Sunday, December 26, 2010

Hamas: the "moral" oppressor

"Out of desperation, she dialled the number of a man she had met months earlier, and agreed to sleep with him for 200 shekels (54 dollars, 41 euros).  Not long afterwards, Abu Amra was arrested on suspicion of immoral behaviour.  She was hauled before a judge and ordered to attend 30 days of pre-trial detention at the Training and Reform Centre for Women, Gaza's only prison for women.  The facility is run by Hamas, which has been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007. The group won legislative elections in 2006, and a year later seized control of the coastal enclave after deadly confrontations with rival Fatah.  Since coming to power, the Islamist group has sought to bolster Gaza's conservative religious mores, although it has rescinded some controversial measures, including one banning women from publicly smoking the waterpipe." (thanks Olivia)