George Bush--the Woman Hater

There was a lot of talk in the past few years about how much George W. Bush has done to 'repress' or 'force back' the progress of the Women's Rights Movement. Naturally 110% of this stems from his anit-abortion stance. I would like for the wacko's out there who hate Bush because he "hates women" to interview the women whom I covered in my latest contribution to the Picket if THEY think he is a 'woman hater' considering where they are now, and where they were (in terms of progress) five years ago...

I wear a pin on my book-bag as I go throughout the day which has a picture of George W. Bush on it and says simply, “Protector” and “Liberator.” Although I receive much flack about this pin, I wear it proudly and defend the President often. As the day begins to wind down and I, too, wind down, I turn on the evening news, expecting to see nothing of the “protecting” and/or “liberating” which has come from our War in Iraq. When there is a particularly long stretch of pessimism displayed through the media, it is sometimes difficult to maintain my hopeful view of the war. Indeed it is not uncommon for me to even question whether or not we were justified in our actions, and if, perhaps, we have made a wrong decision, but just when I am
about to take the ‘low road’ into negativity and pessimism, I read a story or see a report which reminds me that we (along with Bush) are liberators and protectors.

The latest pick-me-up lies not in a story concerning a school being built, free elections being conducted, or a mass murderer finally facing justice (even though it seems at times that Saddam will never go to trial), but rather in the story of four brave women risking their lives every day for the cause of freedom.

The story appeared in the October 24 issue of The Washington Times and describes four women working for a private security company. The women are trained side-by-side with men under the direction of Boulos Karam, a veteran of the Lebanese Civil War. Karam describes his group as a “low profiles security convoy” which “do[es its] best not to be discovered, part[ly] by using women.” The women are put through vigorous exercises which test them physically, mentally and emotionally, preparing them to stand up to the insurgency which we read about daily. One woman, called Muna, describes her feelings about this opportunity, “Before I got into this, I was a normal female; when I heard bullets, I would hide…Now, I feel like a man. Now I feel equal to my husband.”

Equal rights, though, is not the only thing this opportunity has brought her. Speaking with what are described as ‘intense black eyes,’ she says, “We are trying to defend ourselves and defend each other. I am doing this for my country.”

These women have inspired me and reminded me why this war ( or any war) is necessary: It’s not about weapons or threats (although that is also important). It’s not about violating laws or UN sanctions. War is about people; this war is about the Iraqi people. Muna gets it. She understands that it is about—something bigger than her. It is about her country, her freedom and her equality. She gets it, why don’t we?

I find these women to be a fascinating contradiction to the seemingly common view that "George Bush Hates Women." They're truly inspirational and the Iraqi citizenry should follow in their footsteps. If the citizens of Iraq would step up in the same way that these women have, our 'occupation' would be finished--indeed they would no longer require our assistance.