LeAnne Hardy, author and editor
  • Home
  • BIO
  • My Books
    • Children's and Young Adult
    • Historical Fiction
    • Non-fiction
  • Blog
  • Editorial Services

My ​Times and Places
​


​​

Freedom's Stand

7/8/2011

2 Comments

 
Picture
I have been surveying readers to find out what they would like more of on this blog. This is for all those who like book reviews and for those who want to hear more spiritual thoughts relevant to travel, justice, etc. It also falls under “other people’s ministries with children at risk” because, although she is fictional, Jeanette Windle’s character, Amy, in Freedom's Stand works with women who have been imprisoned in Afghanistan and their children. (That is, children who have been growing up in prison with their mothers. You can’t get more at-risk than that.) Some of the “women” are hardly more than children themselves—children running away from forced marriages to older men who abused them.

A woman in Afghanistan must be under the care of a male “wali” (guardian). That wali may be her father, her husband, her elder brother or any man under whose protection she lives. And believe me, she needs protection.  Without a male protector she is fair game for any man who wants to pinch her bottom, touch her breast or even rape her. A missionary to Pakistan warned me when we visited, to walk in front of my husband in the market. Otherwise, even though we were foreigners and modestly dressed in local attire (loose pantaloons, headscarf and a tunic that reached below my bottom on a hot day), someone (read that “some @!% misguided male”) was likely to come up behind and pinch me since I wasn’t wearing full Muslim covering. For some reason Pakistani and Afghan men think it is the woman’s responsibility to keep from arousing the “healthy virility” that Allah gave men. They take no responsibility for their own self-control.

This wali has absolute power over the woman to work her, starve her, sell her to the highest bidder, excuse me, I mean, arrange her marriage for a bride price. He even has the power of life and death over her. Witness accounts of "honor killings" all too common in that part of the world. (I don’t have any statistics, but as far as I am concerned, one is “too common”.)  

Theoretically, her protector should be protecting, shouldn’t he? After all, this is his daughter/sister/wife we are talking about. But since all his life he has been taught that a woman is his inferior, inclined to promiscuity and incapable of making her own decisions, a lack of abuse is about the best that can be expected in many cases. The respect for the opposite sex that comes from recognizing that every human being is made in the image of God and loved by Him is beyond comprehension to someone with this mindset. Nor can he (or even she!) grasp the Christian ideal of marriage as the companionship of two people who complement one another’s gifts as they leave, cleave and become one flesh.

Enough ranting. I just finished Jeannette Windle's Freedom’s Stand. It is powerful! I reviewed her Veiled Freedom last year. I loved its multiple points of view, each logical within its own system.  The ending left me longing to know what would become of the would-be suicide bomber.  In Freedom’s Stand we follow him as he takes his healing skills and infant faith into the hills of Afghanistan.  Jeannette portrays followers of Isa Masih (Jesus Christ) who give me fresh insights into the gospel and what it means in the lives of people in a culture a million miles from my own. Guns can’t change men’s hearts. Democracy can’t change hearts. Even American policy is powerless when it comes to character transformation. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. 

Romans 10:14: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Sometimes inspirational fiction tries too hard and doesn’t make it compared to its secular counterpart, but Jeannette has crafted a page-turning thriller that won’t let you down at the end. At the same time, she will make you angry. You may end up producing your own rant against a worldview that demeans women and against American policies that rate support for the West over freedom and justice for all.

You can read this book without reading the first, but you will enjoy it more if you start with Veiled Freedom. You definitely want both books in your church library.

2 Comments
LeAnne
1/7/2015 07:22:49 am

This post was moved from another site. All comments were lost.

Reply
Cooper Bentley link
11/22/2020 04:33:58 am

Hello mate nice bllog

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    LeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. Her books come out of her cross-cultural experiences and her passion to use story to convey spiritual truths in a form that will permeate lives.

    RSS Feed

    Add http://www.leannehardy.net/1/feed to your RSS feed.
    To receive an e-mail when I post a new blog, please subscribe.
    Subscribe to Blog

    Categories

    All
    Africa
    Author Interviews
    Current Events
    Devotional Thoughts
    Guest Blog
    Holidays Christmas
    Holidays Easter
    Holidays-Easter
    Holidays Other
    Holidays-Thanksgiving
    Missions And Missionaries
    Music
    My Books
    My Life And Family
    My Travels
    Non Fiction
    Orphans And Vulnerable Children
    Photos
    Publishers And Publishing
    Reading And Sharing Books
    Reviews
    Skating
    Theological Education
    Tributes
    Writing

    Archives

    June 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    March 2000

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • BIO
  • My Books
    • Children's and Young Adult
    • Historical Fiction
    • Non-fiction
  • Blog
  • Editorial Services