UNICEF’s photo of the year

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 19, 2007 01:37 PM

1unicef002.jpg
Celebrate Diversity! Photo by Stephanie Sinclair via metro.co.uk

Have you seen this?

The image hardly fits our idea of the happy couple’s wedding picture - but this haunting photograph taken in Afghanistan graphically captures life for millions of girls given in marriage while under age. It shows Mohammed, 40, with his new 11-year-old wife, Ghulam. Taken by US photographer Stephanie Sinclair, it was named Unicef Photo of the Year yesterday.

Some 60million girls worldwide are married while still under age, according to the children’s rights agency.

Spiegel Online has more:

The United Nation’s Children’s Fund recognized a handful of photographers with honors in their annual Photo of the Year contest. From Afghanistan to the Phillipines, their work exposes horrid conditions facing some of the world’s children.

The image is startling — a 40-year-old groom sitting beside his 11-year-old future bride. Photographer Stephanie Sinclair, who took the photo last year in Afghanistan, asked the pre-teenage bride what she felt on the day of her engagement.

“Nothing,” said the girl, according to Sinclair. “I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”

A commenter at the metro.co.uk site writes:

This powerful photo shows something incredibly shameful and disgusting that reflects very poorly on the culture that allows it. If that old goat is such an altruist, he could adopt an 11 year old, not marry one. There is no excuse for not respecting the fact that an 11 year old is a child, not a repository for an old man’s lust. All cultures have things they do wrong, but this one is exceptionally wrong.

- Alexandra, USA

Posted in: Islam

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  1. #1
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:41 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    This powerful photo shows something incredibly shameful and disgusting that reflects very poorly on the culture that allows it. If that old goat is such an altruist, he could adopt an 11 year old, not marry one. There is no excuse for not respecting the fact that an 11 year old is a child, not a repository for an old man’s lust. All cultures have things they do wrong, but this one is exceptionally wrong.

    What else needs to be said? There is plenty that needs to be done to change it. Hopefully, we are on that path.

  2. #2
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:41 pm, puhiawa said:

    When I first saw this, I thought it was a parody. Are these moron crazy as well as stupid?

  3. #3
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    “Nothing,” said the girl, according to Sinclair. “I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”

    I just want to cry.

  4. #4
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm, Michelle Malkin said:

    They’re not morons. Whatever problems UNICEF might have, they did something right this time. They’re trying to shed light on the problem.

  5. #5
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm, puhiawa said:

    There is no adoption in Islam.

  6. #6
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Ugh

  7. #7
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm, John Ansell said:

    Let’s send the new bride a Mohammed Teddy Bear.

  8. #8
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:44 pm, Marshall Russ said:

    This picture illustrates what’s in store for countries that allow Islamofacism to creep into their society.

  9. #9
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:44 pm, Michelle Malkin said:

    Let’s send the new bride a Mohammed Teddy Bear.

    It’s too heart-breaking to joke about, don’t you think? She’s 11 years old.

  10. #10
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm, madchef said:

    The more I learn about this satanic religion, the more angry I become. The civilized world needs to crush this vile, sadistic, down right Evil cult once and for all!

  11. #11
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:48 pm, taylork said:

    They’re not morons. Whatever problems UNICEF might have, they did something right this time. They’re trying to shed light on the problem.

    I assume the posters is referring to the 40 year old man, not UNICEF, but I could be wrong.

  12. #12
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:48 pm, Bad Candy said:

    Its gonna take a long time before sanity takes hold over there…

  13. #13
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm, redbug70 said:

    sick.

  14. #14
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm, Bad Candy said:

    And yes, we shouldn’t be joking about this, its far too serious and sad, she’s eleven.

  15. #15
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm, PJ said:

    Dear Heaven, it feels as if I’m looking into the face of Evil. That poor child.

  16. #16
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:51 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Reaching the most vulnerable during humanitarian crises is our greatest challenge. UNICEF’s mission is to provide special protection for the most disadvantaged children: victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities. Our work aims to fulfill their basic needs and restore their dignity.

    From UNICEF’s web site “Support UNICEF” page.

    Okay, i am going to get banned for what I am thinking. It starts with:

    Whisky Tango Foxtrot and get worse from there.

  17. #17
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:51 pm, BobK said:

    Tears flowing.

    A 11 year old is a child. Allow her to be one.

