Sibyl Ruth worked as an editor in in the field of creative writing for nearly 30 years. She is also a widely published writer of poetry and prose. Guess what happens next?
Thank you for sharing your story, women truly benefit from knowing that other women are experiencing the same injustices, and for the same biological reason!
The best of luck to you Sybil, and thank you JB, your words say it best.
I'm writing to ask if anyone can help Marya an Afghan woman rights activist who is fleeing the Taliban. Marya's a woman's rights activist. She has her 12 old niece with her whose stepfather wanted to sell her to an elderly man so Marya fled the country with her and a younger sister. Both the enraged stepfather and the Taliban are trying to hunt them down.
She is now stuck in Pakistan and will be deported back to Afghanistan (facing possible imprisonment or death) by the end of the month if she can't find a safe country that will give her asylum. If you would write a letter in her behalf to find safe haven and send it to the UNHCR in Pakistan or email it to me so I can forward it to Marya Maani we will be forever grateful! Time is critical. Whatever you can do to help Marya Maani will be much appreciated. UNHCR Case Number: 622-23-00474 regarding Marya Maani. Thank you for reading our plea, Sincerely, Betsy Warrior, Anti-violence Activist
UNHCR Representative in Pakistan. Oct 2023
No.2 Diplomatic Enclave, QUAID-E-AZAM, University Road, Sector G-4,
Re: Asylum Emergency: UNHCR Case Number: 622-23-00474
Dear Madam or Sir:
I am writing in behalf of Marya Maani who is an Afghan woman living in Pakistan. We have heard the alarming news that the Pakistan government is planning to eject the Afghani refugees who now live there. This is especially terrifying news for Marya Maani as she can’t go back to Afghanistan since she fled for her life shortly after the Taliban took power. Even before this news Marya Maani was desperate to leave Pakistan because her life there is also imperiled.
Marya Maani has a long history of advocating for the rights of women and children in Afghanistan. As an organizer of Education for Girls she canvassed door to door throughout Kabul and in rural areas. She has been a strong opponent of honor killings, domestic violence, acid attacks, hijab laws, virginity tests, harassment at work and in public places, home confinement, child marriage and other laws and practices that crush the life out of the women and children of Afghanistan. Along with thousands of other courageous Afghan women she has tirelessly advocated for better education and health care for women and helped to teach rural women practical skills to allow them some resources of their own and more independence.
Shortly after the United States left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over the government Marya Maani participated in activities and demonstrations to protect women’s human right to receive an education, to get humane medical treatment and to partake in the life most of us take for granted. Because of this she was targeted by the Taliban with threats of death, acid attacks, and rape as well as constant baiting and mocking and humiliation in public and had to go into hiding. She has been followed by the Taliban and barely escaped them. Her brother was not so lucky. He was detained and tortured by the Taliban in an effort to find the whereabouts of his sister Marya. Other members of her family are being threatened and terrorized as well.
As is characteristic of Marya Maani she is also looking out for the welfare and safety of her younger sister and minor niece. When she was forced to flee the country Marya took her niece (who is now 12 years old) and younger sister with her. Her niece’s stepfather tried to sell her to an elderly man to get money; as is happening to many girl children in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. As a result, Marya took the child with her when she fled the Taliban. Because of this her niece’s stepfather became enraged and has threatened to hunt them down in Pakistan and kill them. These three young females without money, without jobs, without family or a male protector are extremely vulnerable in a society where women are often unsafe. They need to get out of danger; out of Pakistan as every day their lives are at risk. They need to find a country where they can begin to heal and rebuild their lives.
Marya Maani has spent years of dedicated commitment to improving the lives of women and children in Afghanistan. How can we not help to improve hers?
Sincerely, Betsy Warrior, Founder of the Battered Women’s Directory
Hi again Mike. Your ESP is running high today in your claims of what I will and will not do but you’ve missed the mark. Not only am I reasonably familiar with Collins poorly sourced information regarding rape I have also given the blog a quick view too before responding. Might I suggest you consider our views re: equal treatment are not mutually exclusive. (Do not consider this my endorsement of the many uncited stats and unscientific comments Collins lists in his blog. But not all his ideas are without merit.) Men/boys can be receiving unfair and poor treatment in some circumstances while women do as well. Respectful treatment and equal rights are not a zero sum game. I believe in upholding equal rights for all. Those removing equal rights and threatening or harassing others are responsible for their actions, not some indirect third party they want to cast aspersions at because they don’t agree with them.
