Dr Phyllis Chesler is disgusted with feminists. Dr Chesler is an emerita professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, a Fellow at the Middle East Forum, the author of thousands of articles, four studies about honour killings and sixteen books, including "Women and Madness," and "An American Bride in Kabul." "Living History: On The Front Lines for Israel and the Jews, 2003-2015."
In a recent article Dr Chesler asks where are the feminists when the going gets tough and - they are no where to be seen - with the call to plea for the women of ISIS and the sex slaves.
Don't feminists know that Syrian and Iraqi women (Muslims, Christians, Yazidis, Kurds) are desperate to flee the region, that they fear being captured, forcibly married, forcibly converted to Islam—or tortured as sex slaves?
Dr Chesler cites the Washington Post which in October ran an in-depth look at "Life in the 'Islamic State.'" Part two of the multi-part series focuses on women.
Tragically, Dr Chesler writes: we already know the fate of the lucky "wives." They lead isolated lives spent mostly indoors without electricity or clean water. They wear heavy head-face-and-body covering in 100 degree weather–and they are monitored, harassed, and punished by a sadistic all-female brigade if their burqa slips. According to the Post they join "an institutionalised, near-assembly-line system to provide fighters with sex and children. When their (arranged marriage) husbands are killed, they are expected to celebrate their 'martyrdom' and quickly marry other fighters.
The sex slaves are not even this "lucky." The mainly Yazidi and Christian girls and women who are forced into sex slavery are raped up to thirty times a day by different men. Many are sold, over and over again—and trafficked to Saudi Arabia or Northern Africa.
The question is put
Dr Chesler asks why is she such a lonely voice. Why are there not 1 million women on street marches demanding the feminist cause for these women.
Why are feminists not rescuing ISIS's sex slaves or at least buying their freedom, one by one, which is one of the things that, Dr Chesler says, "my good Christian colleagues, Sister Hatune and Hans Erling Jensen at the Hatune Dogan Foundation have done?"
"Why are so many Western feminists still obsessed with criticising America first, Israel second — and ISIS only in a whisper?"
Dr Chesler cites that the feminists are the first and only ones who exposed sexual violence towards girls and women in the late 1960's and 1970's and who have condemned the misogyny of Christian and Jewish fundamentalists. There we have it.
The obvious question remains – and Dr Chesler asks it: has their quota of wrath been exhausted, is there none left for fundamentalist Islam which hopes to bomb us all back to the 7th century and envisions face-veiling and isolating Muslim women, and gang-raping and trafficking all other women?
Hits a home truth
Dr Chesler then cites the Christian refugees in Turkey who have no money and no help as the Muslims control the exit programs. Christians, she says, might assimilate more safely into a Judeo-Christian culture than so many of the primarily male Muslims who are flooding into Europe.
Already Australian Parliamentarians have called upon the Australian Government to give Christian Syrians priority in the 12,000 to be invited into Australia. There is one glaringly obvious response to this – they cannot return home.
Now we have another opportunity for the feminists to cry out for righteousness, that by protecting primarily the women and girls who are Christians providing them a future and a hope. But do we hear their voice?
Yet Dr Chesler is shouting this from the roof tops. Again where are the feminists? Shame, shame, shame.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
