It never mentions Islam, of course, but model is wearing a hijab, and the reference to Yemen makes it clear that someone at Ms. is aware that child marriage is a phenomenon that is, if not uniquely Islamic, at least something that enjoys broad sanction within the Islamic world. This is about as close as Western feminists have ever gotten to criticizing the plight of women under Sharia, although I am sure that they are unaware that child marriage is sanctioned in Islam by the example of Muhammad himself, the “excellent example” (Qur’an 33:21).
It will be interesting to see if Ms. is now inundated with angry letters from Western non-Muslim feminists who are outraged at this display of “Islamophobia.”
The image is from “We Heart: Fake Magazine Covers That Expose Real Inequality,” by Anita Little for the Ms. Magazine Blog, March 8 (thanks to James). Click on the image to enlarge.
Diane Harvey says
Don’t know if Ms. Magazine or any of its readers will realize that Child Brides in Muslim countries is not satire. It’s the real deal for those girls, whether they want it or not.
Diane Harvey says
Whether they want it or not,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581098/Iraq-considers-allowing-girls-young-nine-marry-new-laws-force-wives-submit-sex-husbands-whim.html
And exactly when will Western feminists speak up against these horrific practices?
fair_dinkum says
it would win half the battle if they did..
georgina says
“And exactly when will Western feminists speak up against these horrific practices?”
Are you not a western feminist?
We are speaking up, however, with the MSM and the various governments being so ‘culturally sensitive’, the news is often censored.
veggiedog says
Often is a gross understatement, the news is censored. This is a very sad situation for a “free land”.
voegelinian says
Worse than any censorship by official mainstream news is the self-censorship on the part of millions of ordinary Westerners who, because of the PC MC in their hearts and minds, feel they skirt too closely to the thought crime of “racism” if they yield to the temptation to criticize Muslims too much. Some of these ordinary people just remain passively non-committal and never talk about the Camel in the Room; others when pressed will become frightened by their own possible proclivities toward “racism” and will actively defend Muslims; others still are more proactively active, putting “Coexist” bumper stickers on their car, writing letters to the editor about Israel’s “oppression” of the “Palestinians” or even volunteering for causes that help that “oppressed” minority; or participating in Inter-Faith Seminars with a rabbi, priest and imam; or voting for a politician who will use his political influence to do even more damage along these lines; et freaking cetera…
No Fear says
I have had numerous online discussions with muslims about this topic. Many of them simply do not see child marriage as a problem. The reason is: Mohammed did it so it must have divine authority. Mohammed also stole property, murdered, raped, encouraged rape, encouraged slavery etc so I suppose that is OK as well. Indonesia is my closest Islamic country. 36% of marriages in Indonesia involve girls 16 or under.
vickie says
I have had the same experience until I mention Obstetrical Fistulas.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2621054/
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/obstetric_fistula/en/
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Obstetric_fistula?o=2800&qsrc=999&ad=doubleDown&an=apn&ap=ask.com
veggiedog says
This is the sickness
veggiedog says
So warped that they cannot see the mis-deeds of the one they call Prophet.
voegelinian says
That’s when they are not slyly engaging in Tu Quoque, citing Wikipedia statistics about various American states that had “underage marriage”; farting statements like “what about Joseph who married Mary when he was 197 and she was 3?”; or citing Catholic priest pedophilia; et freaking cetera.
Davegreybeard says
It’s a good start.
Jay Boo says
This is a major breakthrough.
It is the beginning of a paradigm shift
Even though Ms. Magazine choose not to take on Islam head-on, they have skillfully opened a door to let in the light. The next move is up to the Islamists. If they toss out the Islamo-phobia card they have to answer to what is it they find offensive. Let Islam come out in the open if it dares.
This tells feminists everywhere that Islam is not totally off limits.
veggiedog says
When will the threats against Ms. begin? Is the Islamic community capable of staying silent?
Bukkdem Jizheads says
I am so happy to see this cover. Can we disabuse the left of the ridiculous Republican “war on women”, “gay-bashers” and educate them about the real world of Muslims? The cousin-marriages and congenital defects from inbreeding? The hanging of homosexuals? The incredible pollution? The savagery of polygamy?
This is so brave of the editors, I hope their dogs don’t get poisoned. I’ll buy this magazine.
fair_dinkum says
sadly the author of this will be fatwa’ed over this and maybe threatened or worse. lets hope womens groups respond strongly and decisively.
all in all its clever and chilling.
gravenimage says
It never mentions Islam, of course, but model is wearing a hijab, and the reference to Yemen makes it clear that someone at Ms. is aware that child marriage is a phenomenon that is, if not uniquely Islamic, at least something that enjoys broad sanction within the Islamic world…
…………………………….
It’s not perfect, but it’s so much better in its understanding than what we usually see from Western feminists—Brava Ms. Magazine!
And kudos, especially, to Anita Little and her chillingly hilarious cover.
Salah says
Aisha’s duties included the constant task of washing the semen stains off Muhammad’s clothes. What a shame!
She said: Had you found anything you should have washed it. Incase I found that (semen) on the garment of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) dried up, I scraped it off with my nails.
Muslim :: Book 2 : Hadith 572
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/12/perfect-man-of-islam.html
Charli Main says
Semen on the clothes of the Messenger of Allah. I wonder, would that be his semen or the semen of his male “friends”?????