  18. #18
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:52 pm, puhiawa said:

    Islam is evil incarnate, but the irony of the photo is totally missed except for a few Westernized Muslims. Doctrine teaches that a bride may be a young as 9. End of story.

    For those who can stomach it:
    http://www.islam-watch.org/AbulKasem/SexInIslam/sex_and_sexuality_in_islam.htm
    Sex and Islam

  19. #19
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:55 pm, taylork said:

    That’s the most depressing thing in weeks.

  20. #20
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:56 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    And the reason there are any women who believe in Islam is…….is………

  21. #21
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:56 pm, John Ansell said:

    Sorry MM, I see your point.

  22. #22
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:57 pm, hatelibs said:

    I wonder what NOW would say about this? We all know how important a woman’s rights are to them….equality and all that.

    Then again, the millions women who actully have some freedoms now in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t mean anything to NOW. That’s right, Bush had something to do with that but the women abused by Clinton didn’t mean anything to NOW.

    Oh yeah….sorry, I forgot….NOW will only surface when the right to an abortion is as stake. That’s the only issue or “right” that matters to the National Organization for Women.
    Silly me.

  23. #23
    On December 19th, 2007 at 1:57 pm, cpodug said:

    And the parents think nothing of killing their children if they don’t conform! There is no hell hot enough for these demons! I won’t even dignify them by calling them human.

  24. #24
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:00 pm, James Felix said:

    So much wrongness condensed into so few pixels it’s hard knowing where to begin.

    What kind of culture condones such a thing? What kind of parents participate in it? What kind of man male wants an eleven year-old?

    Seeing things like this you’d think the Right and Left in this country could finally agree on something, ie the urgent need to drag these savages into the 21st Century whether they like it or not. Such a shame that’s not true.

  25. #25
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:00 pm, taylork said:

    CAIR suing UNICEF in 5..4..3..2..

  26. #26
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:01 pm, ajmontana said:

    This should be put on every frontpage of newspapers across the land. Enough! Why the hell is the USA pandering to this sick evil cult? We allow them here, let them plot against us in there mosques hideouts unchallenged. sick ignorant bastards the lot of em. Stop the madness.

  27. #27
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:03 pm, vickisoup said:

    It shows Mohammed, 40

    Uh, he looks 70. I cannot imagine how terrified she is, not to mention totally creeped out. Poor, poor child.

  28. #28
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:03 pm, James Felix said:

    And the reason there are any women who believe in Islam is…….is………

    Because they stand to be raped / stoned / whipped / imprisoned / beheaded if they don’t.

    If we could somehow give an M-16A4 to every woman in Muslim culture I think the religion would all but vanish overnight.

  29. #29
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:04 pm, BlameAmericaLast said:

    That 40 year old man would be considered a pedophile and/or sexual predator here.

  30. #30
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:05 pm, James Felix said:

    I wonder what NOW would say about this?

    Come on, it’s not as though he’s doing something really terrible like preventing her from having a late-term abortion or denying her membership in a country club. Why should NOW care?

  31. #31
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm, almeehan said:

    It’s in the open there. Here in the USA it is porn on line with kids. In the rest of the western world, tourists going to Thailand, Brazil or India and renting the kids. God help the little children where ever they are today!

  32. #32
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm, gollumclone said:

    I agree that it is terrible the way women are treated by Islam. Alas, my liberal friends would assure me that it is a cultural thing and if the women don’t like, it is up to THEM to change the society. Not bloody likely. Where is NOW and the feminazis on this? They probably have no opinion and might admit they fear criticizing Islam. Hell, they couldn’t even criticize the first black President for his Oral Office shenanigans and some even stated powerful men have powerful appetites that must be fulfilled.
    However, what is it? 70% of black women have children out of wedlock (90% in inner city). How many 11 year olds are pregnant by older men? Lots of great grandmothers still in their forties.
    And lets not even talk about Muslims’ carving on young women’s tender sexual parts. How do the “enlightened” western muslims justify these outrages??

  33. #33
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:08 pm, etienne said:

    islam - the religion of pedophiles and goat lovers

  34. #34
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:09 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Unbelievably
    Naive
    Insane
    Care-less
    Emboldening
    F-tards

    UNICEF picking this for photo of the year make me wnat to - well…

    *grrrrunt - haaaaack - spitooy

  35. #35
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:09 pm, James Felix said:

    It’s in the open there. Here in the USA it is porn on line with kids. In the rest of the western world, tourists going to Thailand, Brazil or India and renting the kids.

