The human rights of women throughout the Middle East and North Africa are systematically denied by each of the countries in the region, despite the diversity of their political systems. Many governments routinely suppress civil society by restricting freedom of the press, expression, and assembly. These restrictions adversely affect both men and women; however, women are subject to a host of additional gender-specific human rights violations. For example, family, penal, and citizenship laws throughout the region relegate women to a subordinate status compared to their male counterparts. This legal discrimination undermines women’s full personhood and equal participation in society and puts women at an increased risk for violence.
Family matters in countries as diverse as Iran, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia are governed by religion-based personal status codes. Many of these laws treat women essentially as legal minors under the eternal guardianship of their male family members. Family decision-making is thought to be the exclusive domain of men, who enjoy by default the legal status of “head of household.” These notions are supported by family courts in the region that often reinforce the primacy of male decision-making power.
Here are ten of the most extreme examples of gender inequality you can find currently practiced, often state-sanctioned, in the world today.
In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed to drive, or even ride bikes, and men aren’t allowed to drive women they’re not closely related to. The kingdom is currently dealing with the dilemma of how to get 367,000 girls to school on buses that can only be driven by men. The logical question at this point is this: If no men are allowed to come in contact with schoolgirls, and women aren’t allowed to drive, who will be driving the school buses? The Ministry of Education is currently recruiting “Al-Ameen” or trustworthy men for this initiative. It may be hard for some to take this term seriously considering the way Saudi Arabia’s religious police infamously broke the trust of 15 girls’ parents in 2002 when a girls’ school was on fire. The police forbade them from leaving the building, and in some cases beat them to keep them from leaving, because the girls’ heads weren’t properly veiled. The girls all died in the fire. One has to wonder how the Ministry of Education plans to handle school-bus breakdowns near similarly inclined men.
In 2001 a militant group called Lashkar-e-Jabar demanded that Muslim women in Kashmir wear burqas, head to toe garments that cover their clothes, or risk being attacked. Men threw acid in the faces of two women for not covering up in public. The group also demanded that Hindu and Sikh women dress so as to identify themselves: they said that Hindu women should wear a bindi (the traditional colored dot) on their foreheads, and Sikh women should cover their heads with saffron-colored cloth.
In many countries, while husbands can divorce their spouses easily (often instantaneously through oral repudiation), wives’ access to divorce is often extremely limited, and they frequently confront near insurmountable legal and financial obstacles. In Lebanon, battered women cannot file for divorce on the basis of abuse without the testimony of an eyewitness. A medical certificate from a doctor documenting physical abuse is simply not good enough. Although women in Egypt can now legally initiate a divorce without cause, they must agree not only to renounce all rights to the couple’s finances, but must also repay their dowries. Essentially, they have to buy their freedom. In Israel, a man must grant his wife a get, a Jewish divorce writ that can only be given by a man to his wife – never the other way around.
In many areas of Afghanistan, girls are often taken out of school when they hit puberty. Cultural factors related to the ‘correctness’ of sending girls to school, reluctance to send girls and boys to the same school after third grade, as well as the perceived and real security threats related to girls walking to school and attending classes all contribute to slowing down the enrollment of girls in schools. Likewise, the enormous lack of female teachers, who are fundamental in a country where girls cannot be taught by a man after a certain age, is having a negative impact on girls’ education. While progress has been made since the fall of the Taliban, women are still struggling to see their rights fulfilled. Literacy rates among young Afghan women are disturbingly low: only 18 per cent of women between 15 and 24 can read. While the total number of children enrolled in primary schools is increasing tremendously, the percentage of female students is not.
Husbands in Egypt and Bahrain can file an official complaint at the airport to forbid their wives from leaving the country for any reason. In Syria, a husband can prevent his wife from leaving the country. In Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Morocco, Oman and Yemen, married women must have their husband’s written permission to travel abroad, and they may be prevented from doing so for any reason. In Saudi Arabia, women must obtain written permission from their closest male relative to leave the country or travel on public transportation between different parts of the kingdom.
