MUHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan — At least 84 Afghan girls were admitted to a hospital Tuesday for headaches and vomiting in the third apparent poison attack on a girls school in as many weeks, officials and doctors said.Even more disturbing is how AP and its writers victimize the victims of these attacks with this hypothetical disclaimer:
The students were lining up outside their school in northeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday morning when a strange odor filled the yard, and one girl collapsed, said the school's principal, Mossena, who was herself in a hospital bed gasping for breath as she described the event.
(…)
At least 98 patients were admitted from Aftab Bachi school, including the principal, 11 teachers and two cleaners, said Khalid Enayat, the hospital's deputy director. He said about another 30 students were being monitored to see if they developed symptoms, although they were not admitted to the hospital.
Tuesday's apparent attack is the third alleged poisoning at a girls' school in less than three weeks. It comes one day after 61 schoolgirls and one teacher from a school in neighboring Parwan province were admitted to a hospital after complaining of sudden illness. They were irritable, confused and weeping, and several of the girls passed out.
But with no group claiming responsibility, the sicknesses could be a result of a group hysteria sparked by one student's illness. An education official for Parwan province said they had not found any evidence of an attack in Tuesday's incident. He said one student fell ill before the others and suggested that some of the illnesses could have been psychological.Get it? Young women have such delicate constitutions, you know. They subject themselves to flights of hysteria with the slightest provocation. Does the mere thought of having acid thrown in one’s face bring on a case of vapors and tremors? Does every odor followed by headache, nausea, and vomiting evoke The Mad Gasser of Mattoon?
When so-called authorities or experts can find no other explanation, the easiest solution is to blame the victim. Of course we are talking about a country where girls are kidnapped, schools are closed or burned, teachers are beheaded, and fear is rampant.
Nevertheless, the Associated Press wants to cast doubt on the credibility of the victims. Does this press account commit a fundamental attribution error, also known as correspondence bias, or is there more subtext behind this story? Like shades of gender bias, for example?
Update (6:45 pm): The BBC and Deutsche Welle reported the same story without the reference to group hysteria.
I'm speechless. Utterly speechless.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I think we have gained ground as women, a horrific story like this one and the ensuing insulting side commentary takes center stage to remind us that there are marginalized women in grave danger all over the world.
ReplyDeleteThat the journalist responsible for this story felt it his duty (and I'm sure it's a he - maybe I have my own gender bias) to further victimize these women makes me want to cry in dispair.
Is it such a stretch to consider the possible hand of the Taliban in these attacks since they forbid the education of females and have regained much of their power in Afghanistan?
The women of the Middle East, Afghanistan, India, Africa cry out for justice and peace and a little dignity. And I'm going to the AP site to lodge a complaint - hope others will do the same.
Rocky,
ReplyDeleteThe writers names are Amir Shah and Heidi Vogt. Since one of the writers is presumably a woman, the question remains: Where is this bias coming from ... the other writer, the so-called education official, an editor at AP, or perhaps some systemic bias that is unique to American journalism? Most telling of all, the BEEB and DW chose NOT to report the "hysteria" theory.
When I went to comment at the AP site, I discovered that a woman had the second place on the byline.
ReplyDeleteThis may be an example of systemic bias encouraged by many fundementalist religions and historically prevelant for centuries on a global scale.
Seems that our European counterparts might be more enlightened than our fellow Americans.
Responsible journalism would have dictated that the reporters wait for the results of the blood tests before venturing into hysteria theories.
I'm sure had the majority of victims been male, their illness would have been accepted at face value.
Yes, Rocky, when the victims are women headlines are not made.
ReplyDeleteDare I mention the ongoing war against the women of Congo? When was the last time the massive rape of one half of that country's population made a headline? But because they are only (??!!) being raped - not technically killed - we do not consider, I guess, it to be an act of atrocity during war.
Again - it's just women & girls who haven't commanded a whole lot of press attention - biased or otherwise - at all. But - there in lies the biggest bias of all.
I'm waiting only for Rush and Ann to tell us they were only trying to get out of a math test or had PMS.
ReplyDeleteAnd those African women? You know they wanted it.
The cable media actually covered the non-story of a beauty contestant blaming a wardrobe malfunction [her description, not mine] AND the photographer for the photos of her naked breasts all over the internet. She whined and blamed everyone but herself. And the media couldn't get enough of this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThere was nonstop coverage (?) of her, but nothing to be seen about these poor young women in Afghanistan.
Words fail me.
Shaw - Same stuff when Anna Nicole Smith died. I kept screaming at the TV for some actual news, but they didn't stop. Not for hours and hours and hours and hours...
ReplyDeleteWelcome to America. Some putz in the local paper wrote that the Seminoles don't deserve any consideration because they don't contribute anything to "society."
ReplyDeleteScrew it - I hope the earth opens up and swallows us all.
i just want to say that these taliban are not actually muslims but they are non muslims in the getup of the muslims which are trying to mialign islam and muslims and the bomb blasts that are happening are mostly timed bombs which are done by non muslims including many non muslims groups dont want to see the muslims grow and flourish so they are doing all this dirty things by attacking girls going to school and colleges and put the blame on taliban and such things even if they are taliban they are non muslims if i see a perrson saying that im taliban i would like to burn him alive at the same very moment , plus the taliban were made and funded by USA to achieve their goals , i would say in the end that actually USA is the axis of evil , similarly USA attacked iraq in keeping biological weapons even though they didnt found them but the fact is that these biological weapons are made in usa and were provided to iraq by USA so that iraq can use them against kuwait it was also a game of usa to put on fight between iraq and kuwait and that happened and thus then kuwait wanted help and usa wanted the same thing usa done a contract for oil with them that oh yes we will help you but if you will provide us oil as low as free i mean USA is a greedy dirty people shame on USA existance and USA should be destroyed as soon as possible , look what happened with heroshema and nagasakiii , usa talks about peace and usa itself has done more than a 100 nuclear tests , usa is the biggest arms maker and seller in the world and USA talks about peace how is that can be possible , ussa is just a piece of shit on the face of the earth , i would request all the other great power so that they can attack usa and destroy it just like usa has destroyed the whole world its only usa who puts fight between countries , its only usa who runs IMF AND world bank so that to trap countries between debts and then enjoy the show . every shitt is done by usa , i would request RUSSIA , CHINA , JAPAN , KOREA etc to join hands togather to diminish the usa from the map of the world as soon as possible , ameen
ReplyDeleteبسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ReplyDeleteJames Joyce would be impressed with the length of your sentences, if not with the stink of your hate and ignorance.
"look what happened with heroshema and nagasakiii"
Yes indeed -- look. In two days we stopped the largest terrorist assault in world history. Would the hand of God have been less terrible against the murderers of millions?
bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi
You pray to God with the same tongue that praises the murderers of children and condemns those who stopped them? Do you recite the holy suras from your asshole?
but of course you know nothing, you just hate and hate and hate and hate yet again. You suffer and hate in vain because you are nothing and your words will come to nothing and your hate will destroy you and everything you care about will perish and pass into oblivion and your life and your death will come to nothing.
bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi
Whence the hate? It comes from jealousy and does Allah love the jealous? But you have nothing because you deserve nothing and so you hate those who have anything because you are less than nothing. You suffer because Allah hates your hatred and will not look upon it with mercy.
bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi
Allah has abandoned you as unworthy to be anything but manure to enrich the earth with your corruption and filth. You are the dung of the earth and the day will come when you will see his hand raised up against you and wish you were already dust.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
آمين