Righteous Among Men?

The Holocaust survivors have a term to honor those who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust: Righteous Among Nations. The stories of these individuals are inspiring; they placed justice over the value of their own benefit or safety.

This morning I read a news story that leads me to think that it would be appropriate to honor certain people with the "Righteous Among Men" designation.

Today is apparently International Women's Day (I didn't know), and Afghan president Hamid Karzai made a speech today in which he basically told his countrymen what's what: "I call on all religious leaders to advise all the people to stop violence against women, to stop child marriages and forced marriages as well," he said. "How can a father accept with his heart to marry his 15-year-old child with a 60 year-old-man?" Karzai said. "Again, I call on the people, they shouldn't give their daughters for money, they shouldn't give them to old men, and they shouldn't give them in forced marriages."

He went on to say that Afghans need to quit using women as currency; disputes between families living in rural areas are often resolved by giving the daughter of one family to the other family. And women should have the freedom to become educated, Karzai stated. The country of Afghanistan needs more female nurses and doctors.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, punching my fists up in the air after reading the article to Husband. He grinned. I grew up in a Muslim country and in a church that won't ordain women, and I'm just amazed and excited whenever a man transcends the strength of his culture and calls for women to be treated and respected as human beings of equal value to men.

I'm also rather sobered by the courage it takes to do so. After reading the article, I read more about Karzai, who in 1999 married a young obstetrician who was working with Afghan refugees. Karzai has already survived several assassination attempts; I imagine this speech will not endear him to Muslim fundamentalist men. In fact, the article I read this morning quoted a woman in a burqa saying, "A lot of women came down here without permission from their husbands, because we knew if we told the men why we wanted to leave the house, they wouldn't let us."

Righteous Among Men. It is those individuals who place justice at even higher value than their own benefit or safety.

I think of a couple of women my age whom I met last year, who have broken out of their world of being battered women, and who dared to dream. I think of one of them with a missing tooth or two, her physical appearance still displaying the effects of her hardships. I think of the fact that these women are at our university getting their bachelor's degrees in Social Work, and how they are determined to use their experiences for good. And I want to raise my fists and exclaim, "Yeah!" Because advocacy for women is needed not only in Afghanistan or Africa, but also right here in America.

I was passing through our Psychology department a few weeks ago, and a tall, articulate young man I'd seen while guest presenting to a Psych of Women class was talking with his professor. "As I've been learning about the extent of violence and harm that men do to women," he said, "I've gotten more and more discouraged. I find myself feeling so ashamed of my gender."

I couldn't help myself, and broke into the conversation. "But there are many men who aren't that way," I said. "They treat us well. They speak up for us and advocate for a different kind of world that's not unjust, violent or abusive to women."

He looked at me.

"You give us hope," I said.