Female genital mutilation exposed in Swedish class
Last edited Sat Jun 21, 2014, 02:31 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: TheLocal
Some 60 cases of genital mutilation have been discovered in Norrköping in eastern Sweden since March with all 30 girls in one school class found to have undergone the procedure.
Of the 30, some 28 of the girls were found to have been subjected to the most severe form of genital mutilation, when the clitoris and labia are completely cut away and the genital area sewn together except for a small opening.
The abuse was discovered by the school health services, according to a report by Norrköpings Tidningar. Additional resources have been provided by the local social services to help the girls.
Female genital mutilation has been illegal in Sweden since 1982 and can be punished with up to four years in prison. If the offence is considered to be aggravated then the penalty can be up to ten years.
Read more: http://www.thelocal.se/20140620/swedish-school-class-genitally-mutilated
AWFUL abuse of these girls.
ETA:Better info here. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fgm-in-sweden-school-where-every-single-girl-in-one-class-underwent-procedure-exposed-9552854.html
Thanks to Android3.14 for the better story link
newthinking
(3,982 posts)to visit their home country. It also doesn't mention the ages, but it sounds like these might be college students, Not that it makes it any better.
Only pointing that out because the title makes it sound like this was something going on in a local community, but reading it sounds like it is girls from other countries where they are discovering it during medical exams.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)Agesim?
The ultimate theft of one's bodily autonomy.
It has got to stop.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)like this. It's just unbelievable. Is this driven by male dominance or something? I just find it so absolutely weird and horrible. Individuals responsible for this should serve a long time imprisoned. They also sound like they have some horrific mental problems.
littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)Ritual rule. Oppression via Religion, again.
It has got to stop.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)it has to stop. Oppression via Religion is one of the worst brain dead events, we see it endlessly, so many wars, so much misery, humans reacting basically from the brain stem it appears, more or less, no higher level intelligence involved, just reactive behavior.
Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)This is why I see red whenever anyone says we should be tolerant of religion. Religion is the most evil force ever invented by mankind.
The Green Manalishi
(1,054 posts)Nothing good has ever come from invisible sky fairies and the people who pretend they exist.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)Since the koran is suposedly their deity's last word to humankind it would appear the deity doesn't give a rat's ass about this. Odd how Muslims could change pre-Islamic eating habits but not this.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)because quite frankly does not the almighty in all religions have the power to do just that?
also its not really a question of "if it predates islam" it is a fact that it predates islam.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)jmowreader
(50,562 posts)The dietary restrictions in Islam are close to the Jewish ones (no predators, but the Jews don't forbid alcohol) for probably the same reasons: predators carry disease, and some of them will eat you while you're trying to collect them.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)jmowreader
(50,562 posts)The need for this law has gone away over time - we know to cook pork properly and the modern domestic hog isn't likely to send you up a tree or tear your ass apart like a wild boar will. But like Tevye said, "Tradition!"
Moonwalk
(2,322 posts)...there is a part in it where Mohammad, in his kindness, tells men not to "cut" a woman too deeply when doing this. So, the Koran doesn't forbid it, but does say to be careful. And this, by the way, is how we know it predates Islam, because Mohammad comments on it as an on-going practice.
eggplant
(3,913 posts)Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)It's origins are religious. A specific deity need not be named.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Which is why I have to shake my head when Christians scapegoat Islam as some unique source of evil.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)make FGM, a common Arab cultural practice at the the time of Mohammed, haram. Why not? Given the inviolable strictures against pork, pigs have ended up having a better life under Islam than women. Go figure.
Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)First, I am a man. As a man, I am ashamed of my gender and its history of oppressing women. All religions blame the woman, just ask Eve.
Now, I would like to ask women, why do you put up with it? Why do you buy into all this religious BS?
Other questions I have: Why are there gay republicans? Why are there black republicans? Why are there Jewish Nazis? Oh wait, there aren't any. So how come Jews get it right but some women, gays, and blacks get it all wrong
TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)Which makes it another religious custom.
