Post-Op Strategies: Painkillers, to Start

By DANA JENNINGS

Published: January 26, 2009
A good friend is scheduled to have his cancerous prostate surgically removed next Monday. I have prostate cancer, too, and I’ve been thinking hard about what post-op gift I could give Gary, my brother-in-disease.
I had a radical open prostatectomy last July — I wasn’t a candidate for the less invasive robotic procedure that Gary will have — and I learned scores of post-op home truths, large and small, in those days and weeks after surgery. (I also found out that my cancer had unexpectedly surged from the prostate. That’s why I just finished a 33-session course of radiation and am still getting hormone shots to suppress testosterone production.)
Given that I am now a grizzled prostate cancer veteran, I realized that the gift of advice might be in order. So here are a few post-op tips, for Gary, for anyone who has just had a prostatectomy and for those of you about to have one. (And a lot of these firsthand lessons can also be applied to other major surgery. Believe me, I know. I’ve also had operations to remove my entire colon, my rectum and a foot-long tumor from my right knee.)
Some advice may seem obvious, but reminders can’t hurt: Don’t be too proud or stubborn to ask for help. Don’t walk the dog (not even a toy poodle). Don’t take out the trash or flush the gutters. And don’t even think about touching a snow shovel or cranking up the snow blower.
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Editor Murdered

The Editor of the “The Sunday Leader” (Sri Lanka), Lasantha Wickrematunge was gunned down on January 8, 2009 as a result of his frank reporting.

In an editorial published posthumously on January 11, 2009, he predicted his death thus: “When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.” He had been harassed, intimidated and assaulted before and was acutely aware of the danger to his life but was fearless and tried to “say it like we see it.” He was critical of both, the ruthless Tamil Tigers who are leading a secessionist movement, but also of the Sri Lankan government’s violence and its disregard of the grievances of the Tamil people. Although the Sri Lankan President, Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa, was his personal friend, Wickrematunge openly criticized his policies. Ed.

