In Arizona, a week ago today, 20 year old woman Noor Almaleki died.
Some have reported that her murder by her father was another instance of unfortunate domestic violence. But the fact is that her murder was another instance of an ideological violence against women that we must challenge as a threat to our universal human rights here and around the world.
- 20 Year Old Noor Almaleki – Died on November 2, 2009 – A Victim of An Ideological Violence Against Women
Such acts of violence against women based on an ideology are more than “isolated incidents.” Such ideological violence is a human rights challenge that defies our universal human rights. Many seek to dismiss an ideological femicide to oppress women by explaining away such violence based on ignorance, cultural backwardness, or “tribal traditions.” Moreover, others point to the fact that “honor killings” are also performed by other identity groups around the world, which is absolutely true.
But in the case of the murder of Noor Almaleki on November 2, the family repeatedly told members of the Arizona press that the reason why her father murdered her had to do with his religious extremist views on what they called “traditional Muslim values.” This was the reason explained for her father’s willingness to murder her.
While the Arizona Republic and CBS-5 specifically and repeatedly quote both Noor Almaleki’s family and brother as explaining her death based on her failure “to live by traditional Muslim values,” CNN has repeatedly ignored these reports and reports her death due to “Iraqi values.” It ignores such reports by Arizona media, even when the Almalekis moved to the United States 15 years ago.
We ask CNN to review this story and report all of the facts so that the public can be informed, and so that others can challenge the Almaleki family’s allegations that “traditional Muslim values” prohibit freedom for women, including Noor Almaleki.
Extremist-rationalized “honor killings” are different than other domestic violence and violence against women, and until the basis for such ideological violence against women is recognized and discussed, we cannot prevent such violence from continuing and spreading. We must call for the mainstream media to start connecting the dots and doing the research on the ideological basis behind such violence and report this to the American people.
There is a distinct and global misogynist extremist challenge to women that we repeatedly see from those who rationalize such misogyny with an extremist ideology towards human rights. We cannot continue to ignore the ideological basis behind such extremist violence. Over and over, the perpetrators and those involved with such violence make reference specifically to extremist views towards human rights.
Noor Almaleki is not the first such ideological “honor killing” in the United States. There have been others in Dallas, in Georgia, in Cleveland, in Indianapolis, and one suspected in Buffalo. There are others who report that they have been threatened with harm, such as Rifqa Bary, in Columbus. Such ideological violence against girls and women in the United States is the tip of the iceberg of thousands of such women murdered with such ideological rationalization around the world as we have reported.
Such ideological “honor killings” are just one more link in a larger extremist rationalized ideological chain that seeks to oppress women around the world, not only to deny them equality, but to intimidate and subjugate them to being less than human – not entitled to human rights at all, but only granted privileges to serve those who would oppress them. We see this not only in the ideological “honor killings,” but also in the recent Global Gender Gap index which illustrates the hundreds of millions of women in predominantly Islamic countries that live under oppression today – many of the same countries that are the worst offenders of human trafficking. At our blog, we have endless reports of one abuse after another and another based on an ideological oppression of women rationalized by extremism.
Such ideological “honor killings” are not crimes of passion or crimes of tribal tradition. They are acts of ideological violence intended to remind women of their position of servitude and submission to those extremists who believe they are women’s “masters.” As we call for the improvement for human rights for all women around the world, as Americans we must also demand that the truth be told about those who seek to promote ideological hate and oppression against women in our country today. We must continue to demand that our media report on this issue to inform our citizens and to put pressure on our government to take action – to demand that such ideological violence against women ends.
When we see other ideological violence intended to provoke fear and intimidate others, we have a name for it: “terrorism.” We won’t see such ideological violence and oppression against women addressed by counterterrorism organizations – that focus on who, what, where, and when – but have decided to leave the issue of why regarding ideological violence occurs… to someone else.
That someone else is us. That is our challenge in being Responsible for Equality And Liberty – to speak for those who can’t speak any more and to speak for the oppressed who live in fear to speak out for their universal human rights — including those in America today. Noor Almaleki’s friends feared speaking to reporters for fear of what would happen to them. That is the terrorism against women – too common around the world – that continues to find its way to America. This is the same terrorism against women that our news media refuses to effectively report on. The is the same terrorism against women that our government refuses to act on. We must demand that our media recognize such terrorism against women for what it is and to recognize and defy those extremist ideologies that seek our silence.
Other Reports:
Facebook Page: “R.I.P Noor Faleh Almaleki”
Arizona: Terrorism Against Women — Noor Almaleki Just Wanted To Be Normal
Arizona — Noor Almaleki “Honor Killing”: Hassan Almaleki Arraignment Delayed, On Suicide Watch
Arizona — Noor Almaleki Honor Killing: Father To Be Arraigned, Face New Charges
Arizona: Woman in Suspected “Honor Killing” Dies — 20 Year Old Noor Almaleki
Arizona — Noor Almaleki Case: Arizona Jails Father in ‘Honor Killing’ Try
Arizona: Noor Almaleki’s Lifestyle may have put woman in hospital