Women’s unequal legal rights increase their vulnerability to violence. In many countries in the region, no specific laws or provisions exist to penalize domestic violence, even though domestic violence is a widespread problem. Domestic violence is generally considered to be a private matter outside the state’s jurisdiction. Battered women are told to go home if they attempt to file a complaint with the police. Few shelters exist to protect women who fear for their lives. Spousal rape has not been criminalized; husbands have an absolute right to their wives’ bodies at all times. Penal codes in several countries in the region also contain provisions that authorize the police and judges to drop charges against a rapist if he agrees to marry his victim.
In Bahrain, where family law is not codified, judges have complete power to deny women custody of their children for the most arbitrary reasons. Bahraini women who have been courageous enough to expose and challenge these violations in 2003 were sued for slander by eleven family court judges.
Most countries in the region-with the exception of Iran, Tunisia, Israel, and to a limited extent Egypt-have permitted only fathers to pass citizenship on to their children. Women married to non-nationals are denied this fundamental right.
Many countries criminalize adult, consensual sex outside of marriage. In Morocco, women are much more likely to be charged with having violated penal code prohibitions on sexual relations outside of marriage than men. Unmarried pregnant women are particularly at risk of prosecution. The Moroccan penal code also considers the rape of a virgin as an aggravating circumstance of assault. The message is clear: the degree of punishment of the perpetrator is determined by the sexual experience of the victim.
China’s one child policy has heightened the disdain for female infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment, and infanticide have been known to occur to female infants. The result of such family planning has been the disparate ratio of 114 males for every 100 females among babies from birth through children four years of age. Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females.
Similarly, the number of girls born and surviving in India is significantly less compared with the number of boys, due to the disproportionate numbers of female fetuses being aborted and baby girls deliberately neglected and left to die. The normal ratio of births should be 950 girls for every 1000 boys, however in some regions the number is as low as 300.
Contributor: rushfan
DAMN YOU! (I'm just saying that to those IDIOTIC dudes who think they can't live without women. Even though I'm a guy…
Look at it this way. Who endured nine, painful months just to lead you to existence? What is that person's gender?
And who do you think gets them to be pregnant. Some “magic” dust? Idiots like you are the reason why HERE, in America, women look down on us, and are ahead.
Ahead in what exactly???? Certainly you couldn’t be referring to wages or anything like that because men still make more than women. Women tend to LOOK DOWN on many men because of their behavior. Act worthy of respect and you’ll get it. It’s that simple.
Ahead in:
Education, 57% of college are females.
Workforce is 51% female.
85% of purchasing power.
53% Voting majority.
In many large cities females make 15% more than their male counterparts.
You live longer, obviously.
In elementary, jr, and highs schools the curriculum is feminized, due to femanazis altering the school system to benefit females in the 90′s. The teachers are bias towards male students, such that they are failing very badly, except in math and science.
You have less workplace fatalities.
You dont die as young as we do.
We have to sign the Selective Service cards, just to be able to vote, get financial aid from the government or even be employed by the government.
You get lesser sentencing when committing a crime.
To name a few. You have to understand that both males and females face certain amounts of discrimination. Your inability to empathize wit the opposite ***** just contributes to your ignorance of their problems thus exacerbating the problem.
I am completly dissappointed at this list and how it shows Islam. Being an educated muslim woman i would like add my point of view. Islam is in no way cruel to woman. Infact, Islam came in a time when women had absolutely no rights at all but if u would like to know Islam introduced many of the female rights we have today the right to divorce, education, inheritance, mehr which is money or proprety that is given to her after marriage by her husband, and there are so many more infact our holy book the quran has an entire surah(part
) on women's rights before islam men would inherit their father's wives as if they were a piece of property and Islam put a stop to that. And Devon our prophet (peace be upon him) did marry a young girl aisha but if we look at history no less than a two hundred years ago girls were thought eligible to marry at age 13 or 12 and the prophet lived at the time of the romans and to add something you probably dont know the prophet's first wife was over 15 years older than him and didnt marry again till after her death and all the other women he married were widows which he took in take care of them and introduced the right for women to remarry another right all us take for granted today and yes before compilling a list check if the information you print is true or legitimate deeply dissappointed listverse.
It should also be noted that all this was within a cultural setting where once puberty was attained the girls had been prepared to go into marriage. It was their “career” of sorts and it was the norm. It was not “prison” or an abuse of their rights. This was over 700 years ago.
