Afshan Azad, 22, is a talented and beautiful actress who played Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. She is now achieving equal notoriety in court after she sought protection from her father and brother who allegedly threatened her life over a association with a male Hindu. Her family is Muslim and allegedly wanted her to accept an arranged marriage. Her father — Abul Azad, 53– allegedly threatened her life and called her a “slag” and a “prostitute.” She also accused her brother — Ashraf, 28 — of making threats against her life. However, she then refused to give testimony in court as if the entire incident were wiped away with a memory charm.
The Court noted that Azad had refused to give evidence despite “expensive and time-consuming” attempts by court staff and prosecutors. She indicated that the arrest of her father and brother placed her in “genuine danger.”
The failure to testify is particularly worrisome given her earlier statement that described her private dementors: “[m]y father began saying he would do it, a reference to kill her, as he did not want his sons to have her blood on their hands and he would do time for it. Then she began to feel very scared . . . she having apparently been so scared of her family she left her home address via her bedroom window . . . Part of her version of events was that he was going to force the complainant into a forced marriage of some sort.”
As part of her retraction, Azad claimed that her father’s heavy Bengali accent and could not be sure what he had said and denied that earlier threats. I must confess that I find that explanation a bit implausible since she grew up with a father with that accent.
Source: Telegraph
Blouise,
You are signed-up. No Baptismal required!
Gyges,
Either! I think women need to start their own religion in order to get “equal” treatment.
Raff,
Are we talking mainstream or fundamentalist?
Former Federal LEO
1, December 21, 2010 at 9:41 pm
“Does anyone know of any religion that really treats women as equally as men?”
Yes, mine. Women are Gods.
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I’ve just experienced a conversion … sign me up!
“men have” – pardon.
Long day.
None that I can think of that have persisted into modern times, raff.
Which is too bad. In many – if not most – ways women are far more adapted to building and maintaining civilization than men. Really the only advantage men has is the brute strength required to fight and build without machines. In any other endeavor, women are every bit their equal or superior.
anon nurse,
A little bit of levity on a Tuesday evening! Thanks, I needed that! Any ones other than Wiccans??
“Does anyone know of any religion that really treats women as equally as men?”
Yes, mine. Women are Gods.
rafflaw,
Wicca? 😉
(It’s been a long day. I couldn’t resist…)
How many millions have died over religious issues? Does anyone know of any religion that really treats women as equally as men?
I wonder who posted the bond for her father?
All too often, people will kill in the name of religion….we now blame the people of the Muslim faith…..not to long ago and in the same galaxy we have other religions that killed here in the USA for this type of behavior……
If I could learn to hate, I would ponder the merits of hating autism. Pity.
Because I cannot think in words, and because, without words, I would likely find myself awfully isolated, I work at and with words. If I have one percent of the ordinary talent for words and make a thousand times the ordinary effort most folks work to collect words, I might seem better at using words, to an observer who cannot directly observe my inner effort, than a typical person would seem.
I keep recognizing hints that human understanding of religion is itself a religious activity. There are recognized religions and established religions, and religions which have never yet existed.
Perhaps I need an authoritative reference. How about Vergilius Ferm, “An Encyclopedia of Religion” (The Philosophical Library, New York, 1945). “religion, the problem of definition; The term religion belongs to that large class of popular words which seems acceptable as common coin of communicative thought but which on closer examination fails to carry the imprint of exact meaning… … …Again, religion is a generic term referring to all conceivable religions, formal or informal.
I can conceive of inconceivable religions, which are unavoidably included in the above problem of definition ditty. Inconceivable religions are therefore a proper subset of all conceivable religions. Thank goodness for set theory.
Even the limiting case of nihilism (which would, in circular reference, deny even its existence) is, to me, just another conceivably inconceivable, hence conceivable, religion.
With apologies to the late Eric Berne, M.D., of “Games People Play” and transactional analysis, whereas not playing damaging psychological games is decidedly not just another damaging psychological game, being not religious while not having knowledge and understanding transcending existence itself is just another religion, methinks.
In all fairness, perhaps I am awfully wrong; perhaps dastardly cruelty is better than respectful kindness. If I ever get the chance, I shall ask about that of someone who died in during the escape from Sobibor.
” … that which I have yet to understand will provide my need for religion, for it is through religion that people are able to recognize and accept the existence of what is not yet known or understood, and it is through religion that people become able to make the effort to learn to understand more than is yet known or understood.” (J. Brian Harris, Ph.D., P.E.)
Well, that’s about as good a description as I’ve read and I would, not to correct Dr. Harris, but to amend the statement to fit my needs, add the word many before each use of the word people. For I believe there have always been and always will be many people who don’t use religion to seek the goals of recognizing and accepting or striving to understand the known and not yet known. Religion is just one tool in the box.
There is religion of one kind and religion of another kind, and the “another kind” excludes the “one kind,” while the “one kind” includes the “other kind.”
Put another way, there are religious beliefs which, garnered into a system (as in an established religion), exclude other religious beliefs; there are also religious beliefs which, garnered into a system (as in an established religion or a non-established religion), include other religious beliefs.
