Hege Storhaug
Encyclopedia
Hege Storhaug is a Norwegian journalist, writer and women's rights
activist. She has been noted since the 1990s for her opposition to Islamism
and advocacy for human rights; particularly women's rights in relation to traditional Muslim attitudes and practices towards women. Since 2002, she has been the information director of Human Rights Service
. Formerly an active volleyball
player, Storhaug is also a certified athletic trainer with a degree from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. She has played on the Norwegian national women's volleyball team and has coached and played on teams that won the Norwegian national championships.
player. She won the Norwegian Championship as part of the team Hisøy I.L when she was fourteen and sixteen yars old. When she was sixteen years old, she made her debut on the junior national team, as well as the senior national team.
Storhaug started her education at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
in 1984, and graduated as a certified athletic trainer in 1987. In 1986/87 she studied Health and Sports Biology, where she wrote a paper based on her mapping of the extent of eating disorder
s among female athletes. It was the first such mapping in Norway, and it brought considerable attention, including being on the first page of newspaper Dagbladet
. She spoke in the media about her eating disorders as a young athlete, which led to major public debate about the problem in Norway. In the wake of this, she co-founded the Interest Group for Women with Eating Disorders (Interessegruppa for kvinner med spiseforstyrrelser), and functioned as the press and information director of the organisation from 1987 to 1990.
from 1989 to 1990. She graduated as a journalist at the Norwegian School of Journalism in 1992, and subsequently worked as a freelance journalist. One of her earliest journalistic efforts, in 1992, was the first report to appear in Norway about the forced marriages
of young Muslim women. The report drew the attention of leading politicians and helped result in the passage, in 1995, of a law banning such marriages. In the mid-1990s, Storhaug lived in Pakistan
for two years, and wrote a book about her experience.
In 1999, after the publication of her book Holy Force: Young Norwegian Muslims on Love and Marriage (1998), Storhaug had a leading role in the production of documentaries for Norway's TV 2
about honor killing
and forced marriage. These programs gained considerable public notice and Norway's then Minister of Justice, Odd Einar Dørum
, promised to follow up on the revelation in every way possible.
Storhaug then conceived and researched documentaries which revealed that girls in Norway were being subjected to genital mutilation
and that imams in the country supported this practice. The programs, which appeared on TV2 in the autumn of 2000, caused a considerable outcry, not least because imams who condemned this practice when interviewed openly were caught on hidden cameras expressing their approval for the procedure. The programs led to Norway's first national action plan against genital mutilation, won the prestigious Gullprisen i 2001, and were also aired internationally.
(HRS), which addresses topics related to immigration and integration, focusing especially on the abuse of Muslim girls and women in Europe. Among those who have praised HRS's work is Ayaan Hirsi Ali
, who in the first article she published as a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute
wrote that while most non-governmental organizations in Europe "are embarrassingly silent" on the struggle for human rights for Muslim women and girls, "there is one in Norway that pays attention, Human Rights Service, run by a brave, determined woman, Hege Storhaug."
Storhaug has long been a high-profile participant in media debates about forced marriage, honor killing, genital mutilation, Islam
, Islamism
, and questions relating to the cultural impact and economic sustainability of large-scale immigration. Her controversial 2006 bestseller, But the Greatest of These Is Freedom: On the Consequences of Immigration, was critically acclaimed and won the Sørlandets Litteraturpris.
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
activist. She has been noted since the 1990s for her opposition to Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
and advocacy for human rights; particularly women's rights in relation to traditional Muslim attitudes and practices towards women. Since 2002, she has been the information director of Human Rights Service
Human Rights Service
Human Rights Service is a Norwegian organisation which was founded in 2001.It describes itself as a "non-partisan independent think tank which work with themes attached to the new multiethnic and multireligious Norway and Europe"...
. Formerly an active volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player, Storhaug is also a certified athletic trainer with a degree from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. She has played on the Norwegian national women's volleyball team and has coached and played on teams that won the Norwegian national championships.
Sports
In her youth, Storhaug was an active volleyballVolleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player. She won the Norwegian Championship as part of the team Hisøy I.L when she was fourteen and sixteen yars old. When she was sixteen years old, she made her debut on the junior national team, as well as the senior national team.
