SEX
IN DEPTH
When kissing cousins aren't so cute A warning by Britain's
environment minister about the health risks of
first-cousin marriage in the Pakistani immigrant
community has set off a row among British
Muslims. Lost in the furor are the real victims
- handicapped children - and a way to go to the
source of the problem. - William Sparrow15-2-2008
Iran sex changes get mullahs' money as regime persecutes gays Nasser didn't think
much of Iran's Islamic regime -- until it paid for him
to become a woman. Growing up in the city of Mashhad,
Nasser knew he was different from the other boys,
sneaking around in his aunt's skirts and experimenting
with makeup. At age 14, he told his parents he wanted to
have a sex change. 15-2-2008
Iranian sisters face stoning for adultery Two Iranian sisters convicted of adultery
face being stoned to death after the supreme court
upheld the death sentences against them, the Etemad
newspaper Monday quoted their lawyer as saying.
15-2-2008
Prostitution behind the veil in Iran Minna and Fariba are neighbours and good
friends. They support one another. Both have to live
under the pervasive curtailment of women's rights and
the double standards of today's Iranian society. They
make a living walking the streets looking for men. They
have a choice between leaving their small children at
home alone or bringing them along when they have sex
with men. 14-11-2007
Sex and the Muslim girl There is
no way that Selin Tamtekin could be described as even
remotely low-life. Immaculate, groomed to perfection,
she walks towards me on perfectly unscuffed heels,
without a gleaming hair out of place or a single
microfibre of dust on her pristine white shirt.
14-11-2007
Malaysian court annuls same-sex marriage A Malaysian court has ordered a couple to
separate, declaring their marriage a same-sex union as
the husband was a woman. An Islamic court in the central
state of Malacca ruled as void the marriage between
40-year-old Mohd Sufian Mohamad and 43-year-old Zaiton
Aziz after medical examinations showed Sufian was a
woman. 6-9-2007
Porn site fosters Mideast relations An Israeli porn site is proving
surprisingly popular with Web surfers in a number of
Arab countries, some of which don't have diplomatic
relations with Israel. Ratuv, Hebrew for "wet,"
specializes in producing skinflicks with topical
political themes, typically featuring scenes involving
female soldiers, Mossad agents and members of the
military. 30-8-2007
Iran: Sex and the mad Mullahs The
ordinary Iranian is not insane. It's the political
leaders in Tehran who are nuts. I have proof. Of both.
Over the past few years, I've taught English to quite a
number of new Canadians from Iran. They were all
determined to learn English as fast as possible, get
jobs in their chosen fields and find out as much as they
could about sexual habits prohibited by the Mullahs.
15-7-2007
Bail for 'same-sex' couple in Pakistan; Supreme Court suspends jail sentence The
Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a 'same-sex'
couple and suspended a verdict handed down by the Lahore
High Court. The high court had declared the marriage
un-Islamic and sentenced the two to three years in jail.
1-7-2007
'50,000 Iraqis' forced into prostitution They are dessed in tight jeans, low-cut
tops and knee-high boots, but the girls' make-up can't
disguise the fact that most are in their mid-teens. It's
a strange sight in a conservative Muslim country, but
this is the sex business, and it's booming as a result
of the war in Iraq. 1-7-2007
How to stop illicit affairs? Have one-hour marriages, says Iranian cleric Some see it
as a divinely sanctioned safety valve to ease sexual
frustration; others call it a hypocritical cover for
prostitution. The Shia Muslim tradition of temporary
marriage, or sigheh, allows a man and a woman in Iran to
marry for a set period of time, ranging from an hour to
99 years. 18-6-2007
Qatar: Importance of sex education stressed The need to introduce sex education as a
subject in the school curriculum in Qatar is the subject
of a lengthy investigative report published in the local
Arabic daily Arrayah. 8-6-2007
Pakistani women against jailing husbands Pakistani women activists and MPs believe
a new bill stipulating jail terms for husbands over
verbally, psychologically or sexually abuses of wives
would have a devastating impact on the family
institution and would send divorce rates sky-high.
