Sharia Law and Sex Workers
Women in Nigeria who the Red Cross had identified as sex workers (to help stop the spread of AIDS) are being rounded up under Sharia law (story here).
Obviously if there are women sex workers there are men involved as well, but it is the women being punished. Same thing happened at my Christian college – if a girl got pregnant she (not the guy) got kicked out. How do you react to stories like these? Where should morality lines be drawn?
August 18th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Well … it reminds me of the story of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees were all set to stone her. Yet, um, she was “caught in adultery.” Which means she was caught with a man. I’ve always wondered … where was he? Why didn’t the Pharisees drag both of them before Jesus?
Jesus’ response is outrageous though. He puts himself in between the woman and the stones … in between the accused and her justice. “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” Giving himself the perfect opportunity to throw the first stone. Yet He did not. Love won another convert.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Pragmatically, I suspect that although this round of women will be punished, the demand for sex workers won’t go away, and more will emerge. And since the Red Cross has seen the results of its identification, it will probably find a different way of dealing with the situation in the future so as not to imperil the women.
I’m not surprised, however, that the women were treated differently than the men: fundamentalist Islam isn’t known for it’s value of gender equality. More liberal expressions of Islam may be more open-minded. But there are still a lot of cultures in which the practice and tenets of Islam repress women.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 am
Nearly a third of these women were positive for HIV. Obviously there is an unequal distribution of “punishment” here at least at the hands of the officials but doing nothing means what? As for your college–that is truly sad and prejudiced and unjust. Could it have been a matter of the woman who was “caught” not being willing to name names? Or were there simply no consequences for the man involved?
August 26th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
sonja said
“Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” Giving himself the perfect opportunity to throw the first stone. Yet He did not. Love won another convert
This woman was told to go and sin no more, Jesus did not let her off the hook with love. He told her to stop sinning. There was a serious sin issue here.
Simply telling people that Jesus loves you can never save anyone, its repentance and Faith alone in Jesus Christ that can save a soul from Hell.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:55 am
The story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is one of my favorites.
Then I saw a documentary on Biblical stories where some experts all but said that this story was fabricated by later disciples. That sort of crushed me
August 30th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Deepa said: >The story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is one of my favorites.
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Then I saw a documentary on Biblical stories where some experts all but said that this story was fabricated by later disciples. That sort of crushed me
Deepa — I have seen "documentaries" like that too, and generally those who say "it's all made up" equally deny the Divinity of Jesus and the inerrancy of Scripture. If you are convinced that God's Word is inerrant, these voices will be like little fruit flies that buzz around when you're eating a piece of watermelon. The melon is so luscious, sweet, and flavourful that the flies will be annoying, but they won't keep you from digging in and enjoying the fruit to its fullest. So don't let those voices make you sad; ask God to show you His Word in its fullest truth.
As far as the story: the firstborn in me wants to stand on a chair and yell, "That's not FAIR!" but the pragmatist in me recognizes that fairness has little to do with Sharia law.
I do hold the Red Cross somewhat responsible in this situation; there are ways to stem the spread of STDs w/o subjecting those who can least afford stigmatization to it. Christian missionaries do this regularly and it's called being Anthropologically Sensitive. The Red Cross knew they were in an area governed by Shariah law, and they've done nothing more than paint "Scarlet As" on the chests of these women and have done nothing to stop the sex trade in that area.
Ultimately though, the darkness, unfairness, and discrimination of Shariah law will only be penetrated by the love, grace, and mercy of God as carried to those areas by committed and anthropologically-sensitive Christ-followers.
September 1st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I hate to say it, but this happens in the US, too. I remember an event from 2001 or 2002 here in my area.
A local middle school staff found out about “oral sex” parties that some of the kids were having at parent homes. (Yes. There was inadequate parental supervision.)
When the parties were reported (by a student who was upset and went to a counselor), the GIRLS (and their parents) who were at the parties were hauled in for discussions and reprimands by the school staff and county child protective services one evening. Not the BOYS who were involved.
The resulting fracas caused a lot of anger and finger-pointing in the community. The justification – “the girls can make a choice not to participate.”
I don’t think it’s too far from the events in Nigeria.
There is a double=standard for purity. Still.
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Situations like these are so grievous. Christians should be leading the charge in confronting social justice issues such as these…however, I think we are often constrained in our progress towards feminist goals by apparently anti-woman bible passages. At http://www.thediablogue.com/ this issue is interacted with in depth by a thoughtful community of bloggers. Take a glance at their questions if you get a chance…
October 16th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
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