NPR Celebrates Pakistani Lesbians -- Courtesy of CPB and the NEA
On Monday's Morning Edition, National Public Radio offered the latest entry in its year-long series "The Hidden World of Girls," which is subsidized by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Naturally, any series with this title might disappoint if it didn't explore lesbians in Islamic countries, in this case, Pakistan.
Apparently, though, the definition of "girls" is quite flexible. On the October 16 All Things Considered, NPR celebrated the journey of Adam "Theresa" Sparks, running to be the first transgender member of the San Francisco City Council.
For this story, reporter Habiba Nosheen told listeners that the names of the lesbians had been changed to protect them:
NOSHEEN: Shortly after, just like her ex-girlfriend, Fatima married a man in an attempt to conform. But two months into her marriage, she met another woman, Karin, and the two fell in love. Recently, I met up with Fatima again. [To Fatima:] How's it going?
FATIMA: Good. How's it going with you? Hello. Why don't you come up, have a cup of tea or something?
NOSHEEN: And a lot has changed. She is no longer a student. She is a human rights lawyer. Fatima brings me to her apartment and her girlfriend gives me a tour of their place.
KARIN: We're in our living room, which is full of lots of light and big windows. Yeah, this is our home.
NOSHEEN: Soon after the two met, Fatima decided to get a divorce from her husband.
FATIMA: Well, I said, you know, I am a lesbian. (Laughter) I am in love with a woman, I need to get out of this marriage, please. All hell broke loose, essentially.
NOSHEEN: But Fatima won her battle for a divorce. She says meeting Karin gave her the strength to fight.
So you said no one would ever imagine that you guys are lesbians?
KARIN: I don't think so. I mean, I think it would take some doing.
FATIMA: Yeah, it's not within the realm of, you know, possibility.
KARIN: Yeah.
FATIMA: People don't usually contemplate two women living together, that they are into each other. (Laughter) Good for us.
KARIN: Because in our society, women don't have sexual needs, desires, drives whatever - and those that do, run brothels.(Laughter) You know? You're just, either you are a nice girl or a fast girl. So if we are fast girls, it means that men come visit us. If we are nice girls, it means that girls come visit us - which works out. (Laughter)
NOSHEEN: For NPR News, I'm Habiba Nosheen.
When the story and the giggles were over, they explained that the whole Hidden Life of Girls series is available at the NPR website, and then an announcer added that this enterprise was funded by CPB and the NEA. Your tax dollars, hard at work.
- Tim Graham's blog
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Comments
It's a trifecta!!
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 9:53am.
Pakistani lesbians...gay, dark-skinned, and Islamic!!
They probably have all KINDS of thrills up their legs at NPR!!
NPR's socialist sisters
Submitted by Tim Graham on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 9:52am.
The series producers are -- surprise -- northern California lefties:
The Kitchen Sisters began their radio lives producing a weekly live radio program in the late 70’s on KUSP-FM in Santa Cruz, California. Their radio documentaries have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Smithsonian, California Public Radio, Pacifica Radio, Soundprint, and others...
The Kitchen Sisters are also involved in educating and training new voices for public media in an imaginative, artistic and creative approach to storytelling. They have taught at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, University of California Santa Cruz Social Documentary Graduate Program and frequently lecture and provide training at universities, festivals, workshops, radio stations, public forums and events throughout the country and abroad. They also train and work with interns, college students, and youth radio apprentices and participate in the life of the public radio community throughout the country. In addition to producing radio, Davia Nelson is also a screenwriter and casting director. She lives in San Francisco. Nikki Silva is also a museum curator and exhibit consultant. She lives with her family on a commune in Santa Cruz, California.
i.e. -- old hippies
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:29am.
i.e. -- old hippies
"No one would ever imagine that you guys are lesbians"
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:01am.
OK, now I'm REALLY confused.
marking targets
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:04am.
Did NPR just mark those Pakistani women as targets? Homosexual activities are severely frowned on (so they say) in Islam, especially among the radicals.
If suddenly some women are busted and tried and convicted to be stoned to death, NPR could be a sort of accessory to have people killed.
-Jon
I was thinking the same
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 5:03pm.
I was thinking the same thing...............and I don't really care what people do behind closed doors, as long as it is consensual............but the Mooooooooooooooooslems DO have a reputation for being pretty severe with homosexuals (although I've got a friend who has spent a lot of time in Moooooooooooooslem countries, and he's got some stories to tell that would totally blow that theory up!!), and especially women, so if these gals got busted for something - where would NPR stand on the issue???
GOP defund NPR and PBS
Submitted by Red Jeep on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:06am.
Next week.
Rachel Maddow must be vibrating
Submitted by Cactus Kurt on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:17am.
Rachel Maddow must be "vibrating off (her) seat at a height of about six inches"
Speaking of my man, Maddow ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 11:02am.
... did anyone happen to catch Ronda Reagan pitching his new book about his "father" on Prissy Chrissy's show this week?
I would swear that Maddow and Ronda were separated at birth! Not only do they look alike, but the have that same itichy twitchy eyebrow thing going when the speak through their similarly puckered up mouths.
Obviously if they shared the same womb at the hospital, someone got really confused as to "gender assignment" with these two.
Is it just me, or do they look and act that much alike?
Interesting theory,
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 4:58pm.
Interesting theory, newsbubba...................and there is a man and a woman there too!!!! I just think the chromosones got a little mixed up..............
It will be interesting to see
Submitted by johnsonl on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:25am.
It will be interesting to see how many of those pakistani girls who "came out" on NPR are murdered by their familes to protect their honor.
You probably will never hear about it.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:32am.
It will be covered as a local news story, and quickly disappear.
Did NPR remember to mention
Submitted by Zilla of the Re... on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 10:36am.
Did NPR remember to mention that homosexuality is a 'crime' punishable by death in islam?
Left, Right, Middle
Submitted by bsny on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 11:40am.
I think we can all agree that lesbianism with an idea with celebrating.
Oh no! Lesbians! Run for your
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 12:15pm.
Oh no! Lesbians! Run for your lives!
Why?
Submitted by Blonde on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 12:39pm.
?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Because they're being talked
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 4:03pm.
Because they're being talked about openly on public TV. Shocking, just shocking.
More incisive reporting from
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 1:08pm.
More incisive reporting from NPR--your tax dollars at work.