During an emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan spoke about the ultimate sacrifice his family made for the United States. His son, Humayun Khan, died in the Iraq war in 2004.
After the speech, Trump acknowledged Khizr Khan's wife, Ghazala Khan, and hinted that she remained silent on stage because Muslim women are subservient to men.
"His wife … if you look at his wife, she was standing there," Trump said. "She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. But plenty of people have written that. She was extremely quiet, and it looked like she had nothing to say. A lot of people have said that."
Khan said his wife, Ghazala Khan, did not speak because "she was just totally emotionally spent" and because she has high blood pressure and didn't want to speak for fear she wouldn't be able to "hold herself together" discussing her Gold Star son on stage, CNN reported. She also said she didn't speak because she was "very nervous."
"Donald Trump has asked why I did not speak at the Democratic convention," Ghazala Khan wrote in an op-ed published by The Washington Post. "He said he would like to hear from me. Here is my answer to Donald Trump: Because without saying a thing, all the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart ... My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God's eyes."
In response to the conflict, Muslim American women began using the hashtag #CanYouHearUsNow on social media.
About the Author
