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Another Inconvenient Truth

Apr 20, 2015
by Caroline Miller
child prostitution, Headscarves and Hymens, Malika Saada Saar, Mona Elthahawy, Sharon Cotliar
4 Comments

In a recent blog, I quoted a Muslim woman who expressed her shock at the immodest use of a woman’s body in western advertising. (Blog 4/9/15)  She considered such women as slaves,  doing the bidding of corporations.  I disagreed and offered a brief rebuttal, but I should have waited.   A Muslim sister has published a book about male attitudes in the Middle East, a follow-up to her essay, “Why Do They Hate Us?”  The new book is Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution.  The author is Mona Elthahawy an Egyptian-American journalist. 

 Elthahawy writes of her struggles to free herself from the “toxic mix of culture and religion,” that enslaves Middle Eastern women and uses her words to “fight silence, alienation, and violence…I am the daughter of the taboos and silences…” (Women, Unwrapped,” by Carol Mithers,  a review of Headscarves and Hymens. for More Magazine, April 2015, pg. 59.)  Elthahawy hopes her words will tap into the psyche of her sisters in whom she senses, “a rage and determination that cannot be contained.” (Ibid pg. 59.)  I hope she’s right.  A revolution is overdue.

 However, in the same edition of More,  I came upon another article which revealed a blind spot in western culture.  In an interview with Malika Saada Saar, a human rights attorney who works in Washington D. C., she reveals the shocking statistics of child prostitution in this country.  Each year, an estimated 100,000 children between the ages of 12-14 are bought and sold for sex in this country.   1 girl out of 4 will experience sexual violence before turning 18, a rate “comparable to those in Africa, Latin America and Asia where the numbers are considered a human rights issue.” (“Voices,” by Sharon Cotliar, More Magazine, April, 2015 pg. 52-53.)  Worse, the demand for these innocents comes largely from “educated white, middleclass, married men.” (Ibid pg. 53.)  Children lucky enough to be arrested report they often plead to no avail with their customers to help them escape.    

To treat these youngsters as prostitutes is an unspeakable injustice says Saar.  They are not prostitutes, she points out.  They are the victims of multiple rapes.  And the predators, who are seldom prosecuted, aren’t “Johns.”  They are rapists.

 The Middle Eastern woman with whom I initially disagreed does have a point about Western culture.  Our children are exploited and over sexualized.  It’s time to open our eyes to some inconvenient truths about ourselves.  

child beauty pageant contestant

Courtesy of childbeautypageantscons.blogspot.com

 

 

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4 Comments
  1. Betty W April 20, 2015 at 8:53 am Reply
    The child prostitutes are generally victims men.. However the kind of child portrayed in this picture who are generally in so-called beauty pageants for toddlers and young children are generally tarted up and marched out there by their mothers. I don't understand how a mother can do that. It's not prostitution but it certainly is exploitation!
    • Caroline Miller April 20, 2015 at 10:44 am Reply
      Yes, you are making a distinction which is correct on one level. My point is that in reality, there is no distinction. They are both victims of an exploitation that teaches a female her body defines her. Thanks for helping me make that point clear.
  2. S. L. Stoner April 20, 2015 at 4:33 pm Reply
    Your post made me recall one of my favorite books, The Trouble with Islam Today, by Irshad Manji. Her book reminds us that there was a time when Islam was the most progressive religion in the world, especially when it came to women. Muslim women were some of the first scientists. She then traces how Islam's progressive stance was overtaken by the fundamentalists with dire consequences for Muslim women. Oddly, a primary trigger point was the battle for Spain between the Christians and the Muslims.
    • Caroline Miller April 20, 2015 at 4:53 pm Reply
      There may be a reason why you are reminded of Irshad Manji. I read the book and still have my copy. I was unwilling to get rid of it. She did influence my thoughts on the subject.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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