Scairp
(2,749 posts)This cultural without exception. But the discussion over at this English Swedish site got very heated, and many people decided that male circumcision is exactly the same and why isn't everyone freaking out over that too. Morons. They had to close the comments on this article. Oh, and also all Muslims should be expelled from Sweden.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)Fla Dem
(23,741 posts)enlightenment
(8,830 posts)What is much more common (happens in the US, too - http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/horrific-taboo-female-circumcision-rise-u-s-n66226 ) is for parents to send their daughters back to their native country on holiday - where they are mutilated with impunity.
FGM doesn't spring from a single source. In some places it has a religious component; in others it is primarily cultural. For some, it is so ingrained that it becomes an element of "beauty". When I was in college, I knew a lovely young woman who had moved to the US from Ethiopia. She was Muslim - and had suffered FGM (performed by a woman in her village) when she was a toddler. We had several long conversations about it and she was utterly convinced that it was a good thing. She told me that she never would have married if she hadn't had it done, as no man would have wanted her.
It was horrifying to hear, but such a clear indicator of why this practice continues unabated and on the rise. I strongly suspect that if she had daughters they were "sent home" to have this done.
Frankly, until nations start prosecuting the parents after the fact - since there is no reasonable way to stop them from sending their daughters "on holiday" to the home country - this will continue. If a minor female is found to have undergone this procedure the assumption should start with family culpability. It shouldn't hinge on whether or not the child/young adult will turn them in - obviously, few children are willing to do that. It is child abuse. We don't expect children to report on their parents; when we see evidence of abuse we take action.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)felony charge with a serious prison term. To me, this is even far worse than child molestation.
tblue37
(65,487 posts)Last edited Sun Jun 22, 2014, 01:11 AM - Edit history (1)
When that was a cultural norm in China, a woman with "big" (normal) feet would be considered crude and unattractive, since having "tiny" feet was seen as a sign of social status and wealth (because such a crippled woman could not work). Eventually, being left uncrippled meant a woman was a peasant and therefore not desirable except as someone who would do all the scut work.
Mothers would bind their daughters' feet to make sure they would not be viewed as undesirable and unmarriageable.
In her novel The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck creates a female character whose feet were never bound. The woman always laments the fact that she is undesirable, and that although she works hard, her husband is only attracted to his concubine with tiny "lotus feet. To make sure that her own daughter will not suffer such obstacles in her life, the woman makes sure her feet are tightly bound while she is still a tiny toddler, even though the child screams, weeps, and begs her mother to stop hurting her.
Foot binding literally crushes all the bones of the feet and bends them inward, as though they were being squished in a trash compactor. It is torture, and it cripples the girl for life.
When tiny, tiny waistlines were most desirable for women, they either squished their ribcages with corsets or even had ribs surgically removed. They could scarcely breathe when wearing the corsets.
Now that huge breasts are all the rage, girls in their teens are being given breast augmentation surgery as birthday or graduation gifts by their foolish parents. Even if the girl doesn't suffer catastrophic complications--which, as you know, are always a risk of even minor surgery, much less such major surgery--they are significantly increasing their risk for other health problems in the future.
Look at Priscilla Presley's face. A once attractive woman deformed her face bizarrely in an attempt to achieve a look considered culturally desirable.
FGM is, I think, the worst of the contemporary practices that harm women in the name of making them desirable, but it is not isolated. It is merely at the most extreme end of a horrifying continuum.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Putting the whole blame on Islam would be not only wrongheaded but dangerous.
whathehell
(29,090 posts)pediatricmedic
(397 posts)This happens when the girls go visit their home country. The class in this case was mostly Somali girls. Sweden has taken in a lot of Somali refugees in the last few years.
They can not jail the people who actually do the cutting, as they are in a foreign country. They can jail the parents when the girls return to Sweden after having FGM. The parents are not supposed to allow this under Swedish law.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Moonwalk
(2,322 posts)...native countries with their parents and it's done there. It's illegal in Sweden. And the parents who had it done could be going to jail thanks to Sweden's laws on it.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Response to RKP5637 (Reply #6)
Malone This message was self-deleted by its author.