    Huge difference. In America the vast, vast majority of people see such things as being evil. Even most of our criminals think child molesters are evil. Of course we have deviants but here we punish them, not send them wedding gifts.

  36. #36
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:10 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    If we could somehow give an M-16A4 to every woman in Muslim culture I think the religion would all but vanish overnight.

    James, I totally agree. In fact, arming women everywhere doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Ladies, “Glocks, not Smocks” or soemthing like that.

  37. #37
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:12 pm, Fodder_Jack said:

    Liberalism demands that you embrace other’s cultural diversity.
    Liberalism demands that you accept other’s sexual differences.

  38. #38
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:15 pm, Azygos said:

    For those of you who have not yet vomited Thats no little baby…thats my wife

  39. #39
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:17 pm, twoninerkilo said:

    Mohammed looks like he could use a bath.

  40. #40
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:21 pm, Tennessee Dave said:

    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:04 pm, BlameAmericaLast said:
    That 40 year old man would be considered a pedophile and/or sexual predator here.

    Fixed that for you.

    Words escape me over something like this, but I’ll try.
    It is inconceiveable for a culture that condemns the west for being decadent and having no morals to condone something like this.
    Hypocrisy has no bounds.

  41. #41
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:23 pm, coldfront said:

    This poor child.
    What a ghastly nightmare.

  42. #42
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    Tennessee Dave:
    Seriously.

    “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

  43. #43
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:26 pm, Blind_Mule said:

    Let’s send the new bride a Mohammed Teddy Bear.

    It’s too heart-breaking to joke about, don’t you think? She’s 11

    I agree

  44. #44
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:27 pm, Tennessee Dave said:

    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:
    Tennessee Dave:
    Seriously.

    “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

    I’ll take the log out of my eye, but do you mind if I use it to take off my brother’s head. That will take care of the speck.

  45. #45
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:27 pm, radio relay said:

    Live in a muslim country for just a short time, and you see that the blatant abuse of females of all ages is everywhere. Girls and women are safe from abuse only according to the whim of their male parents, relatives, and husbands.

    I am totally amazed that an organization of the UN is trying bring attention to this. I suppose if a child is being mated to an old geezer, then the welfare of the child trumps the politically correct idea that all cultures have their peccadilloes. However, this just doesn’t illustrate the problem of child abuse. It calls attention to the problem of abuse of all women in islamic cultures.

    Also, not only girls are abused. Boys are very much in danger of rape and sexual abuse, as well. They don’t even get the status of being married.

    It is because of pictures like this, and stories about honor killings, etc, that CAIR is pushing to have criticism of islam turned into a “hate crime”. Don’t let it happen!!

  46. #46
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:28 pm, meatpieandtatters said:

    Pedophilia by any another name is merely a sanctioned wedding under Islamic law.

  47. #47
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:28 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Interesting. All of UNICEF’s sites are down EXCEPT their support site. I tried to email them to find out who has their heads up their arses but, I can’t. I sure hope it is due to the fact that there are a bunch of people who are thinking the same thing I am thinking.

  48. #48
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:32 pm, JohnHolliday said:

    All of you that have 11 year old daughters, think of them with someone like this.

    Yes, this scum molested boys but would you let your 11 year old daughter near him?

    This is sharia law at it’s most depraved.

  49. #49
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:34 pm, max said:

    Oh yeah, not a peep out of the West’s perpetually outraged feminists, and yet we still hear the echo of their collective roar from way back when poor Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin… which by the way was also a common cultural thing where he grew up…

  50. #50
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:38 pm, Boomer said:

    I really feel for this young girl. It just turns my stomach to think she will be the property of this old goat. I see my wife (3 years younger then me) as my partner not my property. The more I learn about Islam the more I don’t want it in my country.

  51. #51
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:38 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Not a joke but UNICEF does sell a teddy bear and it goes along with the theme of this story.

    T-Bear

  52. #52
    On December 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm, James Felix said:

    An athiest’s perspective:

    On theoretical grounds I think all religions have exactly the same standard of proof underpinning them. Everyone thinks their holy writings are the holy writings and believes with equal passion that their god is the god.