Because, as I observe, established religions which exclude other religious beliefs through dogma, doctrine, and coercion, and make their presence obvious through what they prohibit, as though by definition, act as though to prohibit the establishment or non-establishment of religions which exclude no religious beliefs.
Alas, I cannot classify the present system of law in the United States of America as other than an establishment religion of a nature which the evolution of human society has, until now, prevented being recognized as such.
I am not the first person of whom I have heard who, in rejecting the validity of the adversarial system of jurisprudence, when asked to enter a plea, entered no plea out of respect for myself. Asked to enter a plea, I remembered Giles Corey, who died on Sept. 19, 1692.
As I can make sense of Wisconsin statutes, a person who testifies in court must either swear “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” or affirm “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury.”
Twice in the Circuit Court of Door County, Wisconsin, I testified in court, once during the probate case for my wife’s and my son and daughter, and once for a minor traffic incident in which I found myself falsely accused by a police officer who was not present at the time of the incident, of being at fault.
In both of those court cases, I neither swore nor affirmed as Wisconsin statutes demand, and, in both cases, one with Judge Koehn, and the other with Judge Diltz, I effectively led the judges to make new law, doing so with full knowledge and intent.
Being absolutely in contempt of court, as I understand “court,” and “contempt” and being so in accord with the Wisconsin Constitution, which accords to me the right to worship “Almighty God” according to the dictates of conscience, I acted in harmony with my understanding of my inalienable constitutional rights, of which I suspect none actually exist.
Because it is brain-biology nonsense, the legal notion that people make mistakes they could and should have avoided making and are therefore duly subject to punishment for failure to avoid making such mistakes, can, methinks, only be a religious doctrine or dogma, belonging to a religion based on worshiping deception and with which religion I have no internalized associations whatsoever.
As I recall, rather as one pundit put it, imagine a small town with two churches, on opposite sides of the main road. In both churches, the preachers inform their parishioners that those who go to the other church are going to Hell. So, everyone, regardless of which church they attend, is on the way to Hell.
During one of my unintended doctoral field work episodes, as an iatrogenic psychiatric patient, during group therapy, one patient remarked, after describing crushing life experiences, “If there is a Hell anywhere, this is it.” To which I silently thought, “So be it.”
Only in some sort of actual “Hell” can I imagine it possible for someone autistic in ways similar to me, being able to ask a truly decent person who happens to be an attorney-at-law how I can, by intent of clear conscience, avoid breaking any laws and be informed in essence that such is, by law, impossible.
This presents to me the most difficult predicament I ever to confront me. How am I to describe what i have learned as a bioengineer about the brain biology of the adversarial system if the adversarial system defines me, by my caring concern regarding public safety, as a violator of the law, because I am not adversarial. How on earth can I describe my experiences with the adversarial system as being catastrophically abusive without those who believe in the adversarial system regarding me as an adversary?
I seek to make the effort I am able to make to learn of what is hurtful, to learn of what causes what is hurtful, learn of of what achievable evolution of human society may lead to the prevention of what is hurtful, and I seek to make the effort to be grateful for such life as I am given to live.
Religions which impose judgment(s) invariably, as I observe, are hurtful. Religions which affirm life by rejecting judgments invariably, as I observe, are helpful. It is helpful to learn what is hurtful, thereby evolving the pragmatic opportunity to learn to avoid what is hurtful.
Among the many books I have read is Alan W. Watts, “The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.”
From a brain-biology perspective, until I have learned and understood everything within and beyond eternity, that which I have yet to understand will provide my need for religion, for it is through religion that people are able to recognize and accept the existence of what is not yet known or understood, and it is through religion that people become able to make the effort to learn to understand more than is yet known or understood.
This is not going to end well. She’s going to have to comply with her fathers wishes or get killed or seriously injured. The other option is to get the heck away from the family as quickly as possible and stay beyond they’re reach but she seems unable to do that. Her entire religious/cultural programming amounts to an abusive relationship with her family and abusive relationships are hard to get out of.
So far its just a threat,remember this post which went beyond threats:
“Father Beats Wife To Death For Opposing Arranged Marriage of Her Daughter
Published 1, October 14, 2010 Criminal law , International , Religion , Society 30 Comments
Italy is dealing with a shocking murder after Ahmad Khan Butt, a 53-year-old construction worker and owner of a local mosque in Modena, beat his wife to death with a brick after she opposed an arranged marriage for her daughter. While Ahmad Butt beat his wife, his son, Umair, severely beat his sister Nosheen Butt, 20, with a stick — resulting in her hospitalization for a broken arm and head injuries. The husband and deceased wife, Beghm Shnez, are Muslim and both originally came from Pakistan.”
Sad.
Religion once again creates a slave.
She’s scared … with good reason … and she is now alone without the protection or love of family … religion does that.
From the Telegraph:
“Her father was instead bound over to keep the peace for 12 months, while her brother was bailed to await sentencing after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm against his sister at an earlier hearing.”