CBS female news reporter suffers a brutal and sustained sexual attack in Egypt in Tahrir Square

Thank goodness for that! PS: I did say I only skim read.

I am curious as to how you could think that rape is sexual? I don't!

I am curious as to how you could think that rape is sexual?

Iman73 - though you have not stated it, I take it that implicit in what you're saying is that rape is a crime about power, not simply (if at all) sexual? I skim read, so please tell me whether you were trying to be funny?? Rape as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is: "…the crime, typically committed by a man, of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with the offender against their will…" Sorry, no I wasn't trying to be funny.

Iman73 - though you have not stated it, I take it that implicit in what you're saying is that rape is a crime about power, not simply (if at all) sexual? I skim read, so please tell me whether you were trying to be funny?? Rape as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is: "…the crime, typically committed by a man, of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with the offender against their will…"

http://blogs.forbes.com/carolinehoward/2011/02/17/***-attack-lara-logan-female-reporters-overseas-sexual-harassment-rape/ edited by 49M&Ms on 18/02/2011 the link got censured ... you have to replace *** with you-know-what after pasting the link, its a very good read indeed.

http://blogs.forbes.com/carolinehoward/2011/02/17/***-attack-lara-logan-female-reporters-overseas-sexual-harassment-rape/ <em>edited by 49M&Ms on 18/02/2011</em>

Good grief, some of those commentators beggar belief. And wait, look, they're *not* in the UAE - Shock, Horror, Probe.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1317384 The plot thickens. As you say. Mysterieux. Sorry, who is poison? Debbie Schlussel. Is it wrong to say I've never heard of her?

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1317384 The plot thickens. As you say. Mysterieux. Sorry, who is poison?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357957/Lara-Logan-attack-Debbie-Schlussel-Nir-Rosen-criticise-CBS-correspondent.html

Iman73 - though you have not stated it, I take it that implicit in what you're saying is that rape is a crime about power, not simply (if at all) sexual?

I73 thank you for your input on the subject. refreshing comment in such an important subject. this is mainly a woman forum but unfortunately, most of the voices are pretty average, in my opinion. you have a strong point in there. and i like how you fight for it too!

Sticky Wicket - I think that as human beings (not just women) we should be appalled at the assault against any woman, be it a woman in rural Pakistan, Lisa Logan, or the thousands of other who are being assaulted as we discuss this issue at this very moment. Being appalled at the assault of another woman does not make you superior. Believing that there is something innate to Pakistan, be it Pakistan's men, society, culture, etc. that make that country somehow more misogynistic than a European countries is Eurocentric. Not too long ago marital rape was not considered a crime in Canada (that's where I'm from). Feminists had to fight long and hard to have marital sexual assault recognized as a crime. In fact, many of the rights, freedoms and legal protections Western women benefit from came through decades of struggling against the established patriarchy - the struggle continues to this day on a whole plethora of issues. Western men didn't "give us" our rights - women fought for them. Likewise, women in Pakistan are fighting for their rights including the right of rural women to seek legal recourse against their assailants. It is not upto any man to give a woman her rights - those in positions of power rarely handover rights and freedoms to those that they oppress. Again, I go back to my point of how women and men do not function in isolation from much larger socioeconomic, cultural and political systems. Sexual assault against women in rural Pakistan must be understood within its context which would include, in part, understanding how/why men in rural communities perpetrate violence against women and how the state, cultural beliefs, politics supports misogyny. I think it is very dangerous to claim that men in Western countries are less sexist than men from Eastern/Third World countries - the prevalance of violence against women and children in many Western nations is case in point. Western men are not somehow more insulated from sexist or misogynist beliefs and practices than other men. What about the thousands of women who were raped and murdered during the Bosnian war? Or the rape of prisoners by U.S. and British soldiers in Iraq? Instead of making comparisons about how one group is less sexist than another, I think it is more important that the analysis of and struggle against women's oppression take into account those contextual factors I mentioned earlier.

I73, sorry my point was that a woman who is raped in rural Pakistan has nowhere to go, she is even more worthless than she was prior to the rape, her family are disgraced and she has no right to take her attacker to court or even report to the police. As a western woman is it wrong to say i am appalled by that, does that deem me superior? As a woman in other countries regardless of race, nationality or religion you do have rights and are equal to men under the laws of those countries. This is just fact, this was in answer to your point about gloating and superiority. There are no rape stats in rural pakistan, there's no point the women are worthless there who cares enough to allow them to report? As such i would deem the men from rural pakistan far more sexist then men from other nations, they make the rules and by definition if they were not sexist they would allow women rights?

it is thursday, take it easy .... all is good and your cause is too. Good to know :) I'd like to believe that empowering women and ending sexism is the cause of all women (and men) - that's just me being very idealistic and hopeful.

Let's not forget that it was Egyptian men and women that came to the aid of Lara Logan after becoming aware of the situation.

Stickywicket - I really liked your words "There is surely no right or wrong when it comes to condeming a lack of rights for women? Surely every voice is as important to continue to get the message accross?" I couldn't agree more, well said. I don't believe that the high incidence of rape in Pakistan is entirely due to the men there having less respect for women, although I'm sure that plays a role in violence against women in Pakistan and in other parts of the world. Violence against women (in Pakistan and other places) doesn't happen in isolation and those who assault women are part of much larger socioeconomic, cultural, and political systems are structured upon the oppression of women. So there are relatively more incidences of rape in Pakistan than other places (not sure how accurate these stats are because so many cases of rape go unreported in many parts of the world - suspect that there are a great deal many more countries with high rates). Does that mean that men in Pakistan are more sexist than others? Or could it be that there is a whole slew of other factors that contribute to violence against women there? I can't think of too many off the top of my head (would have to do a little bit of research to brush up on my feminist knowledge) but I think that the growth of fundamentalism (not labelling any particular religion here), increasing poverty, backlash against women's empowerment etc plays a very strong role in violence against women in Pakistan. Not excusing or absolving individual male assailants from their crimes at all, but I think it is so important to situate various patriarchal practices within proper context to fully understand their causes and how to combat them.

Any group of women gloating over their supposed "superiority" over other women does not help women's empowerment. No one is gloating rather expressing the fact that as a national of their country they have more rights than that of another and this inturn can empower women from other nations.

it is thursday, take it easy .... all is good and your cause is too.

Iman i really like what you write and how you write it (your passion comes accross so beautifully) and understand that perception is based on the individual. But there are also facts and i'm sorry but certain countries and cultures do have far more respect for women than others. Take rape in Pakistan as an example comparative to a european country, what rights do the women in pakistan have and how is rape viewed there? There is a difference. I've heard the pity for western women as well but also heard and seen the frustration from women in countries where they have no rights. There is surely no right or wrong when it comes to condeming a lack of rights for women? Surely every voice is as important to continue to get the message accross? Wax much great post re the journo, suspect you are bang on there.

MODS we need a new forum call it I73 What's that supposed to mean? I'm hoping you're being humorous and are not implying something slightly more sinister :(

MODS we need a new forum call it I73

WaxMuch - meant to say "I agree with your point about how rape is..." little typo there :)