If you have ever driven the Taconic Parkway (or if you have never driven it), please please go read this short poem from Michael, of "One Foot in Front of the Other".
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I learned something today from The Sandmonkey that I didn't know before. Under Egyptian laws based on Sharia (Islamic law) if a baby is born out of wedlock, and the father has refused to acknowledge the child, the child "gets no birth certificate, no passport, no nothing, and you couldn't force the father to take a paternity test either". This means the child will be treated as an outcast and a non-citizen in its own country, and can't leave either I suppose, having no identity as far as the government is concerned. I would suppose that it limits educational and employment opportunities, too, for no fault of the child. To spare their children this hell, many single pregnant Egyptian women get abortions.
But a young woman, Hind Al Hinnawy (do read the article, and do follow the link about Urfi marriages), took the man to court in a paternity suit, and against all odds, has won. The child will have the father's name. Hind has set a precedent, which The Sandmonkey finds significant.
Wow. How bad must it be if this is exciting? I, as a '70s liberationist, find it still horribly sexist. The child still doesn't exist unless a man says it does, or, as in this case, is forced by the court to admit it does. Oh, well, baby steps, I guess.
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And finally,
| You Are Chinese Food |
 Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour. |
1 comment:
Many thanks for the plug, Silk! I'm obliged ...
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