Scairp
(2,749 posts)These are the daughters of immigrants from predominately Muslim, Middle Eastern or African countries who have gone back to the parent's country of origin and forced to undergo this horrific mutilation. The parents should go to prison and have their parental rights terminated on a permanent basis for every daughter they have. And none of the daughter's should be placed with an immigrant family who could end up doing the same thing to the younger ones. And I promise this isn't just the men; the mothers want it too, because it had been done to them and they believe this is required to preserve family honor so a girl doesn't go out and have sex with every man she brushes up against. They don't trust their daughters, but I guess the sons get to keep their penises because it's ok if the boy has sex outside marriage, it would seem. This a hard story for me to read, mostly because the trauma to the girls is so extreme, and because it's just so barbaric. And irreversible. You can't replace a female clitoris. Maybe they can perform some kind of reconstructive surgery to alleviate any health problems they will have later in life, but any physical pleasure they might have gotten from making love is gone forever.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)to a child. It is absolutely barbaric. What some humans are capable of astounds me, how absolutely barbaric and horrible.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)It turns a woman into a thing for her husband to masturbate into. With no sexual pleasure of her own, she's more easily controlled, so the theory goes. It certainly ensures she'll bleed copiously on her wedding night.
It's the end game of patriarchy.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Skittles
(153,193 posts)Scairp
(2,749 posts)No religion, including Islam, sanctions this practice, though the majority of girls this terrible thing is done to are Muslim.
Skittles
(153,193 posts)it's all misogynist bullshit
snooper2
(30,151 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)See my post #10 as I've tracked down some info on the subject.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)Also makes no mention of the school being postsecondary.
littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)This has got to stop.
Love, Peace and Shelter. Lmsp
barbtries
(28,811 posts)what a terrible practice. any culture that considers it okay to mutilate their children...is a culture that needs to grow up.
littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)Fear mongering with threats of harm. Rape as a tool in war. Exposed.
Now. This has got to stop.
barbtries
(28,811 posts)where girls and women are not considered human beings! as a woman this just...hurts.
littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)Sound of the crying. OMG !!!
barbtries
(28,811 posts)i cannot fathom a mindset that would advocate such an act.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)Deserve life in prison with no hope of parole for this. 10 years is nothing to lose for what they are doing.
7962
(11,841 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Here are two sources I found on the subject, both of them scholarly:
http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Current%20situation%20and%20trends%20of%20female%20genital%20mutilation%20in%20Sweden_EN.pdf
http://sogc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/gui299CPG1311E.pdf
It is illegal in Sweden to take part in female genital mutilation. The practice still occurs within immigrant families as it is common in parts of Africa, of which Sweden has a lot of immigrants from African countries. If they believe it is going to occur, the authorities are suppose to step in and intervene. I'm asking my Swedish friend on Facebook about it right now.
Android3.14
(5,402 posts)TheLocal.com seems like a crappy source for news. Were there any arrests? Who did they arrest? Over what time period did the mutilations occur? What will Sweden do in response? Are the girls still with their parents?
Here is a slightly better source.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)The article still really doesn't state that it is among African immigrants. It is a pity that they'd leave that detail out.
DFW
(54,436 posts)Holland has gotten better, but in Belgium, it was forbidden (though you'd never see it written down anywhere) for the press, when reporting on violent crimes, to say it was committed by a Morroccan (largest immigrant group). It was supposedly in the name of "tolerance," designed to dampen hostility toward immigrants. As is so often the case where theory takes precedence over reality, it had the opposite effect, and extremist rightist groups suddenly were like weeds that were waiting years to get watered. Now in Belgium, when a violent crime is committed, many Belgians, especially the Flemish speakers, say it was committed by "the Swedes." Since there are hardly any Swedish residents of Belgium, and those who are there are hardly the types to have violent tendencies, everyone knows who is really meant.
So, it does not surprise me that the Swedish press exercised self-censorship as to who committed these crimes (for crimes they were). It is ostensibly in the name of tolerance and not wanting to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment. It will, of course, have the opposite effect. It is rather arrogant on the part of the censoring authorities to assume the population in general is ignorant as to what parts of the world have groups that still practice this barbaric ritual.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Some people are jumping to the conclusion that it is the Swedish themselves that are condoning the behavior. I happened to use Google because the first question in my mind was "why?". Having visited Sweden and having Swedish ancestry, it certainly didn't sound like something the Swedish would do. Granted, no country is perfect, but there's no point in putting a noose around a county's neck for doing something that they didn't.