And Then They Came For Me

No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.
I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed, 2009 will be The Sunday Leader’s 15th year. Many things have changed in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you that the greater part of that change has been for the worse. We find ourselves in the midst of a civil war ruthlessly prosecuted by protagonists whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Terror, whether perpetrated by terrorists or the state, has become the order of the day. Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever been higher or the stakes lower.
Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk? Many people tell me it is not. Friends tell me to revert to the bar, and goodness knows it offers a better and safer livelihood. Others, including political leaders on both sides, have at various times sought to induce me to take to politics, going so far as to offer me ministries of my choice. Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice.
But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.
The Sunday Leader has been a controversial newspaper because we say it like we see it: whether it be a spade, a thief or a murderer, we call it by that name. We do not hide behind euphemism. The investigative articles we print are supported by documentary evidence thanks to the public-spiritedness of citizens who at great risk to themselves pass on this material to us. We have exposed scandal after scandal, and never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or successfully prosecuted us.
The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself sans mascara and styling gel. From us you learn the state of your nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to give your children a better future. Sometimes the image you see in that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves. That is our calling, and we do not shirk it.
Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy. Think about those words, for they each has profound meaning. Transparent because government must be openly accountable to the people and never abuse their trust. Secular because in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as ours, secularism offers the only common ground by which we might all be united. Liberal because we recognise that all human beings are created different, and we need to accept others for what they are and not what we would like them to be. And democratic… well, if you need me to explain why that is important, you’d best stop buying this paper.
The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly articulating the majority view. Let’s face it, that is the way to sell newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find distasteful. For example, we have consistently espoused the view that while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to address the root causes of terrorism, and urged government to view Sri Lanka’s ethnic strife in the context of history and not through the telescope of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism in the so-called war against terror, and made no secret of our horror that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens. For these views we have been labelled traitors, and if this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.
Many people suspect that The Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the opposition it is only because we believe that – pray excuse cricketing argot – there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember that for the few years of our existence in which the UNP was in office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing excess and corruption wherever it occurred. Indeed, the steady stream of embarrassing expos‚s we published may well have served to precipitate the downfall of that government.
Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of censorship.
What is more, a military occupation of the country’s north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self respect. Do not imagine that you can placate them by showering “development” and “reconstruction” on them in the post-war era. The wounds of war will scar them forever, and you will also have an even more bitter and hateful Diaspora to contend with. A problem amenable to a political solution will thus become a festering wound that will yield strife for all eternity. If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most of my countrymen – and all of the government – cannot see this writing so plainly on the wall.
It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government’s sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended. In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.
The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Indeed, I suspect that I am one of the few people remaining who routinely addresses him by his first name and uses the familiar Sinhala address oya when talking to him. Although I do not attend the meetings he periodically holds for newspaper editors, hardly a month passes when we do not meet, privately or with a few close friends present, late at night at President’s House. There we swap yarns, discuss politics and joke about the good old days. A few remarks to him would therefore be in order here.
Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this column. Indeed, we broke with a decade of tradition by referring to you throughout by your first name. So well known were your commitments to human rights and liberal values that we ushered you in like a breath of fresh air. Then, through an act of folly, you got yourself involved in the Helping Hambantota scandal. It was after a lot of soul-searching that we broke the story, at the same time urging you to return the money. By the time you did so several weeks later, a great blow had been struck to your reputation. It is one you are still trying to live down.
You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency. You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the machinery of state. Now, it is clear to all who will see that that machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not themselves have a father.
In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it.
Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled corruption and squandered public money like no other President before you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let loose in a toyshop. That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can only bring tragedy. As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do the same. I wish.
As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Fellow journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off lands. Others walk in the shadow of death that your Presidency has cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty one is never convicted. You have no choice. I feel sorry for you, and Shiranthi will have a long time to spend on her knees when next she goes for Confession for it is not just her owns sins which she must confess, but those of her extended family that keeps you in office.
As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but Thank You for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view. For this I – and my family – have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to pay. I am – and have always been – ready for that. I have done nothing to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions. I want my murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.
That The Sunday Leader will continue fighting the good fight, too, is written. For I did not fight this fight alone. Many more of us have to be – and will be – killed before The Leader is laid to rest. I hope my assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty in our beloved motherland. I also hope it will open the eyes of your President to the fact that however many are slaughtered in the name of patriotism, the human spirit will endure and flourish. Not all the Rajapakses combined can kill that.
People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niem”ller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niem”ller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niem”ller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.
read it here

My People Killing My people

By Sheniz Janmohamed
(Sheniz Janmohamed is a Canada based artist. Her website is http://www.ignite-poets.20m.com/ Ed.)

My people killing my people
My people killing my people
My people killing me

The shadows approached me
And told me to take their hands
That they would lead me to the Promised Land
And when we reached the valley of unbearable sighs
I realized
They had told me lies

The bombs blew up inside of me/cause I was too blind to see/that they used pain /to gain my loyalty/ far from my dreams to be free/they sat me down/stole my crown/and tortured me/the very people who said they’d save me/the very people who opened the door/threw out the keys

My people killing my people
My people killing my people
My people killing me

And as I stood on the shores and spoke back/they tore out my heart and continued the attack/and now for my words they’ve thrown me in jail/slapped, stamped, silenced/convicted with no bail

They say I’ve betrayed their trust/and killing their own is just?/speaking on behalf of the Book/by killing a child without a second look?/and so I said to them/you can’t break me/you can’t shake me/you may take me/and rape me/to silence me/but I continue to speak/You are not the strong/I am not the weak/

My people killing my people
My people killing my people
My people killing me

They think that they are the predators/but they’re really the prey/and the day will come/for them to face/all the souls they’ve killed in this place

The time has come
Do you see them coming?
I hear the footsteps
But I do not fear
I hear the screams
But I do not fear
For I know
My words will echo in the newborn’s ear

Any last words before we shoot you in the head?

You may kill me
but I refuse to be dead.

