Arab Women in Israel face double discrimination

[Guest Peeves]

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/arab-women-in-israel-face-double-discrimination-1.416749

One would expect that in this day and age women would be treated equally. Unfortunately in some situations they are not.

Allowing a minor to be married off is or should be unacceptable. Our laws in the West require parental consent usually when under 18. Personally I think it should be at least 19, unless preggie perhaps.

In the Middle East, Israeli-Arab-Islamic countries, age can often be unimportant.

Allowing those under 17 to marry is asking for trouble. Especially as it is at times to a man twice the age.

Still, some states allow cousins to marry. Seems like that's creating a potential problem if there are heretical problems?

excerpt, more at link.

n Israel, 17-year-olds are minors for all intents and purposes - except when it comes to marriage. This is not merely theoretical: Every year more than 4,500 Israelis aged 17 or younger marry. The vast majority - around 4,000 - are female. For this purpose, they are not minors. After all, they can already cook and clean; more important, their wombs and all the organs leading to them are ready.

The Knesset plenum is to vote today on a bill to raise the minimum marriage age from 17 to 18; there is still a danger that the ultra-Orthodox parties will scuttle it.

[Wolf Larsen]

This is not just a problem in the Middle East. In many Latin American countries, and contrary to the laws of those countries, young people still marry at ages as young as 13. (Usually they must get their parents' consent because they are minors.) These are largely Christian countries, VERY Christian countries.

One of the reasons that females marry so young in Latin America, actually the main reason, is that they get pregnant. Of course, the government can't just give out lots of free contraceptives to the young people in these countries because these countries are very religious. The Catholic Church is strong. Plus, the Evangelicos make enough noise each one for 10 Catholics! So, birth control use amongst young people is not as widespread as it should be. End result: lots of teenage pregnancy which results in young marriages.

So the problem is not just the Middle East. The problem is in Latin America too.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Wolf Larsen

[bush_cheney2004]

....Still, some states allow cousins to marry. Seems like that's creating a potential problem if there are heretical problems?

Uh-oh...this harkens back to the same gender marriage debate, which isn't about reproduction. All consenting adults should have the right to marry whomever they choose.

[Guest Peeves]

Uh-oh...this harkens back to the same gender marriage debate, which isn't about reproduction. All consenting adults should have the right to marry whomever they choose.

Yeh, at 3 a.m. when the bar closes, them gals are lookin pretty damn good. (Under fluorescent light o'course.)

Good thing no preachers about.