12-5-2007
'Spring of Sex' grips Bahrain A
cultural festival featuring actors in skin-tight
clothing embracing suggestively has ignited a heated
debate on freedom of expression in Bahrain.
25-4-2007
Abortion: My story Making the
difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy is
distressing enough but unfortunately some young Asian
women feel they have no choice.
21-4-2007
Muslim cleric urge Indonesians to forego pre-marital sex A Muslim cleric has
urged Indonesians, in particular teenagers, to stop
having sex out of wedlock to avoid worsening the
country's morality, a local report said Friday.
16-3-2007
Hamas orders to destroy books of Palestinian tales over sexual content The Hamas-run
Education Ministry has ordered an anthology of
Palestinian folk tales pulled from school libraries and
destroyed, reportedly over mild sexual innuendo,
officials said Monday, in the most direct attempt by the
Islamic militants to impose their beliefs on Palestinian
society. 8-3-2007
Pederasty in the Muslim world The
practice of pederasty in the Muslim world seems to have
begun, according to surviving records, sometime during
the 800s and ended, at least as an open practice, in the
mid-19th century. 8-3-2007
Malaysian leader blasts religious plan to spy on lustful men and women Malaysia's leader said
state religious officials should scrap a plan to spy on
unmarried Muslims to catch any immoral activities, and
instead should focus on strengthening Islamic values,
news reports said Friday.
24-2-2007
Arab societies: Sexual abuse of children mustn't be ignored Arab societies
generally tend to brush under the carpet incidents of
sexual harassment of children, particularly if the
delinquent is a close relative, says a visiting
psychiatrist. 24-2-2007
Kelantan moves to ban sexy outfits Sexy outfits have been banned in a
Malaysian state ruled by a conservative Islamic party,
which has introduced fines for women working in shops
and restaurants who dress "indecently."
9-12-2006
Malaysia: 'Prostitutes must be whipped' Malaysian lawmakers have called for
foreign prostitutes to be whipped as a deterrent to
others considering coming here to work in the sex
industry, a report said this week.
9-12-2006
Jewish sex sites answer pornography As the internet pornography industry
earns billions of dollars, attracting men and women for
millions of hours, 3 new sex sites call on Jews to
change their habits ahead of the Rosh Hashana holiday.
24-9-2006
Protests target Iran homophobia Gay
rights advocates will hold protest rallies and vigils in
at least 20 cities in North America and Europe,
including Vancouver, on July 19 to condemn what they say
is the harsh and cruel treatment of gays in Iran.
1-8-2005
The 'pink parlours' of Lhasa Once a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage
destination, the Tibetan capital Lhasa is rapidly
turning into a hot spot of 'pink parlours' where flesh
trade thrives under China's modernisation drive, a US
couple says. 17-7-2006
Britian's Asian runaways Rukhsana
(not her real name) is a very skinny and gaunt looking
teen who looks older than her 18 years, with bleached
brown hair, wearing grey contact lenses.
17-7-2006
Musharraf repeals extra-marital sex law Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is
reported to have repealed an anti-women clause in the
Hudood law, a 1979 legislation against extra-marital sex
based on Islamic sharia (law). 17-7-2006
Arabs encouraged to pay for sex with women in Indonesia Indonesia's vice
president said he saw nothing wrong with Arab men paying
local women to marry and then divorcing them days or
hours later, and suggested the practice - dismissed by
critics as legalized prostitution - could boost tourism.
5-7-2006
Iraq's new women's glossy that glosses over sexual advice It promises the
typical fare of any women's glossy magazine: career
dilemmas, tips on a healthy sex life, and firm reminders
that once again, black is the colour to wear this year.