Have you read any other statistics regarding rape from any other sources than Collins? Have you investigated the sources of information by Collins? Have you observed firsthand any of the TRA aggressive and violent behavior towards women? How open are you to opposing views? As my ESP is not strong I won’t hazard a guess but your views here don’t sound as though you have done any of the above or that you have any concern on women’s rights.
Ultimately, this article is about stopping the abuses towards women today which you express no concern over, but instead are set upon with wanting to blame feminists. Women, feminists or otherwise, are not responsible for the actions of these ill behaved men. These men are responsible for their own behavior.
"Not only am I reasonably familiar with Collins poorly sourced information..."
It's not poorly sourced, his sourcing is impeccable, it's been one of his trademarks over many years. You cannot be "reasonably familiar" with an absurd invented assertion, so I'm done here. You've had enough of my time, and I expect I've had enough of yours. Goodbye.
Aww, thanks. I knew that if I argued with him I would be getting into the gutter with him and I would just have raised blood pressure. I just had that gut reaction about icky he is. Had to edit this as voice to text isn’t working so well this morning.
Julie, your relentless portrayal of trans ideology as the consequence of misogyny in general, or Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) in particular, is beyond laughable. Trans ideology is clearly a product of feminism, and I refer your followers to Professor Janice Fiamengo's article, "Anti-trans Feminists Are Now Reaping the Whirlwind":
Feminists' belief that many men are misogynists is, of course, a projection of their own visceral misandry. Extremely few men exhibit misogyny, even after being treated contemptibly by women e.g. after being the victims of false rape allegations - William Collins estimates using only official stats in "The Empathy Gap" that 77% of rape allegations made to the police in the UK are false - or being denied access to their children at their mother's request (usually involving false allegations of abuse) in the family courts.
Mike, it may help your understanding that this movement by women is not anti-trans but rather pro-women. All of your assertions begin with a false premise.
You appear to have not personally witnessed the overwhelmingly aggressive and abusive behavior of male trans activists (TRAs) that are being referred to as misogynists. (Nor can you, really, as a man your experience will not be as vulnerable as a woman’s, but you can at least observe and recognize.) Yet it is a threatening, both physically and verbally, group that have been forcing new laws to erase the very language and rights of women, not to mention safety and opportunities. If that is not the direct result of misogyny, perhaps subconsciously in some cases, what is? Misogyny as defined by MW is: hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women. Trying to paint women as responsible for the criminal and demeaning TRA behavior is akin to telling a woman she “asked for it” after she was raped. Certainly a grotesque and misogynistic statement if there ever was one. On the topic of rape, look at ALL legitimate statistics on rape and you will find it underreported, vastly. Collins is clearly running numbers to suit his mindset with no connection to established and verified data throughout the entire globe.
If you don’t believe the above assertions, Mike, time to obtain some firsthand, real world experience at an event being targeted by TRAs and/or observing at a rape crisis center or police station with rape victims.
As a mother of two sons, wife to a loving and supportive man, daughter to an amazing father, do I believe that men can experience an unwarranted backlash and stereotyping? Absolutely and that is not okay either. Walking a middle ground is something the extremes never do well. Naively declaring that all feminists, made of several different groups of beliefs, are responsible for that backlash is not true either. Do some reading on the branches of feminism to better understand, if that is your intention but naive claims that “feminists are responsible” are false.
Thanks Cindy. You appear to have missed my point that whatever the situation is today, the roots of trans ideology clearly lie within feminism - "gender is a social construct", Judith Butler etc. - hence my recommendation that people read Janice Fiamengo's piece on the matter.
On the topic of rape, feminist narratives and "statistics" have all been exposed as nonsense. But you clearly believe some or all of them which may explain why you're not prepared to countenence William Collins's conclusions.
Judith Butler is, and always has been, extremely anti-feminist. Her big accomplishment was to destroy Women's Studies Programs b inviting men to takeover Women's Studies under the guise of Queer Studies.
I appreciate your response Mike. We can agree to disagree about feminism originating as the scapegoat for misogynistic behavior of TRAs today. Perhaps we can agree, despite whomever you would like to blame, this horrific and harmful behavior is occurring today and those supporting women’s rights will be working to end this violence immediately on all fronts.
I will assume your reading of Collins leaves you in the purely theoretical realm regarding rape and you have not looked at the extensive global information disputing this single man’s narrative, which again, is a simplistic and naive take.
Again for clarity, non of this is transphobic as you stated, this is about protecting and upholding women’s rights.