Currently, perhaps due to changing cultures and merging beliefs, this may be seen as a gross abuse of female rights.
It should be interesting to note that Mary, Mother of Jesus was 14 when she was betrothed to Joseph.
Im first, its a first
Moron
Excellent list and quite brave of you too post it!! I see you have the wonderful brave lady, Ayaan Hirsh Ali….what a lady…and she has to live most discreetly as Islam has ordered a hit on her!!
Take note, that almost all of this list pertains exclusively to Islam…funny that…and yet we keep deluding ourselves in the West with Cultural and moral relativism that Islam is no different or worse then any other ideology or creed…
One you could have added is child marriage which is permitted in Islam since muhammed himself, the so called ‘prophet’ of islam married a 6 year old girl when he was in his mid fifties…..and sadly, since that is considered Sunnah, many childred to this day are married off to older men in the Islamic world…gross to be sure…
Great list
While it is true that he married a girl that was at the age of nine that does not constitute pedophilia. Historically, the age at which a girl was considered ready to be married has been puberty. This was the case in Biblical times, and is still used today to determine the age of marriage in many parts of the world. This was part of the norm and is not something that Islam invented. The girl he got married to had reached puberty 3 years before marriage. It is upon reaching the age of puberty that a person, man or woman, becomes legally responsible for their actions under Islamic law. At this point, they are allowed to make their own decisions and are held accountable for their actions. It should also be mentioned that in Islam, it is unlawful to force someone to marry someone that they do not want to marry. There is no indication that the society at that time criticized this marriage due to the girl’s young age. On the contrary, the marriage was encouraged by the girl’s family and was welcomed by the community at large.
If the girl was 9 at the age of marriage… And the law says she has to have reached puberty 3 years prior to marriage, then this girl reached puberty at the age of 6?! I don’t think so. Also, “puberty” is usually considered the point at which a female begins to menstruate… But its illogical and also STUPID to think this somehow automatically converts a girl into a woman! Menstruation is the BEGINNING of puberty and physical and mental maturity is not reached for many years. A man engaging in ***** with a 9 year old is PEDOPHILIA… In all sense of logic and by definition, precisely.
The only reason reason the middle eastern countries are *****iest is not because they are filled with mostly Muslim but because the government is filled with hypocrites.
Adolf hitler was christain and he killed many Jews and he used his religion to back him up does that mean that Christianity backs up murderers and also Christianity backed up slavery because it said that a person can be a slave for life and the master can abuse the slave.
And one more thing when you look at married couples of all religions in most cases one is older than the other (look that the models and their rich old husbands).
Thanks Magna for puttings things into perspective. There is so much discrimination because non-Muslims feel Islam is the roots of all evil, and Muslims feel that they are bring victimised! It’s good to remember, that if a constitution uses religious views to shield their crimes, then please don’t blame the religion, but the people who claim to “follow” it! And finally, to the writer who pens these lists, I often enjoy reading your blog, but recently I get the feeling that you like to bend more against certain ethnic groups/religious views. You have a good fan base, please try and keep it neutral.
Just back from site and Second
3rd
Rushfan: Your usual thoughtful, well-researched, well-written socially educational list, but something cheerful please!!!!
I’m a man. I can’t even start to go close to imagining what life must be like for these women. Connected with this is lack of women’s access to information about what life is like a) in general and b) for women, in other countries. Most of these women can’t even imagine life being different than it is.
Please let this not turn into a religious slanging-fest.
Wow! Really scary list.
Makes me happy to be where I am with the rights I have.
And, what will happen to the future of China once women are gone? Is it possible for men to impregnate themselves to continue the human life cycle?
All these things happen in the name of religion.
Great list. The title was a little misleading though. It said gender inequality said only about female inequality. I dont know if its because there is no cases of male inequality or just because this was targeted for women. Im sure there are way more cases for inequality against women but isnt there 1 or 2 against men? Would be interesting to see
No wonder these countries are so screwed up, they only use hslf of their brains.
With respect to the right to divorce, I have my reservations. Women in most developed countries, especially America can kick the man out of the marital home if she files for divorce. Is this not an inequality issue? Some women have made a business out of this: Marry the rich man, follow him and when you catch him cheating file for divorce and take half of all his possessions. In fact what makes this funny is the way they fight this out in court especially the amount to be paid. It is really funny. If you want to remove inequality you don’t create another inequality.