    But we don’t live on theoreticaly grounds, we live in reality. And in reality anyone who insists all religions are equally dangerous or blameworthy is, if I may be so blunt, out of their freaking mind.

    Christians don’t marry children. Jews don’t blow up mosques. Bhuddists don’t declare jihad. There is one religion widely practiced today that is uniquely unable to coexist peacefully with other religions (or even with other strains of the same religion).

    For any of my fellow athiests stopping by to read this… get with the program. All religions are not created equal, and a Judeo-Christian nation makes me a hell of a lot less nervous than an Islamic one.

  53. #53
    On December 19th, 2007 at 3:11 pm, MissMarciLyn said:

    James #52:

    If it doesn’t sound too presumptuous, I would like to say ‘thank you’ for such a straightforward and unbiased statement — I am a Christian, and as you say, I believe my faith to be the correct faith.

    However, if given the choice between Islam and Judaism (or whatever!), I would choose the ‘whatever’ any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

    Reality does trump ideology in so many ways.

  54. #54
    On December 19th, 2007 at 3:20 pm, JHSII said:

    If someone was stupid enough to send her a Mohammed Teddy Bear, the muslims would execute her for having it. 200 lashes, stoning, beheading - it’s just a question of which method they would use.

    If you want to know where NOW is, and the other leftist groups, just ask Tammy Bruce. She had it right - they’re not out to protect women (and girls) they just want to perpetuate themselves. If they actually solved the problems they claim to want to solve then they would have no reason for existing!

  55. #55
    On December 19th, 2007 at 3:26 pm, trinitytim said:

    JamesFelix… Great analysis.

    Is it already too late? Maybe. This war began decades ago and the enemy, Islam, has expanded it to almost every country on earth. They are evil but not stupid.

    They recognized early on that our weaknesses are our freedoms and they expoloited these weaknesses by sending immigrants, legal and illegal, in as Trogan Horses. They are here, poised, armed, and ready.

    While we sleep, they train. While we worry about not offending Mexico, they continue to grow in numbers. While our families have fewer children, they re-create in large numbers. While we worry about tomorrow, they patiently wait.

    Too Late??? Me thinks so, sad to say. Stock up on ammo, the day of reckoning is coming. I will die before I submit but I will take a bunch of them with me.

  56. #56
    On December 19th, 2007 at 3:40 pm, twiggman said:

    There are no words to speak of this……. So So So sad.

  57. #57
    On December 19th, 2007 at 3:47 pm, uhangtight said:

    and they call western culture debauched. they claim we are hedonistic. oh, my, (scratching head)…

  58. #58
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:00 pm, James Felix said:

    Stock up on ammo, the day of reckoning is coming. I will die before I submit but I will take a bunch of them with me.

    That’s the problem, there is no day of reckoning coming. Tens of millions of us have guns, ammo and the will to use them. Attempting to forcibly subdue America is little more than a suicide attempt, and they know it.

    So their plan is to sue us out of existence. Strike at us through our Achilles Heel (tolerance & decency). Incrementally replace our culture with theirs. And it’s working. It’s working because the same people who get into a lather over the “Christian overtones” in the Chronicles of Narnia, the same people who thing every Christmas tree is a harbinger of theocracy, think it’s virtuous to respect a culture that consists of institutionalized misogyny and child abuse.

    These people need to realize that tolerating evil isn’t virtuous. Tolerating evil is evil.

  59. #59
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:11 pm, thirteen28 said:

    All cultures are equal!!

    Sincerely,

    The Left

  60. #60
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:18 pm, cpodug said:

    To paraphrase George Orwell, All cultures are equal but some cultures are more equal than others.

  61. #61
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:25 pm, RedRepub said:

    The girl looks caucasian. Are you sure this photo wasn’t taken in London??

  62. #62
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:29 pm, BlameAmericaLast said:

    Someone ought to swoop in and take this girl out of this perv’s hands.

  63. #63
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:29 pm, feebiebabe said:

    This is so sad. This picture tells a thousand words.

  64. #64
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:31 pm, Yashmak said:

    If I recall correctly. . .doesn’t Ghulam mean slave?

  65. #65
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pm, docflash said:

    They own most of the convience stores,hotels/motels,dry cleaners and many other businesses in this country.They control most of the gasoline,beer and cigarettes.We are fighting our own money.The left and alot of the right better wake up or its going to be our 11 year old daughters they come for.