Cindy, an illustration of mainstream media bias (the subject of my most recent comments), The Spectator publishing 50+ articles by Julie Bindel, while declining to run a one-page advert from us pointing to the evidence base on domestic violence. The piece was titled, "Domestic violence: Why does The Spectator relentlessly peddle feminist propaganda and lies about domestic violence, but not the truth?" Link:
Thanks Cindy. "This single man's narrative"? You would need to buy the ebook (under £5.00) to have any understanding of Collins's evidence-based claims, and like every feminist I've encountered, you're not going to do that. So I'll suggest you learn what you can from his blog, "The Illustrated Empathy Gap" http://empathygap.uk/. I know, you're not going to do that, either.
Do you ever wonder why the mainstream media and commercial publishers almost never give a platform to those challenging feminist narratives? And that this no-platforming might lead you (and countless others) to believe feminist narratives that have been shown (decade after decade) to be demonstrably false?
Since Mike Buchanan is obsessed with his hatred of women it's of little use to argue with him. Emotion controls his logic - not reason - no less than the Taliban.
Yes, all misogynists love the trans movement because they cheer (laughing at women) any other misogynists' attempts to destroy women. The trans movement is just another branch of the men's rights movement.
Betsy, what's your theory on why women (in any numbers) are utterly incapable of competing against men at the top level of anything, even in chess, where transwomen are banned so that cis women can win? Is that why gender quotas are "needed", to pretend women are equally capable?
As with most rules, there are exceptions. Margaret Thatcher was clearly the finest British prime minister since WW2. She appointed very few female ministers, for obvious reasons. There have been two female prime ministers since Mrs T, both of them eye-wateringly incompetent.
It would seem that male-patterned brains are superior to female-patterned brains. For an explanation of gendered brain differences - spoiler alert, there are a huge number of them - I recommend you read Dick Swaab's "We are Our Brains". Needless to say there's are absurd feminist books about brains, notably Cordelia Fine's embarrassing "Delusions of Gender".
You win the prize for the most succinct, and also on-the-mark, comment. Your reward? I fear it might just be this comment. Hope you appreciate tiny moments of recognition.
Thank you for sharing your story, women truly benefit from knowing that other women are experiencing the same injustices, and for the same biological reason!
The best of luck to you Sybil, and thank you JB, your words say it best.
I'm writing to ask if anyone can help Marya an Afghan woman rights activist who is fleeing the Taliban. Marya's a woman's rights activist. She has her 12 old niece with her whose stepfather wanted to sell her to an elderly man so Marya fled the country with her and a younger sister. Both the enraged stepfather and the Taliban are trying to hunt them down.
She is now stuck in Pakistan and will be deported back to Afghanistan (facing possible imprisonment or death) by the end of the month if she can't find a safe country that will give her asylum. If you would write a letter in her behalf to find safe haven and send it to the UNHCR in Pakistan or email it to me so I can forward it to Marya Maani we will be forever grateful! Time is critical. Whatever you can do to help Marya Maani will be much appreciated. UNHCR Case Number: 622-23-00474 regarding Marya Maani. Thank you for reading our plea, Sincerely, Betsy Warrior, Anti-violence Activist
UNHCR Representative in Pakistan. Oct 2023
No.2 Diplomatic Enclave, QUAID-E-AZAM, University Road, Sector G-4,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1263, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: 41 22 739 7514 Fax: 41 22 739 7515 Email: PAKIS@UNHCR.ORG
Re: Asylum Emergency: UNHCR Case Number: 622-23-00474
Dear Madam or Sir:
I am writing in behalf of Marya Maani who is an Afghan woman living in Pakistan. We have heard the alarming news that the Pakistan government is planning to eject the Afghani refugees who now live there. This is especially terrifying news for Marya Maani as she can’t go back to Afghanistan since she fled for her life shortly after the Taliban took power. Even before this news Marya Maani was desperate to leave Pakistan because her life there is also imperiled.
Marya Maani has a long history of advocating for the rights of women and children in Afghanistan. As an organizer of Education for Girls she canvassed door to door throughout Kabul and in rural areas. She has been a strong opponent of honor killings, domestic violence, acid attacks, hijab laws, virginity tests, harassment at work and in public places, home confinement, child marriage and other laws and practices that crush the life out of the women and children of Afghanistan. Along with thousands of other courageous Afghan women she has tirelessly advocated for better education and health care for women and helped to teach rural women practical skills to allow them some resources of their own and more independence.
Shortly after the United States left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over the government Marya Maani participated in activities and demonstrations to protect women’s human right to receive an education, to get humane medical treatment and to partake in the life most of us take for granted. Because of this she was targeted by the Taliban with threats of death, acid attacks, and rape as well as constant baiting and mocking and humiliation in public and had to go into hiding. She has been followed by the Taliban and barely escaped them. Her brother was not so lucky. He was detained and tortured by the Taliban in an effort to find the whereabouts of his sister Marya. Other members of her family are being threatened and terrorized as well.