To increase the number of female entering universities in Ghana, if a women gets aggregate 08 and a man gets 07 (which is better than the 08, the best is 06) the woman is admitted ahead of his male colleague. Is this not an inequality issue.
When it comes to inequality we only have to be careful of what we say and do. I give equal opportunity to everybody in life but I hate the specific individuals who go around trying to espouse women equality. In Ghana, these women are the well-to-do with housemaids (women househelps) in their homes, yet go about propagating the news of equality.
I'm pretty sure if you looked up the number of males:females attending university in Ghana, you'd find that there are MANY more males, hence the lower standards (until the culture catches up).
Men can kick women out of the house too, but generally when a woman kicks the man out it is due to his actions. If it's the woman committing wrongdoing, the man will generally leave anyways. When kids are involved, it gets complicated, but given that men are more prone to violence and infidelity it makes sense that women still get favored more often, though thankfully courts are now recognizing responsible fathers and irresponsible mothers as realities.
I think this list sums up why the US and the UK bang on about “the free world” so much.
There is a single ground for which a fundamentalist regime will grant a woman the right to divorce her husband: if he is impotent! But you need solid proof! How to get it?
On another kind of note, I think it’s great that you mentioned the names of the countries where these violations happen, so that readers know it’s not a generalized phenomenon throughout the Muslim world, as there are such countries with lay governments and liberal politics.
It would be interesting to note that women’s rights are gravely violated in non-Muslim countries as well. Another list, maybe?
To sugen you counter argued your own argument by stating that the women follow thier husbands catch them cheating then file for divorce for the money. if your married you shouldn’t be cheating, therefore he is in the wrong. though i dont agree with women who marry just for money and who have their husbands followed its a minority.
I dont agree with putting someone ahead of others unless they are good enough. however men have been allowed to be ahead for centuries and women are still discrimnated against and not paid equally even in the western world so maybe they deserve a helping hand even if it means a man with slightly better qualifications is turned down. though to be honest in reality this i dont think this happens very often, though it may where you’re from.
many of those information are not true
am from Jordan, and woman can travel were ever they want !!! withour the permission of anyone except their parents if they are minors
Nice list.
I am deeply shocked by this list. Cant believe this gender discrimination is so extreme in some parts, and mostly in Muslim countries.
These people bring shame to Islam.
Plus, this “women cant easily divorce thing” is very common. And its sad.
When I read this list I literally shocked,, I just curious what was in the back of these people who made this regulation,, and it is in a middle east countries (which have a moslem majority) and islam itself is a religion that respect women very much
Islam states that in front of the law, 2 women equal 1 man. This is enough to me. I am disgusted.
Until religions dominate countries, nothing fair can be expected.
Excellent list, highlighting some very important issues. As a male I have to wonder if it is too much to hope that one day we will live in a world where the same rights are afforded to both genders.
Gender inequality also exists in western societies, although not in such extreme forms. Women are still paid less than men on average and the majority of top level management positions are filled by men. The situation is improving though, and hopefully in future the divide narrows further.
I sincerely hope that this list does not generate a torrent of racist comments. I am sure that was not rushfan’s intention in writing this list.
I agree with Devon that it is good to see that Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s picture made it into the list (#5). She has a great story, which wikipedia retells fairly well.
Also, I agree with Severus about Jordan. Just read this one excerpt from the CIA Factbook: “Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women.”
All in all, great work!
10. Maxhuman – Great list. The title was a little misleading though. It said gender inequality said only about female inequality. I dont know if its because there is no cases of male inequality or just because this was targeted for women. Im sure there are way more cases for inequality against women but isnt there 1 or 2 against men? Would be interesting to see
Thanks, that’s a good point. I hadn’t even thought of it. I guess I just kind of assumed it was a given which gender was most often victim of inequality.
sugen ~ Also good points. I would include affirmative action as racial inequality and your examples as gender affirmative action are quite relevent, also. Thanks for that.
Foxy ~ Yes, sadly the list could go on to include many other countries.
