One of the worst parts of human-rights abuses is the damage they can do to the soul, to the human person’s honesty and integrity. Forgive me if someone else has already posted about this story from Malaysia — but I think it deserves attention: Three women who were caned under Islamic law for having had sex outside of marriage said they “deserved” the punishment. One of the women, 17, is quoted in the story as saying, “I deeply regret my actions as I should have married before having sex.” And the vice president of the country’s Islamic Youth Movement is quoted on the controversy: “The guilty have also repented and there is no proof of injuries at all. What is the problem now?”

Let me explain what the problem is. The problem is that women deserve better than a system that not only demeans them, but coerces them into being grateful for it. I’ve been pretty clear in the past about my affection for Muslims and the Islamic faith, and that affection is undiminished. But make no mistake about what life under the Caliphate dreamed of by the Islamofascists would be like.

This is a small story, concerning a small number of people. But it helps to remind us why we fight.

(H/t New Oxford Review.)