© Sheniz Janmohamed

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And now watch Sheniz Janmohamed reciting her poem “My People Killing My people”
the poem

An Atheist’s Perspective on the Inauguration: Enough With all the God Stuff

by Greta Christina
Why do the prayers of a church belong in the single most important ceremony of our state? Obama is not God’s servant, he’s ours.
Yes. Okay. Pride; hope; history; immense joy; inexpressible relief.
Yes. Sure. Absolutely.
But also this.
I was watching the Inauguration, with pride and hope and history and joy and relief. And the message I kept hearing was, “We are one country. This country belongs to everybody in it. Everybody has a voice. Everybody has a part to play. Everybody’s experience matters.
“Everybody — except you.
“Everybody except you and the roughly 15% of Americans who don’t believe in God.
“Not you. You’re not part of this. This isn’t for you.”
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(submitted by Shahabuddin Haji)

The answer’s blowing in the wind

Novelist Bapsi Sidhwa recalls the events of the past and looks for answers to our present dilemmas.
One cannot look in upon events in 2008 without reflecting on the fateful moments that held Pakistan hostage to a horrendous roller-coaster ride through 2007. The turmoil that spilled over from Afghanistan into the lawless maze of mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan intensified, and suicide bombers, not on our radars before, exploded like grotesque fire-crackers in the northern areas and in major cities, including Lahore, killing thousands. The radicalisation of the peaceful Swat Valley by the Taliban and their dire edicts was another development:

“If any ‘nai’ shaves or trims a beard, his shop will be blown up!”

What could the poor barbers do but obey?
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(Submitted by a site reader)

The Brain That Changes Itself

For centuries the human brain has been thought of as incapable of fundamental change. People suffering from neurological defects, brain damage or strokes were usually written-off as hopeless cases. But recent and continuing research into the human brain is radically changing how we look at the potential for neurological recovery.
The human brain, as we are now quickly learning, has a remarkable ability to change itself – in fact, even to rewire itself.

The Brain that Changes Itself, based on the best-selling book by Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Norman Doidge, presents a strong case for reconsidering how we view the human mind.
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Arna’s Children

by Julian Mer Kamis

A documentary from Israel, 2003, 84 minutes in Arabic and Hebrew with English Subtitles.

Juliano Mer Khamis, son of an Israeli Mother and Palestinian father, spends years of his youth teaching theater to Palestinian children as part of an alternative education program that his mother, Arna, established in the occupied West Bank. Years after his mother’s death, Mer Khamis returns to find that the children he knew and loved have now joined the intifada—and captures how childhood innocence is lost to war.
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(Submitted by a site reader)

To Wail, or Not to Wail (Part II of II)

By B. R. Gowani

Muslim Women in the West

One cannot deny that discrimination is involved in many cases where Muslim women have been asked to shun the headdress, but there are cases where women have shown foolishness in rebelling for their so-called rights. They sometimes carry their cause too far:

1. In September 2007, Elections Canada, due to pressure from some veiled women, allowed them to vote with a photo ID and one other document, or in absence of the IDs, a registered voter in the same voting division could vouch for her under oath.

2. Five Lebanese girls between 8-13 years old were barred from the Longueuil tae kwon do tournament in the Canadian province of Quebec, because they refused to remove the hijab which could have endangered their safety. An 11-year-old Bissan Mansour said: “I won’t take it off for any reason.” “Even if I can’t go to tournaments, I can continue to practice until I become world champion.”

3. When a Muslim referee’s order to remove the hijab for safety reasons during a soccer match in Ontario, Canada, was ignored, a sixth grader was disallowed from playing. Her team members and four other teams refused to play in the tournament.

4. From 1994 to 2003, 100 Muslim girl students have been expelled from schools in France because of their refusal to discard their headdress, which the French say violates their secularism.

5. Sandra Keller became Muslim in January, 1997. Now Sultaana Freeman, she wore head scarf but by December she switched to niqab, which covers the whole face except the eyes. She got her Illinois driver’s license wearing niqab. In 2002, she sued the State of Florida which had asked her to show her face for the driver’s license picture.

Why the headscarf?

There is nothing wrong in dressing modestly and thus guarding oneself from provoking the male libido.

Nevertheless, one has to remember that the times have changed drastically. There was a time when women’s (and men’s) clothes were baggy and so the men could only gaze at the female face and hair—provided they were uncovered. But in today’s world, with different types of clothing, the female hair has to compete with other anatomical parts.