Severus ~ As you are from the country I have only read about, please inform me if I am incorrect. Here is where I read that info…
http://www.theprismgroup.org/articles/women_of_the_middle_east.html
This is sickening. The girls, who were left to die in the fire-how can human beings allow this to happen????
Even in a relatively advanced country like South Korea, there is a famous ongoing case. A famous actress committed suicide about 2 months ago. Her husband had beaten her, even when she was heavily pregnant, and had been unfaithful. In a divorce, the automatic assumption is that the father will gain custody. She had to forgive a substantial debt and drop the assault charges against him in order to gain custody. After the divorce, he did not contribute financially to the raising of the children, or ever visit them. Despite this, he automatically gained control over her estate after her death, and the grandmother and aunt have no legal recourse. There are currently protests and petitions to change the law.
I am relying on my wife’s sometimes fallible ability in English in this. The details may be wrong, but the gist is correct.
I was wondering if there were any examples of gender inequality against men. If there are, they must be few and far between compared to those against women.
One thing that came to mind was genital mutilation. I recall seeing a 60 minutes story that talked about teenage girls have their…ah…parts…sewn shut by operation except for a small hole to pee. Once healed, the only way for a man to consumate his marriage was by tearing the woman back open. This caused many to bleed to death. Either I somehow missed it on the list or it was omitted.
Astraya, I agree with you that there must be some inequalities that involve men getting the short end, but the only ones I can think of are more of double standards and much less severe than those included. The one exception is the rights of passage that someAfrican tribes employ (or used to) concerning boys/young men. I don’t recall any comprable tests of womanhood, but I could be wrong.
So sad..
#26.. that’s horrible
onwisconsn ~ please see my other list…
http://listverse.com/crime/7-terrible-abuses-suffered-by-women-around-the-world/
An interesting but disturbing list. It shows how in some cases Religious beliefs can sometimes cause much more harm than good. But, although the atrocities mentioned do happen they are not as common place as it seems. Larger cities in the Middle East and Africa for example are more tolerant than the outlaying villages. However, it still shows why the U.S.A. and other westernized countries still offer the best opportunities for both genders.
Sana ~ I appreciate your input and respect your viewpoint. You state “Islam is in no way cruel to woman.” I agree. It is not Islam that is being cruel to women, and no such claim was made. One has only took do a brief search to find supporting documentation of examples of female inequality in the underdeveloped world as well as countries run by religious extremists. I’m surprised in this day and age of global news coverage that anyone would even attempt to deny these inequalities exist.
Hey there #31. I find it so amusing at how some people try to defend that gutter cult and it’s child molester ‘prophet.’
Nothing you have stated changes a single thing on this list. Islam is a backwards outdated cult.
If that’s offensive to some people….GOOD!
I agree with you 100%!!! Regardless of the social norms or whether “other people do it” it does not change the definition of pedophilia… And im so sorry to offend but marrying a 9, 10, or 11 year old (consummation is assumed) is considered pedophilia. Also, how can a man look at a child of say 9,11, or 13… Even 15 and think to himself “yeah, she’s old enough, she’s a woman.” news flash… He WOULDN’T! He looks at this girl, knowing she is a child and knowing that she is not ready to be treated as an adult, and marries her regardless. It’s disgusting. This is someone who is revered as a prophet and a religious leader?! Where is the sense of morality. No matter if this was the social norm or not!!! Everyone knows that IT IS NOT OKAY!!! Common sense and logic tells us that.
Sana, I agree that what you say is true, and I don’t dispute it. However, the things on this list are also true. Religion has been distorted and used by many people through history to oppress and cause pain. It was not so long ago in America that the Bible was used to justify slavery and racial oppression. This doesn’t make the Bible or Christianity bad, it makes the people who used it in such a way bad. In the same sense, this list is about the atrocities that people commit, not an attack on Islam.
Thankyou rusfan i know that in some places muslim women are being mistreated being an afghan i know that but some people think that islam belittles us women n thats not true.
N mr.33 i have a name n i have no need to defend my prophet nearly 2 billion muslims all of whom respect n love him n whether islam is outdated in your view i dont care wat offends me is that you would reply me in such an undermining way just because im a muslim woman im not going take ur crap never have n never will. K
“In Israel, a man must grant his wife a get, a Jewish divorce writ that can only be given by a man to his wife – never the other way around.”
