Frum misrepresents Obama's words

... about what he said in his Cairo speech regarding women's equality.

Oh David. For awhile there, we had such hopes. We saw you recoil from the vile rhetoric of the fundamentalist religious rightwing zealots.

But I guess your Republican friends were beginning to worry about you. So you had to join the fray and do the expected slamming of the US president, in spite of the fact he's nowhere near the socialist you and the other neocon pundits say he is. But I digress. Here's Frum:

The president addressed – surprisingly briefly – the issue of the rights of women in the Islamic world. This is not a small issue, now that the Islamic world extends into Europe and America. Women in cities like London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Oslo face mounting threats not only to their freedom, but even to their physical safety, from men who deploy violence in the name of Islam. Nor is it only Muslim-born women at risk. Now listen to the president:

"I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal."

But it is not only “some in the West” who take this view! It is many Muslim-born women themselves, some of whom live in the West – but others of whom live in Muslim-majority countries.

What?!?!? Is that all that Obama said about women's rights? Ah, no. There's also this, which Frum didn't rip to shreds because ..., well you figure it out.

"I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous."Now, let me be clear: Issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons. Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity -- men and women -- to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. And that is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams."

Because the whole question of whether a woman chooses to wear a head covering is so much more significant than whether she's allowed to go to school? Tsk, tsk, David. There you go again.