A common problem in Muslims communities in many secular Western nations is the presence of violence against women. In Islam, women don't have the same status or rights as men; this can lead to pretty awful treatment and even physical abuse which may not be mandated by Islam, but also isn't always negated by it.
Germany's News 24 reports:
Das Martyrium hat viele Formen. Unter dem Mantel des Schweigens erdulden muslimische Frauen in Deutschland nicht selten Zwangsverheiratung, Isolation und Abhängigkeit bis hin zu Morddrohungen und physischer Gewalt. Erst nach einer bisweilen langjährigen Gewaltgeschichte wenden sich die Betroffenen an Frauenhäuser und Beratungsstellen. Dort vermittelt man sie in Deutschkurse und hilft ihnen, eine neue Existenz aufzubauen.
Als besonderes Problem in muslimischen Familien schildert die Mitarbeiterin des Dritten Frauenhauses die Tatsache, dass auch weibliche Familienangehörige sich an dem Gewaltszenario beteiligten. So würden bisweilen weibliche Verwandte unter dem Vorwand der Betroffenheit als Spitzel ins Frauenhaus eingeschleust. Der einzige Ausweg sei in Extremsituationen, dass die Frauen in anderen Städten untertauchten.
Einer Studie des Familienministeriums zufolge fällt bei Gewalt in Paarbeziehungen die überdurchschnittlich hohe Betroffenheit türkischer Frauen in Deutschland auf. So haben 49 Prozent der befragten Türkinnen seit ihrem 16. Lebensjahr bereits einmal körperliche oder sexuelle Gewalt erlebt - im Vergleich zu 40 Prozent der weiblichen Bevölkerung in Deutschland.
Auch würden türkische Migrantinnen doppelt so oft verprügelt, gewürgt oder mit einer Waffe bedroht wie die Vergleichsgruppe der Frauen in Deutschland. Als besondere Form psychischer Gewalt wurde in der Studie die Zwangsverheiratung hervorgehoben. Bei der Hälfte der befragten türkischen Migrantinnen war der Partner von Verwandten ausgewählt worden. Ein Viertel der Frauen war nicht nach ihrer Meinung zu dem zukünftigen Partner befragt worden, und 17 Prozent hatten das Gefühl, zu der Ehe gezwungen zu werden.
My translation:
Martyrdom comes in many forms. Cloaked in silence, Muslim women in Germany often endure forced marriages, isolation, and dependency even in the context of murder threats and physical force. Only after a history of violence of many years might they turn to Women's Houses. There one can get help in learning Germany and how to build a new life.
A special problem in Muslim families, as a female employee of the Third Women's House describes, is the fact that female relatives also participate in the use of violence. Sometimes, under the pretext of also having experienced violence, female relatives have entered a Women's House — but their real goal is to serve as informers. The only way out is, in extreme situations, for women to disappear into other cities.
A study done by the Family Ministry has found an above average number of Turkish women in Germany are affected by violence. Thus 49% have experienced physical or sexual violence by the age of 16, compared with 40% of the female population as a whole in Germany.
Turkish immigrants are also twice as often beaten, choked, or threatened with a weapon as compared to other women in Germany. Forced marriages were emphasized as a special form of psychological force in the study. Half of the female Turkish immigrants who were asked said that their spouse had been chosen by relatives. A quarter of the women had not been asked their opinion about the future partner and 17% had the feeling that they had been forced into the marriage.
As I noted above, violence towards women may not be mandated by Islam — but it also doesn't appear to be doing anything to mitigate it, either. Violence against women is a problem in every culture and every religion, but when Muslim communities experience greater violence and more problems than surrounding non-Muslim communities, people have to start asking hard questions about how Islam is being used. Defenders and apologists of Islam can't simply stop at insisting that Islam is peaceful and doesn't require violence towards women — they must also take further steps to use Islam to end that violence.
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