This is only the custom of the religious… Israel is NOT a theocracy and women ARE equal to men here (an easy example is having a woman prime minister before the USA).
Yea, i have to agree that these things are commited in the name of religion (islam, mostly), but WE try to defend our religion, not the people who commit hideous crimes & Islam has to bear the brunt of criticism. Just to clarify, Ayesha (R.A) was NOT 6 years old, she was 9, 10 or 11 ( varying sources) & as said by sana, in those days it was normal to marry girls of around 10, 11… SO lordpervert, you better not call our prophet anything we dont like, you can ***** all day about your own religion, not others.
LordCalvert
wow lord calvert it seems that whatever sana had written failed to to be processed by your brain. Perhaps your “liberal” education has failed to widen the horizons or your ability to understand.
I agree that we need the west to give liberty to all these muslims. I mean how else will our muslim sisters and mothers EVER be able to show their breast on TV or at a madi gras in exchange for a string of beads? How will they ever be able to act in *****ography?
Thanks to the west who gave us an endless stream of child *****ography, who occupied our muslim lands, killing the bread winners and forcing those who fled into *****. how we needed your help. we only survived 1400 years without any changes, but maybe with your help we will make another 1400.
This list is brilliantly researched. You managed to find a Muslim country where all these things were perpetrated. Skipping all the non-muslim country where these same crimes are being committed. you have reached your goal of smearing Islam. You must be so proud.
Is that baby in the last picture sitting in a bowl of food? Looks like chili.
I was suprised that female genital mutilation wasn’t on here.
Also, I would have a lot more respect for Muhammad if he kept true to his original message. Once he started to preach that Muslims should pray towards Mecca and not toward Jerusalem, he took the focus of Islam off of Allah and put it more on him.
I will also quote Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
& so, some SOB forgot that when muslim women are told to cover themselves, islam is labelled a terrorist religion or a religion with inequality, but when christian nuns cover themselves, does anyone say christianity is discriminating ??? & then i thought you westeners were more intelligent
rushfan – great list!
I hope someone understands… & changes thaie opinion about Islam.
when christian nuns cover themselves, does anyone say christianity is discriminating
ali hayat – but Christian nuns will not get abused or terrorised or have acid thrown in their faces if they don’t cover up…
Islam invented women’s rights now? That’s absurd. The fact is Christians were the first to press for fair treatment of women.
Hahahahahaha!
Oh my. Maybe some of the early Christians did go in for woman’s rights of a kind, but I am fairly certain that there were cultures around long before either the religions of Christianity or Islam existed that supported women.
Fact is that neither Christianity or Islam were exceptionally kind to women. There are plenty of examples for both on how they belittle half the species now and in the past.
Bob islam n christianity r in some ways similar we both believe in Moses Abraham and all the other prophets but you have to agree christianity forbidded divorce in general n women had no right of inheritence i have seen the actual writings forbidding both.
Philmont237 is was not him who changed it It was Allah who changed the direction of prayer. If you have a problem with the Quraan thats another story.
Well done on quoting the Pope and spreading hate speech on Islam. Not only is your statement untrue, BUT why dont you mention how the west came to Africa and RAPED the people and land in the name of spreading Christianity.
Also Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus lived about 700 years AFTER the prophet (peace be upon him) But i supposed the fact that he spent his entire life fighting against islam makes him an excellent candidate for hero or thinker for the west regardless of his expertise.
Sana
I believe your stance that this list is all about bashing Islam is completely off topic. The list was showing the countries where outrageous human rights violations are being conducted towards Women. The list is not named “The horrors for an Islamic Woman” so chill the hell out.
#5 completely disgusted me, and it is reason alone that I thank God every day that I live in a place that these things are not allowed to happen. Sana can you even imagine getting raped by a sick twisted stranger, and then when you finally mustered the courage to go to the police and point him out, all he had to do was aggree to marry you (IE sign a paper and rape the crap out of you whenever he wanted, while nothing else changed for him) and he would be released as though nothing happened. Maybe instead of whining about Islam being smeared, you should be praying to your Allah to protect those woman this is happening to everyday.
Devon(2) Remember that there are a number of other societies in which girls are married off between the ages 8 and 12 – and they are not necessarily muslim.
