(Photo: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)The Rev. Franklin Graham.
Evangelist
Franklin Graham is speaking out against proposed legislation in Pakistan that
would give men the right to beat their wives, calling it proof that Islam
intends to keep women locked "behind a veil of horror."
Pakistan's
Express
Tribune reported last week that the 20-member Council of Islamic
Ideology, a constitutional body that advises the Pakistani legislature about
whether laws are compatible with Islam, proposed a bill that would permit
husbands to "lightly beat" their wives for defying them.
The
bill claims that husbands should be allowed to beat their wives if they reject
their demands for sexual intercourse without a religious excuse, refuse to dress
up when asked, and if wives do not take a bath after intercorse or menstral
periods.
Additionally,
the proposal finds that women can be beaten for not wearing a hijab, talking to
strangers, giving money to people without talking to their husbands first, and
for speaking loud enough that strangers can hear.
In
order to instill fear into their wives, the proposal advises husbands that using
a "small stick" is necessary, CNN reports.
Graham,
the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse
humanitarian organization, took to Facebook on Tuesday to
lambast the proposed law.
"The
leader of the powerful Council for Islamic Ideology in Pakistan just this week
said a husband should be allowed to 'lightly beat' his wife," Graham wrote.
"According to them, that is permissible if she defies his commands and refuses
to dress up per his desires, does not wear a hijab, interacts with strangers,
speaks too loudly, or declines other more personal things. And get this — their
proposal says using only a 'small stick' is necessary to instill
fear."
"Somehow
that's not very comforting, is it?" Graham added. "Women of the world, Islam
wants to put you behind a veil of horror."
Graham
argued that while Islam tries to instill fear into women, Christianity treats
women "with dignity and respect."
"Jesus
Christ elevated women, and if you put your faith and trust in Him, He will never
let you down," Graham added.
Graham,
a frequent critic of Islam, also called out the hypocrisy of liberal feminists
like Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who refuse to speak out
against the abusive treatment of women in majority Muslim nations like Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Iran and elsewhere.
"Where
are the Gloria Steinems, the Bella Abzugs, or even the Hillary Clintons, that
call themselves champions for women's rights when it comes to the teachings of
Islam?" Graham asked? "Why aren't they screaming about the way Islam treats
women?"
Other
proposals made by the Council of Islamic Ideology would place other unfair
societal bans on women.
Under
the proposed legislation, women would be banned from receiving a co-education
after primary school. Women would also be banned from participating in military
combat. The proposal would also ban female nurses from serving male
patients.
Even
without the proposed law, Pakistani women are often beaten and forced to submit
to their husbands. Women are often subjected to honor killings, forced
marriages, acid attacks, child marriages and sexual abuse.
According
to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2014 report, Pakistan is the
second lowest ranking country in the world for gender
equality.
Additionally,
Pakistan is ranked as the sixth worst country in the world for Christian
persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2016 World Watch
List.
As
many as 700 Christian women each year are kidnapped, raped and forced into
Islamic marriages, according a 2014 study by Movement for
Solidarity and Peace in Pakistan.
Read
more at
http://www.christianpost.com/news/franklin-graham-blasts-p akistan-law-allowing-men-beat-their-wives-164717/#WtX1OIELPk rIaIsc.99