  66. #66
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:42 pm, KaosKlerik said:

    The manhunt for Jeffs was in the news for weeks and then the pervert was tried, convicted, sentenced, and locked up. Pedophilia in the guise of religion is not tolerated here.

    According to Sharia law pedophilia makes the papers under Wedding announcements.

  67. #67
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:44 pm, Rev Wolf said:

    Hey, stop calling them Satanic. Satanists are as disgusted with these pedophiles as the rest of you.

  68. #68
    On December 19th, 2007 at 4:45 pm, Rational Thought said:

    The image is startling — a 40-year-old groom sitting beside his 11-year-old future bride. Photographer Stephanie Sinclair, who took the photo last year in Afghanistan, asked the pre-teenage bride what she felt on the day of her engagement.
    “Nothing,” said the girl, according to Sinclair. “I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”

    That little girl with the hauntingly sad eyes may not know what to feel, but I sure as hell know what the rest of us should feel: raw outrage. It’s called rape and child abuse, and it’s been outlawed in the civilized world for some time now. Sadly, however, our own “feminists,” “human rights activists,” and all those leftists who are so, so concerned about “the children” have to be told what to feel because they see a picture like this, shrug their shoulders, and turn back to the latest Bush Derangement Syndrome article on DailyKos.

    It’s worth noting here, as Michelle pointed out today, that Mark Steyn is being called before a Canadian “human rights commission” for the crime of pointing out in his best-selling book “America Alone” that the flavor is Islam illustrated in that photo above is incompatible with Western democracy. We musn’t criticize such multiculturalism because, you know, that 11-year-old girl really wants to be raped by that nasty old deviant. She has 2 choices: submit to the rape, or have her father/uncles/cousins slit her throat. But, hey, don’t you dare call such practices incompatible with Western democracy. Don’t you dare. God help us. Where’s the outrage?

  69. #69
    On December 19th, 2007 at 5:10 pm, Ranten.N.Raven said:

    re: puhiawa’s liknk in #18:

    Yes, girls of nine are indeed “fair game” to the devout Muslim who follow’s the Prophet’s (peace be upon his victims) example. Don’t just take Islam-watch.org’s word for it. Go to the sources at the University of Southern California (USC) Muslim Students Association’s Compendium of Muslim Texts. Their own holy books say the Prophet (peace be upon his victims) took a girl of six as his wife and consummated that marriage when she was just nine years old.
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.html#005.058.236
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.html#005.058.234
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/062.sbt.html#007.062.064
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/062.sbt.html#007.062.088
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/008.smt.html#008.3311
    http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/073.sbt.html#008.073.151

  70. #70
    On December 19th, 2007 at 5:18 pm, puhiawa said:

    The majority of Afghans are caucasian. Indeed, genetic testing shows that fully 40% have Greek ancestry going back to Alexander. But the primary blood lines are from the old Caucus Mountains region. Former charioteers, sharing culture with the Celts.

  71. #71
    On December 19th, 2007 at 5:19 pm, gunslingerpatriot said:

    Now you people see what I have been saying over the last 5 years and my classmates have dismissed them as nothing more than the ranting (very PO’D!) of an angry conservative.

    Mohammed is a pediophile, rapist and should face the Singporan method of justice. Lets just say caining is the least of the man’s worries—-think about what it takes to change a bull into a cow. That is the way Singapore does it.

    GSP
    Dhimi or Freedom?-I choose freedom guarded by Sig Arms

  72. #72
    On December 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm, Common Sense said:

    on-my-soapbox -

    You missed the point of the Picture of the Year:

    “their work exposes horrid conditions facing some of the world’s children.”

    Kudos to Unicef for bringing this to light. Unfortunately, there are many places in the world where children cannot be children and are forced to grow up very quickly.

  73. #73
    On December 19th, 2007 at 5:45 pm, rightisright said:

    Nothing more to say more than “Disgusting absolutely disgusting”

  74. #74
    On December 19th, 2007 at 6:14 pm, Rick Moran said:

    I can’t believe many of you on this thread.

    That little girl would not be “marrying” that old man unless her daddy wanted it to happen.

    And I hate to disabuse some people who would exclusively blame Islam but this is a practice that takes place all over the world under different religions and cultures.

    It is a consequence of extreme poverty and the uselessnes that many cultures view women. That little girl is a burden to a man who can’t feed his family as it is. That one less mouth to feed many mean the difference of life and death for another family member.

