eastern news, regardless of where my life takes me. I am forever impacted.



Yet I am still proud and thankful to be an American. I look forward to living there again someday. But even if I do, my American bubble is popped and I cringe at how long in my life it remained translucently intact. Please, do yourself a favor and pop your bubble, too.



Allow me to possibly present a bubble popper: “Someone else in the world is happy with less than what you have.”



No, seriously.



SOMEONE ELSE IN THE WORLD IS HAPPY WITH LESS THAN WHAT YOU HAVE.



Having said all of that, it's not only relevant to me how women are treated in the Middle East, it is also important for all women.



If you ever take the time to study the history of Afghanistan, especially relating to women, I dare you not to cry. It is horrendous. Under Taliban rule there is an endless list of dehumanizing laws pertaining to women, including not being allowed to speak loudly in public, not allowed to leave the house without their husbands, no education after the age of eight, women not allowed on their balconies or porches, all floor level windows had to be blacked out, and on and on. If any of these rules were broken, public beatings and whippings were a guarantee. Sometimes amputations of fingers, hands, ears, or noses. Sometimes public execution in a sports arena. Here is a complete list of Taliban rules and harsh punishments.



I cannot speak much about this next subject, because it is so graphic and disturbing. In several parts of the world there is still a practice of forced female circumcision. Teenage girls are held down by multiple grown men and have their genitals mutilated with a knife. The official medical title is FGM—female genital mutilation. I want to scream out in anger and sorrow if I think about it too much.



I’m not saying these people are happy. I’m drawing a sharp contrast between American women seeking luxuries that many women in the world not only don’t have, but instead have degradation and suffering. Free or easily accessible contraception? Many women in the world would be thrilled just to have an education and an escape from their suffering.



I am very young, very poor, married woman. And I am not ready to be a mother. I understand all too well how difficult it is to get contraception, and how expensive it is. I have had to hunt and search in two different states now for a program willing to give me free contraception—and a year’s worth. But I did it. I found two different programs that helped me. Help is out there for those that really need it.



I also understand the discrepancy in a law that affects women being passed or denied by a panel of all men. Misrepresentation is a real problem—and perhaps a pretty complicated one. But I keep coming back to my gut on this one: is anyone stopping more women from getting onto these panels in the United States? Could there be more women on these panels? I think so. Ladies, if you are upset about this discrepancy of representation in our government, then go to Law School. No one is stopping you from changing this discrepancy. If I get wet outside when it’s raining because I don’t have an umbrella, I don’t blame the sky for raining. I blame myself for not bringing an umbrella.



 

As I was meditating on this subject, I came across the phrase “warfare on women” in a book written about two years ago. Read this passage:



[circa 2004]

“In cities across Iraq, even in the more fashionable districts of Baghdad, religious conservatives terrorized unveiled women by throwing acid at their faces—a method of attack used with disturbing frequency in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. In other instances, women had their heads forcibly shaved or were pelted with stones for daring to appear uncovered. In villages terrorized by Al-Qaeda…in the south, extremists assassinated women for wearing makeup or appearing without a headscarf. To leave no doubt about their intentions, the militants would strip the bodies, dress them in scandalous clothing, and dump them in the gutter. Sometimes the bodies were decapitated and the message “collaborator” was pinned to their chests.

Female politicians and activists became assassination targets. Within weeks of becoming a member of the IDC, gunman tired to kill Salama al-Khafaji. She barely escaped. In the spring of 2004, assassins also targeted the minister of public works, Nasreen Barwari, a Harvard-trained Kurdish woman who was the only female cabinet member in the interim government. She narrowly escaped but the attack killed three of her bodyguards. In March 2004, Fern Holland, a human-rights activist and lawyer from Oklahoma who helped draft parts of the interim constitution concerning women, was killed along with two co-workers in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad. It was open warfare on women.” [Paradise Beneath her Feet]



Do you understand? When the definition of warfare becomes an issue of easily accessible contraception and abortions, our understanding of “warfare” is extremely skewed. The USA is one of the greatest places for women to live—so why are American women so angry? I watched a video about why the war on women in America is “real” and one of the female doctors being interviewed said something along the lines of “it is every woman’s basic right to decide when and how she becomes a mother.” Yes, this is true. It is also every woman’s basic right to decide when and how she has sex. Just sayin’.



I don’t care what political party you prefer, or which one won the election. I am a woman. And to all American women that are outraged at the thought that a bunch of old white guys want to veto a law that would give you cheap birth control---I sigh. For all your fellow women less fortunate than you, please appreciate all the liberties and luxuries that you have.



“The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1Tim 1:5)



“Avoid such people [that are] always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Tim 3:5,7)



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