(Thanks, R. :)

NOTE TO GENTLER READERS: This post includes reference to female genital mutilation.

A Reader writes:

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Also note that the upsurge over many recent years, guesstimate: 30+ years, of THE COLOR BLACK being pushed on the American, maybe international, culture also works towards making the Muslim culture practices TOWARDS WOMEN acceptable here.

Younger readers may well "disagree" with this point because their inculturation towards black has been so successful.

However readers, who have the years to be able to remember how black was viewed over 30 years ago, may recall, as I surely do and still maintain, that black was considered "ugly", "dark", and totally unattractive, etc. Not considered a color to wear much if at all.

In some spiritual circles and teachings, black is considered to close the energy centers.

As a final, extremely related point, in 1978 there were 74 million Moslem women who had been subjected to "female genital mutilation", that means, external female sex organs forcibly sliced off, being held down by other inculturated women, usually with no anesthesia in a nonsterile setting, in a cultural ritual at about the age of 7 years old, and the skin and flesh scraped and sewn together with a stick holding open the smallest opening for urination and menstruation, until of course, impregnation which painfully rips apart the flesh, and after childbirth, is re-sewn.

In 2016, last figures I read were, 250 million women worldwide genital-mutilated.

Gives new meaning to, however many virgins upon their culturally approved death, doesn't it?

Reader

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