Bees in our bedrooms

One does not doubt the honesty of Stephen Beecroft gentleman, when he writes in today’s Jordan Times against gender based violence and that “it is time that ending violence against women becomes a priority for us all”. He is not saying anything new, we all know it’s a priority. Jordanian women and a few courageous men have been shouting about this issue for the last 60 years …. but with so many different sized fingers in the pie we have created quite a stew.

I am bothered a bit however. Isn’t it strange for our esteemed American Ambassador to Jordan to be writing this at a time when on the one hand they claim to be committed to end violence against women, and with the other rain bombs and weapons of mass destruction down on the homes and heads of thousands of innocent women and children throughout Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and Pakistan - with no end in sight – women who pay the ultimate, unwilling sacrifice with their precious lives for American foreign policy? Isn’t that also a crime? Isn't it also a crime to deny women of America the right to access to affordable health care?

Writing words that express a keenness to see an end to violence against women is not enough unless, Mr America, you can truly “work on promoting men’s engagement in ending the violence” - by ending the wars; reigning in the dogs of war from Tel Aviv to Washington via London and a few others besides, so that we can indeed laud American foreign policy, or any other foreign policy because of its new change of direction away from creative destruction and regime change. This is a priority I would have thought. Maybe then we will have the mental space to get on with our lives the way we see it and deal with our social ills the way we see them, which should ultimately lead to taking responsibility – the way we see it. Indeed the PSD’s Family Protection Unit was a home-grown initiative.

We are so tired of the politics of deception, of non-enforcement and double standard; the indifference to ‘collateral damage’ and injustice under occupation; and the mess created in our midst because politicians will not take responsibility for creating it in the first place. Vested interest is the devil within.

Mr Beecroft, with all due respect, please go sing it on your own mountain, God knows the American women of today need it more than ever, and give us some peace, please, that's all we ask for ... peace and quiet!

J