Thoughts on Discrimination Through Ideology.

This topic of debate is hugely relevant, widely talked about, and undeniably far bigger than anything I am able to discuss. However personally I feel as though discrimination of women through religious ideology is a subject that needs to be discussed a lot more in society in order to spread awareness. I’m slightly nervous that this subject could be seen as controversial, and my intention through this blog post is definitely not to offend anyone, nor is it to add to the increasing scapegoating of religious communities. I am also very aware that it is the minority of people within some religions who see discrimination as acceptable and I am definitely not blaming the majority. Despite being a devote atheist I have no problem with others believing whatever they want to believe, a person’s beliefs and the way they choose to live their life is nothing to do with me.  On the other hand, when their beliefs result in inhumane, discriminatory behaviour that’s where I feel that things need to change and this is where my discussion begins.

I recently watched a film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh called ‘The Stoning of Soraya M’ which was a true story initially told by Freidoune Sahebjam – a French-Iranian journalist. The general basis of the film is pretty self-explanatory; set in a desolate area in Iran where Sharia law ruled, Soraya’s husband decides he wants a divorce in order to marry a 14 year old girl instead. When Soraya declines due to financial reasons the corrupt leaders of the community hatch a plan in which Soraya is accused of adultery and therefore stoned to death by the men in the community. This is only one case in many were women are being stoned to death for little to no reason, and where it is deemed acceptable and celebrated. Also, since adultery is very hard to prove communities are allowed to use their gut instinct. I don’t understand how this is necessary or justified through religion, as I see it only as a way to oppress women and remind them how little they are worth.   

Although I am about to look at contraception through Christianity, I am aware that other religions also have controversial opinions on the subject. The Roman Catholic Church only allows ‘natural’ contraception, therefore putting it’s following in danger of unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. According to their values, the purpose of sex is purely to reproduce, however personally I feel as though those values are very contrasting from today's norms. Safe, consensual sex is and should be celebrated in our culture, and people – especially women – shouldn’t feel ashamed or wrong for that, be it heterosexual or homosexual sex. In a debate between Christopher Hitchens/Stephen Fry and Anne Widecombe/ Archbishop John Onaiyekan, Hitchens argued that the Archbishop should apologise because the values that he necessitates have resulted in the death of many of his following due to the spread of HIV/AIDS in African countries. Of course I accept that this isn’t the only cause of the spreading, because poverty is a large contributor to the lack of resources to safe sex. However it is debatable that the religious expectations will affect the culture and behaviour of the people surrounded by them. 

Female Genital Mutilation is seen as standard practise in some forms of Christianity and Islam, however it has been argued that FGM is due to cultural norms rather than religion. Despite this there is religious reasoning behind their culture, and therefore religion is partly to blame for this horrific tradition. Both religions believe that by circumcising the woman she is less likely to perform ‘immoral’ acts such as sex before marriage due to the fact that sex is not comfortable or pleasurable for a woman. FGM however, is proven to affect more than the pleasure for a woman; along with many short term health risks including death, FGM can lead to infections, HIV, problems with child birth, increase of stillborn children, and psychological consequences including PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression. How a religion or a culture can see more (or any) positives in Female Genital Mutilation than negatives doesn’t make sense to me, and people should be more educated on the effects on women both physically and psychologically.

My main question that I’m struggling to find an answer to is how we carry on from this situation? What do we do now, now that we’ve seen the situation and recognised the issues how do we resolve them without offending and causing more tensions? Of course discussion is important in spreading awareness, however discussion only goes so far, and without taking action women will be continually oppressed through these ideologies. One thing I feel needs to be taken into consideration is obviously freedom of speech, and one’s right to believe in a certain ideology. However I see religion as a personal choice and journey for people, and when ideologies begin to affect and oppress others, that’s when action needs to be taken.