6-6-2006
Indonesian fears over porn law The
introduction of a bill which would heavily restrict
pornography in Indonesia has been attacked by women's
rights campaigners in the country, who fear it is the
first step towards the implementation of Islamic Sharia
law. 27-5-2006
Qatari women suffer from inequality Qatari groups urge government to take
action against abuse of expatriate labour, sex trade in
women. An officially-sanctioned Qatari rights group
warned this week of the less-than-human working
conditions of the expatriate labour force in the Gulf
state and urged the government to take action.
7-5-2005
Iran's hardliners go ballistic over stadium sex threat Allowing the fairer
sex into stadiums has "emboldened those loose elements
that cruise streets and parks of Tehran", evoking fears
that Islamic Iran may experience some kind of 'Summer of
Love'. 7-5-2006
Hamas to fight 'porn culture' The
new Palestinian culture minister has set his sights on
stamping out pornography - and belly dancing. Atallah
Abu Al-Subbah, a senior official of Islamist militant
group Hamas, said belly dancing was "a form of
striptease". 23-4-2006
Jewish "sex commando" targets Israeli porn web sites A group of Jewish
ultra-Orthodox hackers is waging a war against
pornographic Web sites, replacing their content with
nothing but the picture of a revered rabbi, an Israeli
paper reported. 23-4-2006
Jakarta police want next Playboy issue put off Jakarta police on Thursday, April 13,
said authorities should interfere to put off the second
issue of the country's local edition of Playboy magazine
if publishers refuse to voluntarily do so.
20-4-2006
Asian values sinfully Americanized? I am not at all a prude (more about
that later). And I am certainly no saint but I am a
journalist (which some might consider a sin in itself)
and I am getting a little worried about Asia's rate of
moral development. 20-4-2006
OPINION
Is fundamentalism a threat to women's rights? Recent
reports in South Asian and international media have been
discussing the issue of rising levels of Islamic
fundamentalism and political instability in Bangladesh
in the context of global terrorism and political Islam.
20-4-2006
Power struggle being waged over public morality The controversy over the pornography
bill has revealed that various groups in society are
involved in a struggle for domination over public
morality. Sexuality, the human body and moral values are
being negotiated, and thus can be better understood,
within the context of power relations.
5-4-2006
No sex please, we are God-fearing Indonesians A looming morality crackdown in
Indonesia may spare Bali so bikini-clad tourists are not
arrested on the beach. A special committee in
Indonesia's Parliament is reviewing proposed laws to ban
pornography, erotic dancing and even adults kissing in
public across the mainly Muslim nation.
29-3-2006
Female Hamas MPs to tackle sex discrimination Ask Huda Naeem how she intends to use her
influence as a newly elected MP for Hamas and she ticks
off a list of wrongs done to women in the name of
religion. Forced marriage, honor killings, low pay and
girls being kept out of school are her priorities for
change in the Palestinian parliament. That is when she
is not preparing her 13-year-old son to die in the fight
against Israel. 20-2-2006
Yemeni youths find freedom online Sitting at his computer and smiling
widely, snowyem23 (a chat room nickname) chatted online
with another user pretending to be female. The two spent
hours messaging one another in utter freedom.
9-2-2006
Indonesian Muslims furious over Playboy Indonesian Muslims have reacted in fury
over the planned debut of a local edition of raunchy
magazine Playboy, fueling growing debate on pornography
in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
25-1-2006
Sexy, naughty, raunchy things In
looking at a recent book from the west, one journalist
cites it's usefullness in giving Muslims, especially
women, a look at women in the west, as eastern culture
is increasingly influenced and pushed in that direction.
During my summer holiday I read an interesting book
entitled "Female Chauvinist Pigs" written by Ariel Levy.
24-10-2005
Mini-skirts, dating in Afghanistan With a
flawless face and marble-smooth arms, a busty blonde
mannequin dummy displays a miniskirt in a boutique in
Afghanistan`s western city of Herat, where most women
wear the bag-like burqa.
