This is the reality of many women and girls who live in super-duper religious communities (and by “religious” I really mean “backward” – the two don’t necessarily have to go hand-in-hand, but spirituality is so complex that most people just take the easy way out, turning into drooling, intellectually stagnant fanatics).
Like Aliana, I am incredibly saddened to read about incidents of young women being threatened for daring to acquire knowledge. An educated woman is dangerous in certain circles. She may make the fragile egos of the men around her wilt faster than their, ah, appendages.
If you think that Muslims are bad – check out some of the comments my relatives got, having divulged to fellow Orthodox church-goers the fact that yours truly had attended college in the U.S.:
“How will Natalia find a husband now?” (Of course, the assumption is that I’m just DYING to get married – after all, I’m an old maid! “Normal” women get married at 18!)
“A good Orthodox man is not going to like that sort of thing.” (I’ve already got a good agnostic man, but thanks…)
“It’s especially bad if she was in the humanities – they teach nothing but filth.” (“And now my cousin, who’s also my beloved wife, will accompany me to our weekly book-burning!”)
“If she was living on her own, she’s pretty much a lost cause. Young women need constant supervision.” (I’m not even going to dignify this one with a snide comment)
“I don’t want to scare you, sister, but I hear they have the falling-down sin in abundance in college!” (For the uninitiated, the falling-down sin (повальный грех) = orgy!)
I honestly wish I was making this stuff up.
*- This basically means that Anna goes commando every day. Go Anna!
Natalia A. 
Heee! Those sound so familiar!
For me, it’s not objectionable that I went to college, but the fact that I went to a college other than BYU makes me automatically suspect and doomed to die alone. Nice to know that I’m not alone! 🙂
We can both be old maids together, I guess. We can take little shopping trips for denture glue together.
Underwear is overrated!
This is so messed up. It also reveals how deep rooted such convictions are in certain types of mentalities.
Regarding your point about certain religious communities, I wonder what is about them that makes them more susceptible to making generalizations and not just generalizations but particularly bad generalizations.
Dear Natalia. I’m going to be cynical here…
I’ve recently listened to Mr Moi’s stories from a work boat/island party. All day, people coupled off, went into the bushes and had sex. After which, they returned to the group, found someone new, went into the bushes, and had sex. Repeat ad nauseum.
Mr Moi turned up after the party had been going for 8 hours (11 hours in all) and has to listen to the bragging of quite a few of his colleagues. And some of these are the guys who walk around town proudly wearing a cross around their neck!
Tsk tsk, I just fear that these young professionals have forsaken a happy life of matrimonial bliss (oh! that’s right. Most of them are already married).
Point of comment: who cares what church people say. They’re using the church to justify being judgemental and back-stabbing – which is exactly what Christianity isn’t about.
Is that the whole bushes business that is the cause of the highest growing rate of AIDS among the European countries? Elton Serovich John has something to say about that last night .
About the beer, please email me at olechko at yahoo dot com for details!
Oy. “How can she be sold off like a cow to the highest bidder if she’s uppity and difficult to manage? She won’t fetch a very high price if she’s damaged goods, you know. Who wants a domestic servant who doesn’t take orders?”
“Young women need constant supervision because the minute they’re free they’ll start acting like – gasp! – PEOPLE!”
In Appalachia this is called “Tryin ta get above ya raisin.”
Natalia, here’s to hoping you get reeeeaaaaly “uppity” with these people when you drop in to visit during your international book tour.