CBS News correspondent Lara Logan is recovering in a hospital after she was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted. This attack happened while she was in Cairo reporting on the “peaceful” protests that were part of the recent “democratic” uprising in Egypt.
Thoughts and prayers go out to this woman and her family. As it is unlikely that the guilty parties will ever be found and duly punished, we can just hope she has a full and speedy recovery.
This incident is tragic, but was also unnecessary. I do not want to shift blame away from the parties responsible. But I believe it is important that we remember two lessons from this incident.
#1 – Islamists are often hostile toward women. Though it may not be politically correct, people must eventually come to grips with this reality. The population of Egypt is about 90% Muslim. I understand that not all Muslims act the way these attackers did. But the Quran does teach that women are naturally inferior to men. As a result, this type of behavior occurs more often in Muslim-dominated countries. After all, how many female reporters have been gang raped as they covered a rally for the “violent” Tea Party? None! Yet these attacks against women are not uncommon among Islamists (remember the 14 year old girl who was beaten to death, per a fatwa, for the crime of being raped by her 40 year old relative).
#2 – There are some places where a woman has no business being. There are many in our society that believe a woman should be able to do nearly anything a man can do. And I admit that my views on the roles of men and women are old-fashioned. But we need to face reality. There was no good reason to have this woman in the middle of this dangerous situation. That’s not sexist, that’s the truth. Given all factors involved, a female reporter was in far more danger than a male reporter, and we should all be able to admit that. Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot and cameraman Olaf Wiig were attacked and beaten while covering these “peaceful” protests, but they weren’t sexually assaulted as well.
It is tragic that we, as a society, have not come to grips with these realities before the attack against Lara Logan. Hopefully we learn the lessons soon before another similar incident occurs.