DFW
(54,436 posts)The people exercising the censorship think they are doing the immigrant community a favor, but that is basically a theory they have thought up for themselves to justify their inaction. The population lurches to the right because the far right is the only organized voice out there willing to cry foul. The population at large needs to make their arrogant bureaucracy understand that they are doing neither Sweden nor their new immigrants any favors by sweeping this under the carpet. No one is fooled, and the far right gets a free ride they neither earned nor deserve.
I speak Swedish fairly well, and have friends there. No way in the world they think this is insignificant.
Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts)DFW
(54,436 posts)But they do leave lasting scars.
radicalliberal
(907 posts)christx30
(6,241 posts)Now in Belgium, when a violent crime is committed, many Belgians, especially the Flemish speakers, say it was committed by "the Swedes." Since there are hardly any Swedish residents of Belgium, and those who are there are hardly the types to have violent tendencies, everyone knows who is really meant.
When they want to imply a crime was committed by a black person, they say the perp was probably Amish. It seems racist on that site.
DFW
(54,436 posts)However, since there is no government edict against giving a perp's description in the USA, the far right may have their own agenda, for example avoiding posts they would rather not see re-posted by the general public. FR already IS far right. The Belgians, on the other hand, would like to prevent provoking their country from heading in that direction.
7962
(11,841 posts)alp227
(32,052 posts)Media is forced to err on the side of caution because of the bigoted far-right both sides of the Atlantic. Reporting the facts now sadly becomes fodder for cranks.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Even if they sent the children to the home country for a 'vacation' and they returned mutilated.
It is also illegal to use corporal punishment on children & that has been prosecuted there. As I remember it was some school religious? that 'spanked' students.
Response to 7962 (Original post)
Post removed
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)tabasco
(22,974 posts)Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts)eom
radicalliberal
(907 posts)If Rhinodawg is wrong, refute his claims with facts instead of insulting him. I'm afraid he may be right about Sweden. At least to a degree.
That being said, as a father of two daughters (both of whom I'm extremely proud), I'm very angry over what was done to those poor girls! It truly is a vicious crime!
Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts).
Response to tabasco (Reply #34)
radicalliberal This message was self-deleted by its author.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)Or are you basing your outrage on a select few internet articles you've read? Get real.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)done in the name of religion, but many terrible things are done with the "But that's what my religion teaches!" justification.
Which is among the reasons I so dislike almost all organized religion.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)The world's two largest monotheistic religions both have a lot to answer for, given their past and present history.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)"dark age" religious mentality going to die out? Yeah I bet some kind of religion is behind this awful abuse.
elleng
(131,107 posts)country.
When school breaks up for the summer holidays the risk of being exposed to the surgery increases for many Swedish girls due to the prospect of visits to their parents' home countries.
"We're working to inform parents that they could face prison if they come back and their children have undergone female genital mutilation," said Petra Blom Andersson, student health coordinator in Norrköping, to the newspaper.
Most girls who undergo the procedure are between the ages of 4-14 years, but the operation is also carried out on infants. Teenagers typically suffer a wide range of complications including period pains and headaches and for some it can be very painful to urinate.
There are no established figures detailing the extent of the female genital mutilation in Sweden, or of how many girls are brought to their parents' countries of origin to get it done.'
A Round Tuit
(88 posts)Every day, in the name of a "religion" or a so-called hygienic improvement, the foreskins of thousands of male babies are cut off, involuntarily.
Or, to put it more crudely, the end of their penis is cut off and discarded, at a time of their life when they have absolutely no say in the procedure.
What's the damned difference?
elleng
(131,107 posts)and then ask a woman the same, 'what's the damned difference.' Your suggestion is ludicrous.
alp227
(32,052 posts)Why the outrage?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=831074
REASON FOR ALERT
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.
