Sometimes It's Hard To Be A Woman

"Go ahead, punk, make my day!"



"Please, sir, may I have another?"

Tammy Wynette may have been married at one time to George "No Show" Jones (given the nickname because he was often too drunk to show up for a concert), and goodness knows she had more than her share of trouble standing by her man, but in light of what happens around the world relating to the distaff set, she has nothing to complain about.
Take Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year old mother of two who lives in Malaysia. In one of those odd twists that seems to happen in countries where religion runs the civil courts, Shukarno is scheduled to be lashed six times with a cane for violating Islamic law. Her crime? Having a beer in public at a beachfront hotel. I'm not one to butt in other people's beliefs, but this strikes me (pun intended) as a bit harsh. Again, I am uncertain whether or not this law applies equally to men (my guess is that the morality police were men)under the same religious edict. In addition, it raises several questions which I would like answered. 1) Do they have SO LITTLE to do that enforcers wander around hotels trying to catch people secretly or publickly imbibing? 2) Don' they EVER want the NFL or NASCAR in Malaysia? Jeez! Imagine, if you will for just a moment, one of those venues at which nobody was allowed to drink. Attendance would suffer...extinction. Well, at least then I might be able to get tickets for less than the price of a new Benz.
So, how humiliating and painful would six lashes administered in public be? And would she have to be fully clothed as usual, or would it be like the pirate movies where the shirt gets ripped off her back and a bucket of salt water gets splashed afterwards. Certainly, there must be a prohibition against even "shameful" women appearing like that in public. Well, at least for her, it's "one and done." I'm not so sure it is for Rukhsana Kausar.
Kausar, 21, lives in the Rajouri District in Pakistan; this area is heavily wooded and said to be the major hiding place for militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group. They are notorious for their attack on the western hotel in India of which you have read.
Anyway, these militants often barge in on families, demanding food and a place to sleep. Most of the time, it's not problematic, but this time Rukhsana's dad said he wanted nothing to do with them. The militants began a systematic beating with sticks (what is it with this method?) as the young girl hid beneath her bed. Finally, she could no longer stand to hear her father being humiliated so she rushed out and attacked one of the militants with...an ax! Not only THAT, but when the man dropped his AK47 in pain, she grabbed that and shot him to death...and wounded another would-be moocher as he was making a hasty retreat!
A made-for-TV movie? Maybe. Rukhsana indicated that she had never held nor fired any kind of a weapon. So, how did she know what to do? "I'd seen it done in movies," was her response. Wow! Now there can be NO argument against either movies or having assault rifles handy...in rural areas of Pakistan.
In a final twist, the man she killed just may have been Uzata Shah, a commander who has been wanted for years as a result of his activities. That means our plucky heroine might be rewarded with 4,000 pounds (you do the money math) as well as feted countrywide.
Of course, there is the small backstory concerning the militants who got away. I can just hear their friends in the locker room: "You let a GIRL shoot our leader and chase you away? What kind of Sallies are you guys?" and on and on.
She'd better keep the AK handy.
All of a sudden, an often-drunk husband seems tame...though still not much fun, at least there's a way out other than a failed liver.