Printer-friendly version
Author:
Blog About:
While the plastic world seems consumed by one celebrity coming out as transgender, the real world still seems a hostile place, especially for transgender women in Egypt. From the Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/09/egypt-transgend...
Comments
Happens all over the world in all sorts of societies
So what do you suggest is possible for non-Egyptians to help?
Ponging on about Caitlyn's presence or the negative thereof is not constructive imho. Like it or not she is there and that is the animal she is. The real question is, is however far we are dragged along in the wake of Caitlyn's celebrity, we are all going to feel some impact from it be it positive or negative.
In the US we have been dragged down by the millstone called the Jerry Springer Show for too long and I find it ironic it might very well take another celebrity in the same medium to maybe, just maybe focus better spin our way.
Like it or not, by being more in the public consciousness due to media hyped celebrities, people may be more aware of stories like you mentioned who otherwise would just flip by it.
Moved To Comment
I couldn't get all the way through the story. It's horrible. My mind just shuts down and stops reading. I feel strongly moved to comment on the situation, but I don't have the slightest clue where to even begin. The certitude and self-righteousness of the police & prosecutors is truly galling. It's enough to make me wish there was a vengeful God who would teach them the error of their ways.
All the major religions have a strain of Peace running through them, along with admonitions to treat your fellow Man well, regardless of strangeness or xenophobia. And yet, the people who end up in control don't seem to pay too much attention to those portions of their scriptures. Human nature can be very ugly at times.
Obviously, interpretations of the Koran...
...vary widely in the Arab world, since Iran, of all countries, allows the surgery. Of the two, frankly, I would have expected Iran to be the more oppressive.
Livin' A Ragtime Life,
Rachel
There is a lot of
There is a lot of disagreement amongst scholars over the one passage that conservatives states forbids homosexuality and trans people. In fact, most American Muslim scholars tend to refute the stance that homosexuality is totally condemned in the Qur'an and doesn't touch on trans issues. The Shi'a Muslims have a view that trans is a medical necessity to be fixed, many Sunnis disagree and most Sufis believe in spirituality so are more supportive of LGBT aspects. I myself know an openly gay Imam up in DC and have been to his masjid once, and enjoyed it.
And one little nitpick, Iranians would get extremely offended to be called Arab. They are Persians...and indeed Arabs only encompass about 15% of all Muslims, with Asians comprising by far the bulk of Muslims worldwide.
And to be fair, Egypt has become even more oppressive since the coup that put the military back in charge of the country.
Samirah M. Johnstone