YOUR COMMENTS
Nasty and insensitive "WHAT ABOUT MENZZZ???" deflection in thread about female genital mutilation. The basic fact is that female/male genital mutilation is hardly comparable. See this link for info. http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/05/06/for-the-boys-with-boo-boos/
I'm tired of seeing all these "what about the men" comments on discussions of women's issues on freaking DU!! Sure some of you think "discuss, don't hide", but this post doesn't sound like anything worth reasoning with.
JURY RESULTS
A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Sat Jun 21, 2014, 05:53 PM, and voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT ALONE.
Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: It's never important enough when it concerns "only women," is it? There's also an extreme ignorance on display as to the reality of FGM and how it's not equivalent to male circumcision; unless male circumcision includes removing the foreskin, chopping off the testes, then sewing the urinary meatus shut so that only a drop of urine can escape at a time. Imagine the shape your body is in when it can't excrete waste products. Yeah. That is only one of the problems reported by girls and women who have had FGM forced on them. Hide it.
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't see what's hide-worthy about this. Other people have addressed this in their responses. No, they are not "the same thing," but they are in the same league. I think the alerter is being a jerk. S/he even says the old "discuss, don't hide" bit. Yes, that's right, discuss, don't hide. If the post "doesn't sound like anything worth reasoning with," then don't bother discussing. So many authoritarians around here trying to make DU suck.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: I'm hiding it because this is a stupid remark that indicates no knowledge of the subject, as well as stupidity by false equivalence. Don't post stupid stuff like this here.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Okay but why alert? Doesn't seem like a CS issue. Possibly MIRT if there are other indicators but I don't think boorish remark merits an insta-ban. If a troll there will be clearer indicators.
Thank you.
elleng
(131,107 posts)and OK with me to 'leave.' Stoopid is OK! I do like my 'ludicrous!'
swimboy
(7,285 posts)but do NOT attempt to minimize the unparalleled enormity of female genital mutilation by raising your feeble comparison.
They are not the same.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Ino
(3,366 posts)...the "men have it bad toooo" whining.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation
When traditional circumcisers are involved, non-sterile cutting devices are likely to be used, including knives, razors, scissors, cut glass, sharpened rocks and fingernails.
And why is this done?
Read the whole article to educate yourself on this procedure and its many horrible effects, and maybe you will realize the damned difference.
If you can't be bothered, imagine this... having your entire penis cut off and the urethra sewn up so you can pee through only a tiny hole. Then having that hole ripped open for sex (with no orgasm for you!) or childbirth. Then having it sewn up again! Oh, and all this may or MAY NOT be done with anesthetic. And of course, imagine dealing with all the infections and medical conditions that arise from these operations. If you can.
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)of denying sensation to a man, and there are some medical reasons for doing so.
Female genital mutilation is done to control women and has no health benefits and many serious health risks.
burrowowl
(17,645 posts)would be the same thing as removing the clitoris.
I assume your glans is still intact.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Precisely. Thank you.
Mister Ed
(5,943 posts)Slicing off a girl's clitoris is the equivalent of slicing off a boy's penis. That is the damned difference.
Stargazer09
(2,132 posts)Exactly!
NickB79
(19,258 posts)A man who is circumcised is still fully capable of experiencing the full range of sensations associated with sex. The lack of a foreskin is no impairment to a man's sex life.
A woman with her clitoris and labia removed, and then largely sown shut, is so far beyond comparison to male circumcision that it's fucking ridiculous.
7962
(11,841 posts)You're pretty simple minded if you cant see what the difference is.
ETA: Yes, I'm a guy.
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)the ages or classes of the students but from the context these were girls in grade, middle and possibly even the gymnasium level. The referenced article in English says they were girls between 4 and 14.
It is a terrible crime against these girls not only depriving them of the ability to achieve a clitoral orgasm but as well running the risk of infections, etc.
I would suggest, however, that male circumcision while not perhaps as dramatic is a definite form of genital mutilation. Just as a woman who was mutilated can achieve a vaginal orgasm, a circumcised male can of course achieve climax. But for females a clitoral orgasm either as a result of her own or a partner's stimulation is more common and easier to achieve. As for males I believe the jury is still out on whether the presence of the foreskin enhances sexual arousal and the intensity of orgasm but it is likely it does.
