‘We want neither Sharia, nor a coup, but a fully democratic Turkey,’ demonstrators said.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Review of A C Grayling’s ‘Against All Gods’ 
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘To believe something in the face of evidence and against reason is ignoble, irresponsible and ignorant.’… Read the rest
Pill for Women Raises Libido, Lowers Appetite
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Next up: a pill that increases housework, reduces talk. The ideal woman is on the way.… Read the rest
How Multiculturalism is Betraying Women
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women’s rights or multiculturalism? You can’t have both, Johann Hari notes; you have to choose.… Read the rest
Sign the Petition Against Stoning of Women
Apr 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Add your voice to those calling for change in Kurdistan and Iraq and for an end to the oppression of ‘honour’. … Read the rest
Hundreds of Men Watch as Du’a is Stoned to Death
Apr 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Relatives stripped her, beat and kicked her, and killed her by crushing her body with rocks and concrete blocks.… Read the rest
Arbil: Demonstration Against Stoning
Apr 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Of Du’a Khalil Aswad, 17 year old Kurdish girl murdered by public stoning after running away from home. … Read the rest
The Jesus Light
Apr 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Each of us is aware of a light, of something fundamentally good. This something is…Jesus. … Read the rest
Stephen Law on Clarity and Bullshit
Apr 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There’s a story in which the Enlightenment version of reason is oppressive and leads to the Holocaust.… Read the rest
Shake it
Apr 28th, 2007 2:41 pm | By Ophelia BensonIn this tv documentary Irshad Manji says – before going on to say in what ways she is critical of contemporary Islam – ‘My faith in God is unshakeable.’ It takes an effort to balk at that statement, precisely because she does go on to say in what ways she is critical of contemporary Islam, and because she gets a lot of threats for doing so; but all the same I do balk at it. I admire Manji, and I hope she succeeds, and I earnestly hope there are a lot of people like her; but all the same, I wish unshakeable faith were not considered a virtue, as (one can tell by the way she says it) Manji clearly … Read the rest
Barmaid Asks What Price Gender
Apr 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Leviticus 27 says a man is worth 50 shekels, a woman is worth 30. Because?… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Worry About Bigotophobia
Apr 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
First they came for the bigots, but I did not speak out, for I was not a bigot.… Read the rest
Sharaf Hjältar Combats ‘Honour’ Violence
Apr 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Swedish group tries to change the patriarchal view of women still held by many men.… Read the rest
‘All I Remember is Beating and Subjugation’
Apr 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Many girls in immigrant communities are trapped in rigid patriarchal structures and live in fear of their families.’… Read the rest
Hey Angels Are Real, Says Telegraph
Apr 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why should there not be pure intellects, with no admixture of matter, who are located wherever they act?… Read the rest
Teaching Creationism Blocks Education
Apr 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘What the creationist alternative does to students is to intercept and deaden curiosity.’… Read the rest
Hitchens on Mormonism
Apr 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Like Muhammad, Smith could produce divine revelations at short notice and often simply to suit himself.… Read the rest
Mstislav Rostropovich
Apr 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thanks for all the music.… Read the rest
Johann Hari Puts Zizek in Pseud’s Corner
Apr 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Complex manner in which he expresses himself does not imply that his thought is itself subtle or complex.… Read the rest
Hundreds of ‘Bad Hijab’ Women Arrested in Iran
Apr 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thousands cautioned. Shopkeeper told to saw off the breasts of mannequins.… Read the rest
