First off, Carter has drifted from the church twice before on other issues, and his motives have been questioned as to why he has disassociated himself.

Secondly, as a champion of "human rights," Carter has for long supported engagement with North Korea, a country in which over 900,000 citizens are imprisoned in concentration camps. He ushered in the theocratic Ayatollah Khomeini, replacing the shah, and advised the Shah's military not to oppose the revolution (they complied and were murdered as one of Khomeini's first acts in power). Not to mention that Carter has had very little to say about Iran since the revolution, and instead has focused his energy on Israel, entirely ignoring woman's rights abuses in countries such as Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, etc…Even when he was president, he ignored the communist takeover in Angola, and stepped back as Gadhafi took power in Libya, turning it into a "terrorist- host" nation. He turned a blind eye to Sudan, and to the murder of millions of Black Christians by Arab Muslims. He is outspokenly and blatantly an apologist for Hamas and has gone to great lengths to portray them as a misunderstood people who we should be sympathetic too. Under Hamas law, one can be crucified (yes CRUCIFIED!) for treason, and woman are treated as chattel. Hamas is the bottom of the barrel with respect to human rights.

I have such disdain for Carter that this move he has taken to curb woman's rights abuses leaves little impression on me….if only because he is 100 percent in bed with the worst woman’s rights abusers in the world. You wonder how many vestal virgins he's been offered for his support…

In fact, I hope that Mr. Carter’s example will give others the courage and strength to speak up for what is right. The Stoning of Soraya M. is a perfect example of someone who had the courage to speak out against the wrongs of her village, Soraya’s Aunt Zara. Zara, similar to Carter, was an elder in her village–someone who was respected (by most) for her independent thought and wisdom. Zara didn’t let the shameful stoning of Soraya go unheard or unrecognized. Although Soraya’s fate was spearheaded by her cruel husband, the fundamental issue is the absence or lack of status, respect, and equality of women in the world. Zara may not have been able to save her beloved Soraya, but her courage ultimately will save women world wide.

I realize that we live in a globally inter-connected world and can easily access Carter’s article in The Guardian, but why wasn’t his op-ed published in a U.S. newspaper or is making mainstream U.S. news? Not only should more people know about Mr. Carter’s decision and the purpose of it, but the U.S. has a bill pending in the House and the Senate (HR5927 and S2279) called the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) that must be passed. Bottom line, President Carter’s opinion is important for three reasons: 1) as a world leader, he speaks out openly against the discrimination of women and that it must stop; 2) he demonstrates moral courage, which everyone must know about; and 3) more attention must be focused on the passage of I-VAWA. As supporters of women’s rights, I urge everyone to sign the petition and send it to their networks: http://www.womenthrive.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=133.
Does anyone know Jimmy Carter's email address?