1-12-2005
Philippines: Church works against reproductive health When Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo told the UN General Assembly recently
to "respect the deep Catholicism of the Filipino people"
and said that natural family planning is more effective
than artificial means like condoms, Filipino activists
reacted with disbelief, others with
anger. 1-12-2005
Love costs Pakistani girl her legs A man chopped his 20-year-old sister's
legs for marrying a villager of her choice in Pakistan's
Punjab province, a news report said on Sunday.
1-12-2005
Iraqis worried about wives A
veteran Middle East observer, Robert Fisk, says Iraqi
civilians are worried about how to save their wives from
becoming prostitutes. 'Vast armies of the Mafioso are
now operating in Iraq,' said Fisk. 'Women are being sold
into prostitution into Syria and Yemen.'
23-11-2005
Malaysian transsexual says she won't challenge government to recognize her
marriage A
Malaysian transsexual woman said Tuesday she won't fight
a decision by the government to declare her marriage to
a man as illegal, because she wants "no trouble" over
what is believed to be the first such union in this
mostly Muslim
country. 23-11-2005
Muslim women break sex taboos A
group of Asian women are collecting the details of the
sex life and fantasies of female Muslims with the aim of
publishing them in a taboo-breaking book.
5-10-2005
No sex please, we're Kashmiri They sweep into bars and smash wine
bottles, invade brothels sending clients fleeing out of
windows and sneak-up on courting couples urging them to
desist in their "immoral"
activity. 5-10-2005
Four men arrested in Saudi over filmed sexual harassment Riyadh police
have arrested four men who sexually harassed Saudi girls
in the capital in an incident filmed and publicized on
the Internet, the state SPA news agency reported on
Saturday. 5-10-2005
India: You may not kiss the bride India may be the land of the Kama Sutra,
the ancient treatise on sex, but public displays of
affection remain strictly taboo in the country's
hinterlands, as an Israeli couple found out.
24-9-2005
"No hugging, we're Muslims:" Reality shows with a twist in Malaysia Reality TV has
taken Malaysia by storm, but instead of eating bugs or
cavorting nude in jacuzzis, contestants in the mostly
Muslim country observe a "hands-off" policy and face
spot checks on the direction of Mecca.
7-9-2005
Traditionalist view on sex slaves in Islam Never having been an adherent of the
traditional schools of thought (madhabs), but always
respectful them, Oliver Ruebenacker found that his
respect was to receive a devastating blow.
7-9-2005
Pakistani girl flees 'kari' killing Her nose is bandaged from the bridge to
the tip because, she says, her husband and his relatives
tried to cut it off. If they catch her again, 15-year
old Lakhmira is sure she'll be killed.
6-9-2005
Kashmir women fight 'obscenity' Eight veiled women gather outside a shop
selling alcohol on the ground floor of a hotel in
Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir and start
ransacking it. 4-9-2005
Iran proposes "love fund" to boost marriages Tehran Iran is to create a $1.3 billion
"love fund" to encourage poor young people to marry, the
country's vice president said on Tuesday.
1-9-2005
Yemeni tourism: Focus on lust and corruption Recently, Yemen has seen a dramatic rise
in the number of visitors flocking to spend their summer
vacation in this culturally rich country. Tourists from
many countries have arrived in this surge, including
those from Asia, Europe and Yemen's 'Gulf State'
neighbors. 31-8-2005
Iraq: Focus on boys trapped in commercial sex trade Hassan Feiraz,
a 16-year-old boy, has started a desperate new life
since being forced into the sex trade in Baghdad,
joining a growing number of adolescents soliciting in
Iraq under the threat of street gangs or the force of
poverty. 8-8-2005
Bluetooth churns the Qatari sexes The short-range wireless device is
challenging age-old customs in Qatar and other Gulf Arab
states where the mingling of the sexes remains taboo and
many marriages are still arranged by family elder.