    Yell at the father who is allowing his daughter to be an underage bride. Don’t show your ignorance and rail against Islam. If you are going to get mad at religion, you’re going to have to include Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and any several of the African and South American indigenous religions.

    Poverty and ignorance are the problem - not religion.

  75. #75
    On December 19th, 2007 at 6:41 pm, Common Sense said:

    I agree with Rick. It’s mostly the West’s wealth that has ended these practices here.

    Even Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about a friend who was married at 13.

    Jane Austen had girls marrying as young as 15.

    When life expectancy is short, so is childhood.

    Although, even the wealthy were not immune to selling their daughters. Think of the aristocracy in Europe pre-1900s. They had a whole system designed to sell their daughters to the highest bidder, for either wealth or power or both. These girls were usually 16-18 years old and usually married men older than 30. Marriage to men their grandfather’s age was not uncommon.

    Marie Antoinette was only 14.

    Marriage has been a business arrangement far longer than a love arrangement.

  76. #76
    On December 19th, 2007 at 6:57 pm, corona said:

    Uh, aren’t we missing a certain party that should shoulder the blame - you know, the one that overthrew the previous regime to install … well, a picture is worth a thousand words.

  77. #77
    On December 19th, 2007 at 7:58 pm, JoeRed said:

    What allows for this to occur?

    Culture?
    National law?
    Race?
    Religion?

    I don’t know since the article does not state what allows for this. Sure would help me and others in order to understand.

    :-|

    Original Award announcement HERE

  78. #78
    On December 19th, 2007 at 8:05 pm, James Felix said:

    Uh, aren’t we missing a certain party that should shoulder the blame - you know, the one that overthrew the previous regime to install … well, a picture is worth a thousand words.

    I know you’re not suggesting that this started when we ousted the taliban. No one could possibly be that ignorant. At least, I hope no one could be.

    And I hate to disabuse some people who would exclusively blame Islam but this is a practice that takes place all over the world under different religions and cultures.

    I don’t think anyone is exclusively blaming Islam. That happens to be the example before us.

    Poverty and ignorance are the problem - not religion.

    Which explains why the families grown rich off oil revenues have abandoned this practice. And why immigrants to prosperous First World nations abandon the practice rather than seek legal sanction for it.

    Oh, wait a minute…

    Don’t show your ignorance and rail against Islam. If you are going to get mad at religion, you’re going to have to include Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and any several of the African and South American indigenous religions.

    I think many of us here, myself included, would be perfectly willing to rail against those religions as well. But, as I noted above, Islam is the example before us. Islam also has the strongest institutional misogny of the major religions. Islam is the only one of those religions that seeks to install itself as an earthly government so that it can allow this and many other forms of barbarism. And Islam, unlike “Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and any several of the African and South American indigenous religions” is currently undertaking an aggressive campaign to make our culture conform to theirs. They are doing this using a host of weapons, legal maneuvers and propoganda.

    Sorry to disabuse you of the notion that Islam isn’t uniquely threatening. I know how comforting it must be to think that prosperity and education can make this behavior go away. Sadly, they can’t.

  79. #79
    On December 19th, 2007 at 8:12 pm, nbarry said:

    Isn’t Afghanistan an ally? Shouldn’t we at least have a word with the government about this?

    As for the sale of wives, Thomas Hardy wrote a great novel, “The Mayor of Casterbridge,” on this theme.

  80. #80
    On December 19th, 2007 at 8:28 pm, trinitytim said:

    I fail to see the connection between income and the practice of marrying children. We have very poor people in this country but I don’t see their children married off for the purpose of increasing the family’s income. Also, since 1955 India has established the minimum age of a married female as 18 and 21 for a male.

    Islam not only allows child marriages, it encourages them. It is not about prosperity, it is about religion, more specifically, about Islam. To deny that is to ignore the obvious.

    I’m sure that there are other cultures that allow this practice, but this example is what it is, an Islamic marriage and that is what we have been addressing. These people are barbaric and evil. This practice should be condemned for what it is, pedophilia which is a felony in America and a crime for wich I would gladly arrest this or any other adult male.

    Poverty is not the problem. Ignorance, traditions, and false religions are.