As is characteristic of Marya Maani she is also looking out for the welfare and safety of her younger sister and minor niece. When she was forced to flee the country Marya took her niece (who is now 12 years old) and younger sister with her. Her niece’s stepfather tried to sell her to an elderly man to get money; as is happening to many girl children in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. As a result, Marya took the child with her when she fled the Taliban. Because of this her niece’s stepfather became enraged and has threatened to hunt them down in Pakistan and kill them. These three young females without money, without jobs, without family or a male protector are extremely vulnerable in a society where women are often unsafe. They need to get out of danger; out of Pakistan as every day their lives are at risk. They need to find a country where they can begin to heal and rebuild their lives.
Marya Maani has spent years of dedicated commitment to improving the lives of women and children in Afghanistan. How can we not help to improve hers?
Sincerely, Betsy Warrior, Founder of the Battered Women’s Directory
Hi again Mike. Your ESP is running high today in your claims of what I will and will not do but you’ve missed the mark. Not only am I reasonably familiar with Collins poorly sourced information regarding rape I have also given the blog a quick view too before responding. Might I suggest you consider our views re: equal treatment are not mutually exclusive. (Do not consider this my endorsement of the many uncited stats and unscientific comments Collins lists in his blog. But not all his ideas are without merit.) Men/boys can be receiving unfair and poor treatment in some circumstances while women do as well. Respectful treatment and equal rights are not a zero sum game. I believe in upholding equal rights for all. Those removing equal rights and threatening or harassing others are responsible for their actions, not some indirect third party they want to cast aspersions at because they don’t agree with them.
Have you read any other statistics regarding rape from any other sources than Collins? Have you investigated the sources of information by Collins? Have you observed firsthand any of the TRA aggressive and violent behavior towards women? How open are you to opposing views? As my ESP is not strong I won’t hazard a guess but your views here don’t sound as though you have done any of the above or that you have any concern on women’s rights.
Ultimately, this article is about stopping the abuses towards women today which you express no concern over, but instead are set upon with wanting to blame feminists. Women, feminists or otherwise, are not responsible for the actions of these ill behaved men. These men are responsible for their own behavior.
Hi Cindy. You write:
"Not only am I reasonably familiar with Collins poorly sourced information..."
It's not poorly sourced, his sourcing is impeccable, it's been one of his trademarks over many years. You cannot be "reasonably familiar" with an absurd invented assertion, so I'm done here. You've had enough of my time, and I expect I've had enough of yours. Goodbye.
Aww, thanks. I knew that if I argued with him I would be getting into the gutter with him and I would just have raised blood pressure. I just had that gut reaction about icky he is. Had to edit this as voice to text isn’t working so well this morning.
Julie, your relentless portrayal of trans ideology as the consequence of misogyny in general, or Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) in particular, is beyond laughable. Trans ideology is clearly a product of feminism, and I refer your followers to Professor Janice Fiamengo's article, "Anti-trans Feminists Are Now Reaping the Whirlwind":
https://fiamengofile.substack.com/p/anti-trans-feminists-are-now-reaping
Feminists' belief that many men are misogynists is, of course, a projection of their own visceral misandry. Extremely few men exhibit misogyny, even after being treated contemptibly by women e.g. after being the victims of false rape allegations - William Collins estimates using only official stats in "The Empathy Gap" that 77% of rape allegations made to the police in the UK are false - or being denied access to their children at their mother's request (usually involving false allegations of abuse) in the family courts.
Mike Buchanan
JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS
http://j4mb.org.uk
LAUGHING AT FEMINISTS
http://laughingatfeminists.com
CAMPAIGN FOR MERIT IN BUSINESS
http://c4mb.uk
Mike, it may help your understanding that this movement by women is not anti-trans but rather pro-women. All of your assertions begin with a false premise.
You appear to have not personally witnessed the overwhelmingly aggressive and abusive behavior of male trans activists (TRAs) that are being referred to as misogynists. (Nor can you, really, as a man your experience will not be as vulnerable as a woman’s, but you can at least observe and recognize.) Yet it is a threatening, both physically and verbally, group that have been forcing new laws to erase the very language and rights of women, not to mention safety and opportunities. If that is not the direct result of misogyny, perhaps subconsciously in some cases, what is? Misogyny as defined by MW is: hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women. Trying to paint women as responsible for the criminal and demeaning TRA behavior is akin to telling a woman she “asked for it” after she was raped. Certainly a grotesque and misogynistic statement if there ever was one. On the topic of rape, look at ALL legitimate statistics on rape and you will find it underreported, vastly. Collins is clearly running numbers to suit his mindset with no connection to established and verified data throughout the entire globe.