2-8-2005
Escaping Pakistan "Wake up,
it's time," my mom said, "Be very quiet." My hands
trembled as I dressed in the dark, putting on the one
pair of jeans I owned. It felt odd after so many years
of wearing the traditional Pakistani shalwar kameez. My
sister looked at me bewildered, still half-asleep.
"What's going on?". 2-8-2005
Thai monk caught tricking women into sex A defrocked Buddhist novice who roasted a
baby to create a powerful ghost has been arrested for
allegedly tricking women into giving him cash and sex
during useless animist rituals, according to police and
anti-corruption officials.
29-7-2005
Gays in Singapore gather to pray in nation that outlaws homosexuality In a
country where homosexual sex is punishable by prison
time and the government bans gay-themed parties, the
Free Community Church stands out. It is the only place
of Christian worship willing to accept gays and lesbians
in Singapore. 23-7-2005
Religous oppression: Sex bomb in the Asian city Young people who
blow themselves and other people up in the name of Islam
are not "fundamentalists"; on the contrary, they are
rebelling against the tight-assed fundaments of their
religion. It is the sexual repression of their parents,
teachers and religious leaders that is screwing them up
- and innocent people are paying the price.
16-7-2005
Religion and same-sex marriage in Thai terms The endorsement by the Spanish parliament
of same-sex marriage has turned Spain into the third
country in the European Union that recognises the rights
of homosexual couples, after the Netherlands and
Belgium. 15-7-2005
Bartered brides & marriages of convenience She
hesitates to speak much but her poignant eyes say it
all. She is quite young, but with a faded salwar kameez
and a dupatta covering her head, she appears haggard and
much older. 14-7-2005
Thailand: Young Muslims facing high risk of being infected with HIV AIDS is spreading
among young women in the southern provinces because
condom use contravenes religious beliefs and there is
little sex education, which puts young Muslims at
high-risk of infection, an HIV/AIDS prevention worker in
the South said. 14-7-2005
Afghanistan: Child marriage still widespread Kabul - The United Nations, government
officials and rights bodies in the Afghan capital,
Kabul, have expressed grave concern about the widespread
practice of girls marrying early, as the country marked
World Population Day on Tuesday.
14-7-2005
Iraq: Acid attacks on "immodest" women on the rise For Sumeya
Abdullah, a 34-year-old primary school teacher in the
capital Baghdad, life will never be the same again. In
late June she had her legs burned by corrosive acid in a
street attack because, she believes, she was not wearing
her veil and the traditional 'abaya' covering common in
many Middle Eastern countries.
8-7-2005
Fundamentalism seen hurting AIDS effort Religious fundamentalism that rejects
condom use and scientific treatment of people with
HIV/AIDS is threatening to reverse a quarter century of
progress in battling the disease.
4-7-2005
Time to end tourism marriages in Yemen Sixty-three-year-old Hassan al-Hutami was
happy enough when his daughter married a visiting Saudi.
The happiness evaporated rapidly when he had a call from
Yemeni border guards soon after the daughter had left
home. 28-6-2005
Onus on victims in Pakistan A Pakistani policeman charged with raping
a teenaged girl in a police station has been charged
under a controversial religious law that carries the
death penalty - but which could also enable him to walk
free. 23-6-2005
Malaysia: Divorce via SMS valid, but... Selangor Deputy Mufti Datuk Abdul Majid
Omar said pronouncing a divorce using the Short Message
Service (SMS) method is valid because it is similar to
doing it by letter. 22-6-2005
Fire in their belly Does a
woman need to grab political space to become an
effective leader? Or is it enough to have loads of
self-pride? An international women's conference in
Bangalore tried to find answers.
21-6-2005
A Muslim woman, a story of sex An erotic novel written under a pseudonym
might normally struggle to find a mainstream publisher
and a wide readership. Not so, it seems, when it is
penned by a Muslim woman living in a traditional Arab
society.
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