Often men are looking for an opportunity to check out the shape and size of body parts in jeans and tee shirts or other such garments. Therefore, women’s clothes must be loose in order to save them from male gaze.

And it’s not the fault of either men or women. Nature has played a cruel trick: it endowed one gender with oceans of paradise and the other gender with deserts of thirst.

In November 1976, Jimmy Carter, (a presidential candidate, later the US president), a practicing Christian, said this:
“Christ said, ‘I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery.’ I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. This is something that God recognizes I will do—and I have done it—and God forgives me for it.”

(Though the Bible has death and stoning to death punishments for adultery, there is no such fine for performing that act in one’s heart.)

So even after putting on the headdress, what are you going to do if male eyes gaze at you because you are endowed with Angelina Jolie’s lips, or Katrina Kaif’s or Beyonce Knowles’ facial charm, or Shakira’s gait? Or a different kind of beauty? You’ll always find some one attracted to you.

Doesn’t it mean that you have failed in your modesty endeavor? Now what? Putting on a head-to-toe burqa?

In England, as a matter of fact, there are teachers and lawyers who wear burqas at work.

Then there are a few young women who have started wearing burqas in England as a mark of protest against the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair for joining the “war on terror.”

A 24 year-old program scheduler working in London reasoned:
“For me it is not just a piece of clothing, it’s an act of faith, it’s solidarity.” “9/11 was a wake-up call for young Muslims.”

“People ask, ‘Why do you wear that?’ A lot of people assume I’m oppressed, that I don’t speak English. I don’t care, I’ve got a brain.”

But then, men could develop fondness for your voice. Does it mean that you are going to go on a voice sabbatical, like maun-vrat or a vow of silence, which some of the devout Hindus observe for days or weeks? (Sometimes it can be beneficial. A person who owed me money was on a “maun-vrat” whenever I would go to collect, until I gave up on it.)

Or maybe men will find beauty in your naked fingers. Are you going to cover them up with hand gloves?

(In West Jerusalem, the ultra-orthodox Jewish women have started covering themselves up in niqab and burqas. Let’s hope more Jewish women don’t follow suit. Traditional Orthodox Jewish married women cover their heads with wigs, hats, or scarves. Hadassah Lieberman does not always cover her head and this has some Orthodox Jews express their concern. Men are not supposed to shake hands with women, but Senator Joe Lieberman does shake hands.)

Empowerment

One has to remember that the mullahs or the religious clerics and the imams of the mosques play a dangerous role in scaring those who don’t wear hijab.

Last year, a mosque in Montreal, Canada, warned young girls on its website that discarding their hijabs can result in their being raped and having “illegitimate children.”

Also, “By removing your hijab, you have destroyed your faith. Islam means submission to Allah in all our actions.”
They add this also creates “stresses, insecurity and suspicion in the minds of husbands” and instigates “young people to deviate towards the path of lust.” Hence, Farzana Hassan and Tarek Fatah are not surprised “that Canadian girls walk away from sports tournaments rather than remove their hijabs”

Then there are women apologetics that defend the donning of hijab along these lines:

I never wore a hijab before. Then I saw my daughter (or sister, or mother, or cousin, or friend, or relative, or someone) wearing it and I started donning it myself. Now I feel so empowered or liberated.

If a small piece of cloth empowers and liberates them, one wonders how would they feel if they start wearing burqas – would they feel like super-girls and super-women?

The Winners

The winners in this situation appear to be Muslim men living in the Western countries that cannot impose too many restrictions or dress codes on their female family members but would like to see their women under some kind of subservience. And when the women themselves choose the veil, it makes the men feel more in control.

… and the Losers

In the final analysis it is the Muslim women who are the ultimate losers. Some of them who stand up against the authorities for what they perceive is their right, that is, to be allowed to cover their head, may feel victorious in the short run, but one wonders what their long term feelings will be. Yes, it is their right and few can deny that if people are going half naked in Western countries then there should be room for hijab, too. But they must remember: this same hijab or headscarf for which they are so valiantly fighting, will enable the religious nuts (when they come to power) to use it to strangle all their rights.