If you don’t believe the above assertions, Mike, time to obtain some firsthand, real world experience at an event being targeted by TRAs and/or observing at a rape crisis center or police station with rape victims.
As a mother of two sons, wife to a loving and supportive man, daughter to an amazing father, do I believe that men can experience an unwarranted backlash and stereotyping? Absolutely and that is not okay either. Walking a middle ground is something the extremes never do well. Naively declaring that all feminists, made of several different groups of beliefs, are responsible for that backlash is not true either. Do some reading on the branches of feminism to better understand, if that is your intention but naive claims that “feminists are responsible” are false.
Thanks Cindy. You appear to have missed my point that whatever the situation is today, the roots of trans ideology clearly lie within feminism - "gender is a social construct", Judith Butler etc. - hence my recommendation that people read Janice Fiamengo's piece on the matter.
On the topic of rape, feminist narratives and "statistics" have all been exposed as nonsense. But you clearly believe some or all of them which may explain why you're not prepared to countenence William Collins's conclusions.
Judith Butler is, and always has been, extremely anti-feminist. Her big accomplishment was to destroy Women's Studies Programs b inviting men to takeover Women's Studies under the guise of Queer Studies.
A big accomplishment, indeed!
I appreciate your response Mike. We can agree to disagree about feminism originating as the scapegoat for misogynistic behavior of TRAs today. Perhaps we can agree, despite whomever you would like to blame, this horrific and harmful behavior is occurring today and those supporting women’s rights will be working to end this violence immediately on all fronts.
I will assume your reading of Collins leaves you in the purely theoretical realm regarding rape and you have not looked at the extensive global information disputing this single man’s narrative, which again, is a simplistic and naive take.
Again for clarity, non of this is transphobic as you stated, this is about protecting and upholding women’s rights.
Cindy, an illustration of mainstream media bias (the subject of my most recent comments), The Spectator publishing 50+ articles by Julie Bindel, while declining to run a one-page advert from us pointing to the evidence base on domestic violence. The piece was titled, "Domestic violence: Why does The Spectator relentlessly peddle feminist propaganda and lies about domestic violence, but not the truth?" Link:
https://j4mb.org.uk/2021/03/30/domestic-violence-why-does-the-spectator-relentlessly-peddle-feminist-propaganda-and-lies-about-domestic-violence-but-not-the-truth/
Thanks Cindy. "This single man's narrative"? You would need to buy the ebook (under £5.00) to have any understanding of Collins's evidence-based claims, and like every feminist I've encountered, you're not going to do that. So I'll suggest you learn what you can from his blog, "The Illustrated Empathy Gap" http://empathygap.uk/. I know, you're not going to do that, either.
Do you ever wonder why the mainstream media and commercial publishers almost never give a platform to those challenging feminist narratives? And that this no-platforming might lead you (and countless others) to believe feminist narratives that have been shown (decade after decade) to be demonstrably false?
Since Mike Buchanan is obsessed with his hatred of women it's of little use to argue with him. Emotion controls his logic - not reason - no less than the Taliban.
Yes, all misogynists love the trans movement because they cheer (laughing at women) any other misogynists' attempts to destroy women. The trans movement is just another branch of the men's rights movement.
Betsy, what's your theory on why women (in any numbers) are utterly incapable of competing against men at the top level of anything, even in chess, where transwomen are banned so that cis women can win? Is that why gender quotas are "needed", to pretend women are equally capable?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12417149/World-chess-bans-trans-women-female-contests.html?login#readerCommentsCommand-message-field
As with most rules, there are exceptions. Margaret Thatcher was clearly the finest British prime minister since WW2. She appointed very few female ministers, for obvious reasons. There have been two female prime ministers since Mrs T, both of them eye-wateringly incompetent.
It would seem that male-patterned brains are superior to female-patterned brains. For an explanation of gendered brain differences - spoiler alert, there are a huge number of them - I recommend you read Dick Swaab's "We are Our Brains". Needless to say there's are absurd feminist books about brains, notably Cordelia Fine's embarrassing "Delusions of Gender".
Hilarious. I invite you to link to anything by a prominent member of the men's rights movement supporting the "trans movement". Take your time.
Ick.
You win the prize for the most succinct, and also on-the-mark, comment. Your reward? I fear it might just be this comment. Hope you appreciate tiny moments of recognition.