We should not let adults mutilate the genitals of minors period. This should not be permitted any more than we would permit adults to cut off a finger or an ear. If a young man or woman decide of their own free will to undergo circumcision that is then their decision.
DesertDiamond
(1,616 posts)Psephos
(8,032 posts)Not one word of it in the article. (!) How very correct of them.
The same goes for a lot of the posters in this thread, as well.
Which goes to show how hypocritical correct thinking can be.
toby jo
(1,269 posts)iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)power over others genitals was seen as sign of complete control :p
oh wait, we are still fighting to keep our rights to our own private parts.. so I take back the 'at some point'
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)Nevernose
(13,081 posts)If they were, Christians/Jews would be cutting dicks completely off, not just nipping at some foreskin.
7962
(11,841 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)the two shows you have a level of ignorance that should embarrass you. When they cut off the penis so men can longer enjoy sex - which is all FGM is about - we'll have this discussion. Until then, your attempt at deflection puts you in a very bad light. BTW - Muslim men are also circumcised.
iandhr
(6,852 posts)We have a winner.
maced666
(771 posts)It's okay. You can say Muslim.
Or, maybe you cannot, for fear of retaliation. On second thought I can see why the paper was silent.
7962
(11,841 posts)nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)profess one of these two faiths.
As I said, Christianity and Islam as a whole both have a lot to answer for, past and present. But that doesn't reflect on every individual believer, by any means.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)There is censorship involved by the Swedish media, which surprises me quite a bit. I was aware there are a large number of immigrants in Sweden.
7962
(11,841 posts)As well as in other Nordic countries. People like to point at Norway, et al, and how good their system is; part Socialism part capitalistic. But there has been an influx of immigrants; many who do not contribute to those systems but use them, and its starting to weight it down.
Thats why the same things wont work here as well as they've worked over there.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I agree if immigrants are not productive it will weigh down the system. South Korea, where I live, has quite a number of immigrants. Most are either married to Koreans or on work visas with a fair number who are not here on either yet still work.
7962
(11,841 posts)The NK would just kill everyone in town when they showed up so everyone was on the move all the time, until the Inchon invasion stopped it. I should record all those stories while shes still around.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)My FIL is getting up there in age (he's 82) and he also was around during the Korean War. His hometown was outside Pyeongyang. He fled south and eventually fought with the South Koreans (and US) against North Korea. I told my wife I'm going to try to spend more time with him this summer. We don't have a lot in common, but he is such a lonely guy.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)Western World x-tian fundies are a smaller percentage of the whole-
Easy to point facts out...
The key is education. A good education instead of brainwashing from a young age is required. The Taliban know this that's why those fucking losers destory every girls school they can get their hands on.
7962
(11,841 posts)And it may be that to them, an educated woman is also a woman that will start asking questions or standing up for herself.
But the bible is different from the koran in how much violence it actually calls for from followers.
The way I look at it is that here, the christians have the Westboro Baptist folks, and look how 99% of the people react to them. In the Muslim world there are a LOT of their version of Westboro Baptist folks, and they are rarely condemned.
alp227
(32,052 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)And to be honest, I think it loud and clear but wouldn't dare include it in a post. I have seen people go politically correct to the point of defending this practice. Not on DU, but elsewhere. It takes a heartless person to think insulting someone is worse than what is done to these girls.
TeeYiYi
(8,028 posts)http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fgm-in-sweden-school-where-every-single-girl-in-one-class-underwent-procedure-exposed-9552854.html
TYY
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)seveneyes
(4,631 posts)How about 40 years to life minimum.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)8 years is, I believe, the max in Sweden for first-degree sexual assault.
Regardless, I see your point. I would not be opposed to a potential life sentence for someone who orchestrates these despicable crimes against children.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)They should not allow these vile parents to take their little girls out of the country to hack them up.
Certain cultures are cruel beyond reasoning.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Sweden takes in a huge number of Somalian asylum seekers, so it's very possible that this was in a school with mostly asylum seekers. The media in Sweden is very secretive about details, not just in this case, but in general.
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(27,630 posts)You can see the healed images of crotch shots. It's pretty bizzarre looking, and honestly looks hardly functional.