Another Guardian post lamenting that news of misogyny in Gaza deflects focus from Israel

On March 7 we posted about a ‘Comment is Free’ essay by Nabila Ramdani titled ‘Hamas’s ban on women running Gaza marathon is a missed opportunity‘, March 6. We noted that the main concern of Ramdani, a Paris based journalist, was that Hamas’s decision to ban women from running in the UNRWA sponsored charity run, which resulted in the cancellation of the competition, would deflect attention away from the Israeli “occupation”.

The decision by Hamas, argued Ramdani, “wastes what should have been yet another huge blow against Israel’s illegal [sic] occupation and blockade of the Palestinian territories.”

Ramdani isn’t alone in her political myopia.

The Guardian published a piece on March 9 titled ‘Format photography festival: from sharks to axe-wielding women – audio slideshow, which includes photos from a cultural event in the UK called ‘Format photography festival‘, as well audio from four of the festival’s photographers. Here’s a clip from the first woman, Tanya Habjouqa, which I edited from a longer Guardian audio. Especially note what Habjouqa says at the 1 minute mark.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgro0FEwc_A]

Habjouqa advances a truly a remarkable argument. Like Ramdani, she seems especially concerned that those focusing on the oppression of women by a reactionary Islamist terror group are deflecting attention away from the Israeli blockade.

The sensitive artist evidently is unconcerned about hundreds of thousands of Palestinian women who suffer under a Hamas regime which has imposed personal status law derived from Sharia, placing them at a stark disadvantage in matters such as domestic abuse. And, she would much rather discuss the “siege” than the misogynistic social mores in the Palestinian controlled territory which results in rape, domestic abuse, and “honor killings” often going unpunished by Gaza’s courts.

Habjouqa may fancy herself a feminist, but her selective outrage, which obsesses over Israel while ignoring the backwardness of Hamas’s theocratic tyranny – which promotes gender apartheid – undermines any claim she may have to being a genuine defender of women’s rights.