Feminism, Southern Lebanese Shi’a style

Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, the highest Shi’a authority in Lebanon, has issued a new fatwa. Often concerned with equality between men and women, this time he spoke out on the issue of domestic violence: his newest fatwa 'supports the right of a woman to defend herself against any act of violence, whether social or physical.' Quite literally, he said that any woman has the right to beat up her husband if the husband physically abuses her.

Now if that’s not typical Southern Lebanese resistance, I don’t know what is…

An interesting interview with Fadlallah can be found here. (Hat-tip to Abu Muqawama)