Storhaug started her education at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides education at Bachelor, Master and Doctorate level....
in 1984, and graduated as a certified athletic trainer in 1987. In 1986/87 she studied Health and Sports Biology, where she wrote a paper based on her mapping of the extent of eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
s among female athletes. It was the first such mapping in Norway, and it brought considerable attention, including being on the first page of newspaper Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
. She spoke in the media about her eating disorders as a young athlete, which led to major public debate about the problem in Norway. In the wake of this, she co-founded the Interest Group for Women with Eating Disorders (Interessegruppa for kvinner med spiseforstyrrelser), and functioned as the press and information director of the organisation from 1987 to 1990.
Journalism
Storhaug worked as a journalist in the newspaper KlassekampenKlassekampen
Klassekampen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, which styles itself as "the daily left-wing newspaper".Klassekampen was founded in 1969 with a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist platform. Until recently, it was owned by The Workers' Communist Party...
from 1989 to 1990. She graduated as a journalist at the Norwegian School of Journalism in 1992, and subsequently worked as a freelance journalist. One of her earliest journalistic efforts, in 1992, was the first report to appear in Norway about the forced marriages
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
of young Muslim women. The report drew the attention of leading politicians and helped result in the passage, in 1995, of a law banning such marriages. In the mid-1990s, Storhaug lived in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
for two years, and wrote a book about her experience.
In 1999, after the publication of her book Holy Force: Young Norwegian Muslims on Love and Marriage (1998), Storhaug had a leading role in the production of documentaries for Norway's TV 2
TV 2 (Norway)
TV 2 is the largest commercial television station in Norway. Over 30% of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV 2. The station has 65% of the market for TV commercials in Norway....
about honor killing
Honor killing
An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community...
and forced marriage. These programs gained considerable public notice and Norway's then Minister of Justice, Odd Einar Dørum
Odd Einar Dørum
Odd Einar Dørum is a Norwegian politician and former member of parliament, representing The Liberal Party.Dørum was Minister of Transport and Communications from 17 October 1997 to 15 March 1999, then Minister of Justice until 3 March 2000. He was again Minister of Justice in the second government...
, promised to follow up on the revelation in every way possible.
Storhaug then conceived and researched documentaries which revealed that girls in Norway were being subjected to genital mutilation
Genital mutilation
Genital mutilation can refer to:*Clitoridectomy*Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision*Genital modification and mutilation*Infibulation...
and that imams in the country supported this practice. The programs, which appeared on TV2 in the autumn of 2000, caused a considerable outcry, not least because imams who condemned this practice when interviewed openly were caught on hidden cameras expressing their approval for the procedure. The programs led to Norway's first national action plan against genital mutilation, won the prestigious Gullprisen i 2001, and were also aired internationally.
Human Rights Service
On a 2002 documentary for Norwegian State Television, Storhaug uncovered the importation into Norway of child brides. That year Storhaug also began working as information director of the politically unaffiliated Norwegian think tank Human Rights ServiceHuman Rights Service
Human Rights Service is a Norwegian organisation which was founded in 2001.It describes itself as a "non-partisan independent think tank which work with themes attached to the new multiethnic and multireligious Norway and Europe"...
(HRS), which addresses topics related to immigration and integration, focusing especially on the abuse of Muslim girls and women in Europe. Among those who have praised HRS's work is Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
, who in the first article she published as a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
wrote that while most non-governmental organizations in Europe "are embarrassingly silent" on the struggle for human rights for Muslim women and girls, "there is one in Norway that pays attention, Human Rights Service, run by a brave, determined woman, Hege Storhaug."
Storhaug has long been a high-profile participant in media debates about forced marriage, honor killing, genital mutilation, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
, and questions relating to the cultural impact and economic sustainability of large-scale immigration. Her controversial 2006 bestseller, But the Greatest of These Is Freedom: On the Consequences of Immigration, was critically acclaimed and won the Sørlandets Litteraturpris.
Published books
- Når følelser blir mat. Kvinner og spiseforstyrrelser (with Karin Christensen), 1990
- Mashallah. En reise blant kvinner i Pakistan, 1996
- Hellig tvang. Unge norske muslimer om kjærlighet og ekteskap, 1998.
- Feminin integrering. Utfordringer i et fleretnisk samfunn, 2003. (Translated into English by Bruce Bawer as Human Visas: A Report from the Front Lines of Europe’s Integration Crisis).
- Men størst av alt er friheten. Om innvandringens konsekvenser, 2006.
- Jeg er Mia (with Mia Gundersen Leliënhof), 2008.
- Rundlurt. Om innvandring og islam i Norge, 2009.
- But the Greatest of These is Freedom: The Consequences of Immigration in Europe, 2011 (revised and updated English version of Men størst av alt er frihet).