The day Gudrun Schyman became speechless

Published 10/06/2012

• Ingrid Carlqvist

Last week I had a unique experience. I saw the hardcore feminist slugger Gudrun Schyman rendered speechless. And the people who brought about this historic event were Bahareh Andersson, Sara Mohammad and Naser Khader – during a debate on honor violence in Malmö.

The debate was hosted by Humanisterna Syd (Southern Humanists), an organization who has showed anything but humanism on their Facebook group. The members expose anyone who dares point out that that Islamists are far from humane to ridicule and nasty blows below the belt. In the world of the Humanists, the Islamists are apparently the most peaceful, nice guys on earth, and they probably thought that the debaters would agree with Schyman that honor violence does not differ from ordinary Swedish domestic violence.

But two of the toughest women I have ever met were about to give Gudrun “The-patriarchy-is-to-blame-for-everything” Schyman a run for her money. The school nurse Gunilla Larsson and the former Danish politician Naser Khader (of Syrian descent) were also on the panel.

I knew that Iranian born Bahareh Andersson had been annoyed with Gudrun Schyman for a long time because the latter likes to equate honor violence with buse of women among Swedes, and I looked forward to witnessing their duel. And I looked forward to hearing Sara Mohammad from the group “Never forget Pela and Fadime” (two victims of infamous honor killings in Sweden).

Ms Schyman shot her mouth off as per usual: “Everything is due to the patriarchy, men hit women all over the world, and they are governed by the same mechanisms – they want to keep women in check, honor violence is just another expression of patriarchy, all violence occurring in Sweden is Swedish!”

I had a sneaking suspicion that “the humanists” at the meeting would have turned me out into the street if I stood up and explained the facts of intimate partner violence to Schyman, so I didn’t. But the truth is, that while intimate partner violence in the public’s mind pertains only to men beating up women, international research paints a different picture. Several studies by British scholar John Archer at the University of Central Lancashire, show that women resort to violence in relationships just as often as men. Of those attacked by their partners, half are men, 30 percent of those injured are men and 25 percent of those killed are men.

Of this, Gudrun Schyman knows nothing. Or she doesn’t want to know. And she is as ignorant about the structure of honor violence. But when Bahareh Andersson and Sara Mohammad took her to the cleaners and wondered why some 70,000 young people living under honor oppression in Sweden shouldn’t have the same opportunities to choose partners, careers or when they want to lose their virginity as their ethnic Swedish peers, she fell silent. Just look at the picture here on the page!

And there was more to come. Schyman tried pulling the old litany about how horrible Denmark is for implementing the 24-year-rule ten years ago regarding marriage with non-EU citizens. (Both parties must be over the age of 24, and you are required to be able to provide for you partner and deposit a sum of money.) Syrian-born Naser Khader surprised Schyman by embracing the rule.

– The only bad thing about it is that it affects ordinary Danes who fall in love with a person outside the EU, he said. They’re affected by a rule that came about as a means to prevent forced marriages in certain groups.

And when Naser Khader said he was grateful to his high school classmates for telling him off when he spouted out hateful opinions about homosexuals, Schyman went completely quiet.

– They reacted violently against what I said, and for that I thank them. You do immigrants a disservice if you don’t confront their primitive opinions!