Response to: Honor Diaries

Honor Diaries is a documentary that discusses the issues women face in Middle Eastern Islamic cultures from the point of view of Middle Eastern Muslim women. It highlighted several issues that have become civil rights issues for Muslim women involving: enforced dress codes, forced marriage, genital mutilation, and honor killings. The documentary also pointed out how these issues have been occurring in the U.S. and Western Europe but is not addressed because of our understanding that we must allow for cultural diversity and freedom within our own culture. It really drove home the point that while it is important to allow for cultural expression, that it is just as equally important to make an effort to put a stop to the cultural practices that detrimentally harm living, breathing humans.

Raquel Evita Saraswati, a Muslim American activist who appear in Honor Diaries, reminded me of Emerson as she is a practicing Muslim who works to change the problematic issues within her own Religion and continues to fight for her culture. Islam is the place where she draws her strength and she makes the point that genital mutilation is not actually part of Islamic code and that it is a practice that has been picked up with the cultural obsession surrounding honor and how the fulfillment of that concept has been placed entirely on the shoulders of women. She may be a powerful figure that is needed to bring about change in her culture. Though is also one player in a force of many. Many strive to bring about the cultural change needed to bring humanity and respect to women within the beliefs of Islamic culture. Though this is something that we could all take a part in. While it was important to be informed of the terrible plight facing these women, one of the main points I took away from this film is that one cannot be afraid of causing offense and anger when the humanity of so many is at stake. It is always easy to believe that it is better not to cause a drama and arguments. It's so much more regretful to let inequities slide because you were afraid of being called a racist or some other insult. That is something I shall have to work on.