  81. #81
    On December 19th, 2007 at 9:20 pm, Ranten.N.Raven said:

    Rick (#74): I think you’re on the wrong horse here. It’s not always poverty–it’s built into the religion that a 50-year-old man can take a 9-year-old girl. Rich or poor, it don’t matter. Muhammad set the perfect example for all Muslims. And they claim their religion is superior to all others!

    Common Sense (#75) brings up examples of 13, 14, and 15-year-olds. Uh, huh. Those were when? It wasn’t our wealth–many of those who did this were wealthy. It’s that back then, women were damned near property. Kind of like this poor 11-year-old was once the property of her father and is now the property of her “husband.” It’s the approved Islamic way. THAT we have a beef with.

  82. #82
    On December 19th, 2007 at 9:39 pm, Dandapani said:

    Found it on the German Unicef site. HERE!

  83. #83
    On December 19th, 2007 at 9:44 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    Common Sence,

    You may be right. I was just incensed over the whole thing and their sight was down.

    Regrouped and looking at it from another angle.

  84. #84
    On December 19th, 2007 at 9:48 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Islam is the only one of those religions that seeks to install itself as an earthly government so that it can allow this and many other forms of barbarism.

    Exactly. Ignore this at your own (and your nation’s) peril. And please don’t tell me that not all muslims are slitting throats. Their silence is tacit approval.

  85. #85
    On December 19th, 2007 at 9:49 pm, Rational Thought said:

    It is a consequence of extreme poverty and the uselessnes that many cultures view women. That little girl is a burden to a man who can’t feed his family as it is. That one less mouth to feed many mean the difference of life and death for another family member.

    I can’t accept your “greater good” thesis here, particularly when it’s borne on the backs of little girls. There is much, much more than poverty at play in these situations, and it is largely about following the tenets of their faith — in this case, Islam. Cultural relativism may dictate that we accept this as how certain cultures treat girls, but all is not relative. It is barbaric, and it must be condemned by those who are enlightened just as surely as we condemned slavery and apartheid. Rationalizing it through a multicultural or cultural relativist or socio-economic lens does away with the overarching concepts of human dignity and inalienable rights. Or, as my 15-year-old would say, “Dude, it’s just wrong.”

  86. #86
    On December 19th, 2007 at 11:17 pm, garyt said:

    The silence of the moderates muslims prove they don’t exist. The silence of NOW proves they don’t care about anything but late term abortions and Amnesty International only cares about so called USA abuses. Truely they are blind to the horrid nazi like practices of Islam. Just today some cleric in Iran wants all women who don’t cover their hair executed.

  87. #87
    On December 19th, 2007 at 11:17 pm, SHoward said:

    I’m agreeing with #81, that women have been considered property in many cultures. I also agree that it is good to publicize this, as the world can see what really goes on in some places.

    This little girl, younger than my niece, is living in a culture that is still several hundred years in the past. I’m not smart enought to say whether this is a result of the dominant religion of the region, or a result of a complete inability to advance into the 20th century, but the more light that gets shed on this, the better.

    As for beating up on Islam, there are enough other examples of the ‘Religion of Peace’ not being all it’s cracked up to be.

  88. #88
    On December 19th, 2007 at 11:49 pm, bit_boy said:

    Will Mohammed not be pleased when he gets his new 11-year-old wife Ghulam home to discover it to be Ghulmed a 40 year old groom.

  89. #89
    On December 19th, 2007 at 11:53 pm, macerenn said:

    Lest we forget, Mohammed (the “prophet”) took a nine year old bride… This guy is only living up to the example of the mouthpiece of God himself.

  90. #90
    On December 20th, 2007 at 1:53 am, RetFireman said:

    He us but emmulating the prophet Muhammed, the man he was named after, for he also was married to a child of nine, who he was gracious enough to wait until she was the ripe old age of eleven until he first had sex with her. This guy at least decided not to torture himself with a two year wait.

    If you read the comments on the site that the picture is from, there is one right at the top from a Liberal that states his Liberal instincts tell him that it is not up to us to judge them as it is their culture and their religion. If they want to marry and rape and child of eleven then so be it. Yes, I ad liibbed it a bit, but that was the gist of it, ou can read it yourself. He redeemed himself when the little part of humanity that was still inside him won out and he decided it was truly sickand needed to be stopped.

