I am in complete agreement with Crazy_Babe's post.
I hope nobody actually does think that ALL Muslims condone this kind of punishment, or that they are all misogynistic! I have Muslim friends from countries like Oman and the Maldives as well Sri Lanka who are feminists and are equally adored and indulged, be they male or female.
This is not about people being Islamic, it's about a social structure being allowed to become isolationist and reign unchallenged and unevaluated by outside influences. Like any system closed off from interacting with its environs, the societal practices of these cultures become warped and toxic to the very society it tries to preserve.
The first time I read this, I wondered what this girl's family must be feeling. Does her father feel that his daughter brought shame and dishonour upon the family, but still want to spare her the punishment? Or does his love for his little girl prevail over the judgement of his society? Does she have an elder brother who feels like he let his little sister down? Or does she have a small brother who doesn't understand why they are taking away his big sister? Do the dictums of society prevail over human attachment, or is human attachment dictated by the edicts of society?
In some parts of rural India, the birth of a girl is considered such a misfortune that they decorate the home in funeral colors and some fathers drown their little daughters at birth. In the infamous case of the Sathi Pooja, the widow must either hurl herself on her husband's funeral pyre willingly or be killed by her relatives for the shame of outliving her husband. I know that there are families in the East, educated and Westernized, who will not hesitate to disown and drive out a daughter who bears a child out of wedlock. The concept of family honour is the currency of security in these societies, where no man will marry the sister of a woman considered tainted, illegitimate children carry the stigma of their mothers' perceived promiscuity and scandal is the deadliest social sin known to man.
In short, what you're witnessing here are the evils of EXTREME collectivism. All major religions have always been born in and tailor-made for collectivist social structures - without the tampering influence of cultural revolutions brought on by contesting philosophies and movements, we end up with a tyrannical self-operating social system that takes into account the 'good of the many' and the happiness of none.
PS: Queen Rania of Jordan has been one of my feminist role models ever since I was fifteen. *is proud*
