The Nature of the Tragedy

    The outcome of the Strauss-Kahn criminal case was, in the purest sense, a low-down dirty shame, but one need not invite debate over the meaning or the application of "reasonable doubt" to label it as such.
    Indeed, I can think of no substitute for reasonable doubt as a standard of evidence, and would even admit - though it breaks my heart to do so - that Ms. Diallo's testimony and accompanying credibility would not, at the time of the case's dismissal, have been sufficient to yield a conviction.
    The tragedy, the hideous outcome of it all, is that no one seemed to try. The case never made it to trial, an environment in which Diallo's testimony might have grown into something less doubt-provoking than it had been before; an environment wherein, failing all else, the seriousness of her claims would at least have receivd the legal attention it deserved.
    Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors might have balanced the holes in her credibility against a detail the media circus, and the court of public opinion it informed, never managed to address - the corresponding holes in Mr. Strauss-Kahn's credibility. Why, for instance, did he fail to provide details of where he went immediately after the alleged encounter until three weeks later? Why did French Journalist Tristan Banon come forward the day after Mr. Strauss-Kahn's arrest and claim he had attacked her in 2002?  How were these details not assigned even a tenth the importance of Ms. Diallo's botched asylum application, or her murky financial history?
    Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors might have countered the construction of the malicious, gold-digging maid with claims that stressed its unlikelihood. After three years of employment at the Sofitel Hotel, Strauss-Khan was hardly the first wealthy guest with whom Diallo came in contact. Were the accumulation of wealth her motive, the proximity of rich folk her opportunity, and the fabrication of rape her means, would she not have attempted such a stunt long ago?
    At the end of the day, it may still have devolved into one person's word against another, which would not have been enough to convict Strauss-Kahn, but the poignancy of these matters makes repugnant the move that silenced them forever.
    Rob Clyne of Sabotage Times puts it a bit more bluntly: ". . . this is rape we’re talking about. This is an accusation of a man forcing his penis into a woman’s mouth. Doubt, reasonable or otherwise, is not a strong enough reason to dismiss a case of this nature. The law protected DSK to such an extent that he didn’t even have to face cross examination. Justice, it seems, is in hiding. A depressing outlook for women’s rights and brave victims of sexual assault."
     Indeed.
     And now the would-be case is utterly vulnerable to media postulations, a process that has already canonized Diallo the Liar while leaving Strauss-Kahn ambiguous.
    Ms. Dialo may or may not be a victim (I of course think she was) but her treatment in the media aligns closely enough with the victim-blaming paradigm that I, for one, feel justified in puking.


 

Dominique Strauss-Kahn can't silence the survivors

    Though I'm not religious, I couldn't help swooning over the thought that yesterday's earthquake might have bespoken some cosmic anger over the outcome of the criminal case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
    Luckily, I didn't have to bring God into the equation to enjoy this gem of a video: the earthquake's pulverization of Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance's nauseating press conference on his rationale for dropping the charges.
    It was almost enough to provide momentary solace.
    Almost, but not quite.
    For now, I'll avoid discussion of the enormity of yesterday's travesty, as there are no doubt many others hosting such conversations at this moment. Instead, I'll add my voice to what I can only hope is a surging chorus in support of assault victims worldwide. No outcome of this case would be grimmer than the dissuasion of survivors from bringing their abusers to trial.
   The stigma, the inhibited access to proper legal representation, the misogynistic leanings of a plurality of America's judges . . . all have conspired to not only thwart the attempts of assault victims to successfully prosecute their abusers, but have discouraged a mast majority from even trying.
   To any and all survivors who might be reading this, I, for one, stand fully behind you. You have as much a right to justice as you have to existence.
   And yes, Ms. Diallo: that includes you too.

Interview with Nadia Al-Sakkaf, Editor of the Yemen Times

     As the battle for Tripoli approaches what many analysts consider the endgame, the revolution in Yemen toils onward, having largely followed Bahrain into the Western media's radio silence.
     Shedding some light on the ongoing struggle, and the nation in which it unfolds, Nadia Al-Sakkaff, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times, partakes in a compelling interview with TED, featured below.

      

    Charismatic, driven, and undeniably empowered, Al-Sakkaff echoes the character of her fellow national Tawakul Karman, whom she implicitly references when describing the Yemeni uprising as "a revolution started by women."   

     The interview mixes photos of the revolt with Al-Sakkaff's own biography, the inspiring story of a woman who moved forward with an unprecedented business venture in spite of widespread criticism from the more conservative factions of her society.