    So come on trolls. Any humanity left inside of you? Or do you feel that there is only a “small minority” of Muslims that practice this form of child rape and therefore we really shouldn’t worry about it and we basically have no business judging them in the first place. After all, we don’t want them telling us what to do in our religion.

    then again, Christianity doesn’t involve the ritualistic rape of girls as young as eleven if not younger in certain areas.

    Can you justify it? Minority and all? You guys seem to keep ducking my questions all the time. I think it is because you relaly have no moral compass and therefore cannot answer them. You seem to keep getting pinned against the wall with these mora delimmas and things that go completely to the heart of the crap you spew. So what is it? This is exactly what you defend…so let us hear you defend this type of action. Tell us why you agree that small girl should be subject to the lusts of grown, middle-aged or older men in Islam, hmmmm?

    Me? I think every one of these disgusting perverted child rapists should be shot, for there is no reason for this at all.

  91. #91
    On December 20th, 2007 at 5:03 am, SparkyMcMuffin said:

    I am 40 years old and have four daughters. One is 9 and another is 12. I cannot imagine either of them being married off to a man my age. I cannot imagine marrying a child that young myself. Shame on all the adults involved. What type of father or mother would think this was a good thing for their child? This is a disgusting tradition and I am glad that UNICEF has brought attention to it.

  92. #92
    On December 20th, 2007 at 6:48 am, TMoney said:

    Whether the underlying reason for this is poverty, lust or ideological, it is a sad day to see a little girl used in such a heinous fashion.
    May the real God bless and keep her. Hint: it ain’t freaking Allah or Mohammed.

  93. #93
    On December 20th, 2007 at 7:46 am, James Felix said:

    If you read the comments on the site that the picture is from, there is one right at the top from a Liberal that states his Liberal instincts tell him that it is not up to us to judge them as it is their culture and their religion.

    Ever notice how quickly the Liberal respect for other cultures vanishes the moment you start talking about the American South, Midwest or Christianity?

    Off topic a bit, I know. I just think it’s funny.

  94. #94
    On December 20th, 2007 at 7:47 am, bigviking0001 said:

    I think the bigger picture is what is happening to all the children in this culture. 11 year old brides and 8 year old suicide bombers. How much depression and hate can a culture stand before it self immolates and burns down all the cultures arround it?

  95. #95
    On December 20th, 2007 at 9:32 am, On-my-soap-box said:

    I apologize I went off on UNICEF. I was not able to see WHY this picture was chosen. After reading up, I see why.

    This topic is just another area where we see this kind of thing every day in our ministry in Haiti. I have been trying to get UNICEF involved more in Haiti to no avail so I hade this - they do nothing - attitude (and I still do to some extent.

    That does not excuse my posts - just my attitude.

  96. #96
    On December 20th, 2007 at 10:08 am, Milwaukee Mike said:

    So sad it makes me sick

  97. #97
    On December 20th, 2007 at 12:36 pm, RetFireman said:

    And once again, I have asked a question of our Liberals here and once again they have remained silent. Once again they have not the moral fortitude to back up their own beliefs, their own BS when it comes to defending this…”religion”…that they constantly try to cram down our throats and tell us that we just don’t understand and that we all need to study, and we all need to learn more about etc., etc., etc.

    Well, tell you what. When those schools in California start forcing those 7th graders to pretend to be Muslim for three weeks again, they need to send the boys down to the pre-school and grab a few of the little girls, bring them to the classroom and make them their “wives” for the duration. After all, let’s portray this “religion” in the way it really is, not the watered down, PC version that these Liberal liars would want us to believe.

    There is the Islam that is, and the Islam that the American Liberal would have you believe. Everytime the evidence is shown of the Islam that is, the Liberals are completely silent. They have nothing to say.

    Go back through the threads. If you see them say anything, the only thing you will see them say is the lie that it is only a “minority” of Muslims that practice it. Well, they are either deliberately lying, or they are purposely lying, but lying none-the-less. This is Islam, it is in their teachings, in their books, in their Madrassas, and in their Mosques. Anyone who tells you different is a liar and a dhimmi moron.

  98. #98
    On December 20th, 2007 at 12:58 pm, Chuck said:

    gollumclone said it all for me in #32

  99. #99
    On December 20th, 2007 at 4:09 pm, Ali-Bubba said:

    That dude’s not nearly as cute as Casey Aldridge.

  100. #100
    On December 21st, 2007 at 2:02 am, RetFireman said:

    Just ask Code Pink how well women do when they protest in a Muslim country.

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