Jay Boo says
Islam beware and don’t dare rustle up any feathers because …
There is nothing like an bitchy Ms. Magazine feminist scorned
zulu1 says
Pakistani laws prohibiting underage marriage un-Islamic: CII
ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) concluded its 191th meeting, here Tuesday with the ruling that the laws related to minimum age of marriage were un-Islamic and that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1092468/pakistani-laws-prohibiting-underage-marriage-un-islamic-cii
Islam doesn’t prohibit underage marriage: Pak body
Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology, a consultative body that gives legal advice on issues that relate to religion, has decreed that Islam doesn’t prohibit underage marriage but consummation of marriage is allowed only when the couple, both bride and groom, attain puberty. – See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/islam-doesn-t-prohibit-underage-marriage-pak-cii/article1-1194401.aspx
Iraqi women protest against proposed Islamic law in Iraq
(Reuters) – About two dozen Iraqi women demonstrated on Saturday in Baghdad against a draft law approved by the Iraqi cabinet that would permit the marriage of nine-year-old girls and automatically give child custody to fathers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/08/us-iraq-women-islam-idUSBREA270NR20140308
logdon says
And the blue touch paper is lit.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaight for it!
dumbledoresarmy says
Wow.
Well done, ‘Ms’ Magazine! It’s a start.
Jihadwatchers all, wherever they are, should make a point of buying a copy of this particular issue, if possible. Hey, buy two or three copies! Leave one behind in the dentist’s waiting room. Leave one behind in the stack of glossy mags at the cafe you usually frequent. If you *are* a dentist, or lawyer, or cafe owner, etc – that is, you have a waiting room outside your office/ business establishment – slip it into the pile of glossy magazines you usually provide for the amusement of customers or clients, and wait. If you have daughters, grand-daughters, nieces: leave it on the coffee table in your living room. This has potential to be a *great* conversation-starter.
Perhaps print out copies of the authoritative hadiths that have to do with Aisha’s “Marriage”, and the verse of the Koran that talks about girls who are wedded and bedded – and divorced! -and all of it before achieving menarche, and slip inside the front cover, like a bookmark.
And Ms magazine should be receiving a flood of brief, polite, *appreciative* letters thanking them for tackling this subject: and describing the permanently-normative status, among Muslims, of 50+ Mohammed’s “marriage” to little Aisha – give them the key texts that tell that particular story. Just so that they know exactly where – among Muslims – this practice is coming from and why, *among Muslims*, it is so infernally hard to stamp out.
Angemon says
It’s a fake cover.
http://msmagazine.com/blog/2014/03/08/we-heart-fake-magazine-covers-that-expose-real-inequality/
voegelinian says
Yes, it is a fake cover — but it was concocted by an associate editor of Ms. Magazine (Anita Little), and presented on her blog.
voegelinian says
Rather than “concocted”, I should have said “promoted” — as the real impetus behind the cover is some organization called “Catapult”:
http://www.catapult.org/coverstories/
They also incidentally have a couple of other mock covers that are clearly trumpeting causes about problems not Islamic in the same ballpark.
gravenimage says
As noted by other posters, DDA, this is spoof cover—but it *is* featured on the official Ms. Magazine blog.
I just sent off a short letter praising the cover and mentioning a couple of salient facts about child marriage in Islam.
dumbledoresarmy says
Gravenimage – perhaps you should have referred them to your two artworks – the Marriage of Aisha, and the Betrothal (the one with Aisha on the swing and Mohammed watching her).
I’m glad that ‘Ms’ ran this on their official blog, even if they didn’t put it on an actual magazine.
Let’s hope that they will get such an overwhelmingly positive response to this spoof – and it *is* brilliant – that they will be encouraged to be braver (after investing in suitable security measures).
What was interesting was reading the comments at the blog itself.
One of the commenters was a teacher who was going to use the spoof cover to further class discussion.
The prevalence of ‘marriage’ of very, very young girls in the Muslim world is a potential ‘eye-opener’ for many Westerners, once they discover how widely supported it is and that it is actively praised and *demanded* by a *lot* of Muslim clerics worldwide.
One doesn’t see Jewish, Christian, Hindu or Buddhist mainstream religious leaders trumpeting the goodness and rightness of allowing adult men to “marry” and screw preteen and even prepubescent girls – but one *does* see, once one starts paying attention, a whole lotta Muslims doing exactly that.
I think the average decent Westerner has a gut reaction of absolute revulsion at the idea of a man of twenty, thirty, forty or fifty ‘maritally’ raping a poor little flat-chested nine or ten year old girl.
So the more widely we can spread the awareness of a/ the canonical Islamic account of Mohammed’s dealings with Aisha and b/ the knowledge that this pairing is still seen, by lots and lots of Muslims, as *good* and as *normative today*, the better.
Call it shock treatment.
duh_swami says
Marriage makes rape lawful. When Mohammads lust for a particular woman was strong enough that he wanted to keep them around for frequent rape, he simply married them and that made everything OK with Allah. This is what happens to children. Marrying them makes rape legal, it’s sunnah. But, the pious cannot have that much sunnah, so Allah put a lid on it by limiting the number of wives to four, except for Mohammad, he could have as many wives as he wanted.
Child brides used to be common, even in the US. Children were often exploited in other ways, like child labor. Only fairly recently has the west grown to appreciate children for being children and passed laws against child abuse and exploitation. Islam has not grown and is still living in the sunnah of the past, to the detriment of any child caught up in that ugly trap.
Denis Schulz says
I have sent an email to Ms recommending they take a look at my book–The Sheikh, Volume Two of the Search for Yaser Abdel Said. The Sheikh has issued a fatwa legalizing the marriages of Muslim men to girls as young as nine years of age. He is headed for the Osama bin Laden Madrassas for Girls to wed an eleven-year-old. Instead he falls in love with a ten-year-old boy disguised as a girl. It is satire in a jugular vein. This is a create/space book. The author has all rights to this book save for the create/space-Amazon version. The book is satire and parts of this book have been posted on Islam Watch and Faith-Freedom International. You might want to take a look at it. I can send you a sample chapter. It is full of quotes from the Qur’an–maxflack