     "Everybody was betting that I will not be able to do it," she says. ". . . It was very hard at first. I didn't want to clash with people. But with all due respect to all the men, and the older men especially, they did not want me around. It was very hard, you know, to impose my authority. But a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do. And in the first year, I had to fire half of the men. Brought in more women."

     It goes without saying that Al-Sakkaff offers yet another challenge to the stereotype of the docile Muslim woman. Ironically, my one hesitation with the interview is that Al-Sakkaff herself is a bit generalizing where Muslim women are concerned, constructing as oppressed all women who choose to cover their faces.        

     On a related note, it should come as no surprise that Al-Sakaff vents frustration about the monolithic way in which Western media constructs her country as a whole.

    "A lot of reporters come to Yemen and they want to write a story on Al-Qaeda or terrorism," she says. "And I just wanted to share with you: there's one reporter that came. He wanted to do a documentary on what his editors wanted. And he ended up writing about a story that even surprised me -- hip hop." 
     God bless the unexpected.

Muslim Women's Fashion: Dispelling Another Myth

     Another widespread misconception about Islam centers on the wardrobe: namely, that a Muslim woman's choice to dress conservatively precludes her ability to be fashionable, to be expressive in her attire. Quite to the contrary, modesty as a fashion choice is a booming industry in the Muslim world, stretching from the fledgling runways of Kabul to the aisles of Egypt, the undisputed trend-setter in both clothing and the arts.
     A recent article in the Lifestyle section of the Washington Post snapshots the latest trends in conservative summer attire for Muslim women, focusing on an Egyptian-American couple and the warehouse they own and operate in Falls Church, Virginia.
     Says a quoted fashionista, speaking to the one of the garment combos featured at the store,  "On a typical summer day, I choose a skirt and a cute tunic with a lightweight scarf that coordinates . . . A popular staple in the Muslim lady’s wardrobe right now is the maxi dress with a body shirt underneath or a lightweight cardigan over the top."
     The starring role of the article goes to the burqina, a "two-piece like a bikini and smaller than a burqa," which allows even the most conservative Muslim woman to take respite from the heat without compromising their modesty. Designed by Lebanese-born Aheda Zanetti, "the burqina and other 'Islamic' swimsuits resemble wetsuits used for surfing or scuba diving, except they are available in various colors and styles."
    If any of the above strikes the reader as surprising, it likely stems from the pigeonholing parameters in which the West frames feminine beauty, parameters in which the attractiveness of a woman's clothing is so often proportional to the degree to which her body is revealed.
    Muslim women's fashion - or, at least, the fashion discussed above - by definition conceals the body and de-emphasizes sexuality, but nothing in this philosophy countermands the capacity for clothing to be expressive, evocative, or aesthetically pleasing.
    I'm not about to express a preference between philosophies, or put forward an opinion on which of the two is more empowering to women. I wish only to offer this up as another reminder that a planet of universally divergent belief yields plenty of room for all.
    Says another interviewee for the article, “As a Muslim woman, I wear clothes that are flattering, yet don’t show the details of my figure . . . I do this because I believe that God has called upon Muslim women to conserve their beauty to those closest to her. So, one does not have to wear a miniskirt to look beautiful.”
 

Gender electoral parity in Tunisia

     In March of this year, rallying around International Women's Day, Tunisian activists drafted a constitutional wish-list aimed at effecting gender equality on all levels of society. A month later, their demands, deemed far-fetched at the time, were taken up by the national electoral commission when it began drafting rules for the constituent assembly elections. To the joy of feminists worldwide, the commission adopted a gender-parity system for candidate lists, requiring political parties to alternate men and women on their lists from top to bottom. Any party that does not adhere to this rule can face immediate rejection by the commission.
    History has proven, again and again, that a democracy's claim to legitimacy can face few stricter litmus tests than the manner in which it treats its women. Tunisia's decisive stance in favor of gender equality bodes well not only for its own revolution, but for the world at large - a world in which democracies are far scarcer than the testosterone-driven media would have us believe.
     Tunisia's constituent assembly elections are slated to take place on October 23rd. I'm sure I'm joined by many in devoutly hoping that the gestures of the electoral commission will result in the women of Tunisia assuming a meaningful and transformative role in their nation's evolution.

Back from Alaska . . .

and catching up on the work that accumulated in my absence. My book does still exist, and I do still care about the world! Real posting soon . . .