This is not a far fetched thought.

Shariah in Canada

The efforts by the Muslim clerics to introduce some of the Shariah laws in Canada ended when the provincial governments in Quebec and Ontario were forced to reject it in the face of vehement opposition. The Muslim Canadian Congress and many others played important roles in its prevention.

It was prevented this time but that’s not a guarantee that it will not succeed in the future. The “democracy” in Western countries and especially, the US, operates through the “interest” groups or “lobbies” who contribute money to the politicians to fight elections. So when they win, they work for those constituents who gave them the money. (Look at the recent trillion dollar bailout of the thieves by the US government.)

And as the Muslim lobbies grow stronger they will have more hold on the politicians and will be able to get more things done that suit their political and religious ideology.

What If the Prophet Muhammad Were Around

Lets say Prophet Muhammad were living with us and was visiting the Muslims living in the European countries, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (the way Pope visits the Catholic Christians). How would he guide the Muslims living in the west regarding the veil?

The reading of the Qur’an gives an impression that there are verses which are circumstantial, that is, according to the prevalent situation. Also, during Muhammad’s time Islam was just an Arabian religion; now it’s a global one.

Either he would say that these are different times and so you don’t need to wear any kind of veil, or he would say that the niqab is not serving the purpose. In niqab, you’re a perfect example of “modesty,” however; your eyes are observing everything around you: in the parks, on the buses, and on the subway you watch PDA (public display of affection) between people of same or opposite sex and that is a sin.

Also, in the grocery stores, you pass through liquor, pork, and non-halal meat sections. Then in the cashier’s line, you see bikini clad photos of celebrities and headlines on how to satisfy each other.

In summer, you see men without shirts and women in bikinis or with skimpy skirts and tiny tank tops.

In convenience stores, sometimes you come across adult magazines.

At other times, you see the butt cleavage and the undergarments of men and women wearing low-rise jeans.

In order to keep yourself totally pure in this atmosphere, it would be better to stay at home. If you want to work, then work from home on the internet without surfing onto undesirable sites.

A Plea to Muslim Girls and Women

Please invest your valuable energy defending your sisters in other countries.

Just forget —to veil or not to veil— and instead think:

Somewhere your sister:

• is being killed in the name of “honor;”

• is going through genital mutilation called circumcision;

• is not allowed to be treated by a male doctor,

• is beaten because she was not wearing a burqa;

• is enduring acid thrown at her face because it was not covered;

• is raped and put in prison because she couldn’t produce four witnesses and so is charged with “zina” or adultery;

• is lashed because she didn’t measure up to the morality of the clerics or the elders;

• is stoned to death due to her extra-marital relation;

Also, donate the amount you are spending on veils to organizations that are fighting to save women or you can send it to your family members, friends, or relatives whom you trust to give to the charities helping these women. Even a little amount translates to a big sum in poor countries. Tell your other Muslim sisters to do the same.

http://www.rawa.org/index.php
http://www.shirkatgah.org
http://www.tehrik-e-niswan.com
are some of those organizations.

Practicing your faith, Islam, is allowed in the Western countries and you can pray by going to the mosque. Many Muslims (Hindus, Buddhists, and others) when they move to Western countries find no places of worship in their areas and so they turn within and religion survives in their hearts. Look at Judaism, in spite of so much persecution through out history, the Jewish people and their religion has survived.

Why pronounce your religion through colorful and stylish scarves and niqabs when Islam is not in danger. Or is it intentional, to draw people’s, especially men’s, attentions?

We all crave for attention and want to be different and we try to be so through clothes, hair, specs, caps, or make-up. Occasionally, a head scarf as a fashion statement is fine but don’t turn it into a permanent fixture which strengthens the hands of fanatics.

B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com

<1> Many communities have practiced polyandry (two or more husbands), usually brothers. Until recently, the Toda people in South India and groups in Tibet and Nepal followed this custom. In the South Asian epic, Mahabharata, Draupadi married five Pandava brothers.

Qur’an permits polygamy under certain conditions:

“And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that ye will not do injustice.” Qur’an 4:3 <16>

No such provision exists for women.