James(13) Spot on!
Precision(21) Sweden is a wonderful place.
Astraya(25) In the U.S. there are only a few that I can think of; the ugliest of which is with custody of children – the general rule is for the mother to gain custody unless she either does not want it or is found to be unfit (definition varies here). Of friends and family I have known who went through custody proceedings, only 1 in 9 ended up with the father gaining custody, and 3 in 9 ended up with some form of joint custody.
Ready to rumble then!
Yeah people, keep on fighting for who´s right while all this girls and women suffer mutilations, rape, torture for whatever reasons some motherf$#% invented.
Come on guys, it´s not Islam or Jews or UFOS, its each one of us.
Which means we are all doomed.
Sorry, not my best day
Sana(31) You might already know the site I’m about to list, but it certainly opened my eyes about a few things regarding Mohammed’s marriages:
“http://www.muslimhope.com/WhyDidMohammedGetSoManyWives.htm”
Great list! Very sobering and I’m glad I (and my sister, mom, ex-wife, daughter) don’t live in these countries.
It is true the most EXTREME examples of gender inequality pertain to women.
The most extreme example of gender inequality for MEN is the American divorce court system, where men are severely discriminated against and punished, especially if children are involved. (long live pre-nups!)
As unfortunate as this is, it is still less extreme than any example on this list.
I agree with #40.. where is female genital mutilation? That is a major problem in nations in Africa. Perhaps to present a more global view of female inequities (and not just Islam) rushfan should have included that in addition to female infanticide in China & India.
Also, ali hayat – Christian women, even in centuries past, could either marry and have children or head up to a nunnery. This matter of choice, even if it wasn’t their own in the past, makes a difference from all Muslim women, who are required to cover themselves.
LordCalvert and Zubair Kaka, please take such mean-spirited and spiteful commentary elsewhere. It does not belong in this venue. I WAS having a great day up to this point. I will say no more, as my blood pressure is rising with every keystroke.
Peace to all; out here.
The single greatest detriment to humankind can be summed up in one word….Religion. When we are rid of it, atrocities like these..not to mention many more, will be gone. The only problems religion helps with are ones that it was responsible for in the first place.
Ah. I don’t like organized religion. I am an Agnostic, more or less. But anyone who says that the annihilation of Religion will make the world a Utopia is fooling themselves. Most of the time religion only gives an excuse for people to do evil they would do if they could anyway.
the thing to remember is that every religion has been used in perverse ways to further men’s exploitation, domination, abuse, tortue and murder of women (and children) ..it is a gender issue from the beginning. religion is only a contrived late player in the game. as is the case w/ so many other contrivances like politics, religion just proved an easy diversion from the truth, that being that men have historically subjagated women (and children). something that seems to always get lost in translation. and yeah, things have improved for women (and children) ..in some parts of the world but any review of WHO stats on the deplorable conditions for women (and children) in most of the world does not justify being optimistic that trend will continue, in my opinion. seems like every step forward there are 3 steps back. i’m just damned glad i was born in America and still live here, as bad as it gets here..it is nothing in comparsion to the utter hopelessness in some parts of the world. least here there is still hope.
after i’d proofed this list last nite, emailed J as usual that i’d done so, i commented that this was a depressing list. nothing against the author or J’s decision to post it and it is a subject that always needs airing…still rather bleak way to head into the weekend.
*sigh*
This was an excellent list. I do love lists that illicit feeling from me. This one was anger and hurt and a desire to change things, though I’m not sure how. I feel for everyone of those girls/women and imagine the mothers who have to kill their daughters in China, the hurt they must feel as well.
I was angered at the girls who had to burn to death because of their veils. That’s just beyond stupid. I tell my kids that if they need to get out of the house because of a fire, I don’t care if they’re naked, I just want them alive. These policemen didn’t even care enough about these girls to try covering them, if it was absolutely necessary.
And to have to marry the man that raped you because he agrees to it… Where is the justice in that?
ali hayat: Nuns choose their course in life and choose to dress with a head covering, but are not always required to wear a certain length skirt, etc. The Hindu and Sikh women mentioned here are not given the choice, as they are violently persecuted if they do not wear exactly what is required. (FYI: I am Agnostic, so my defense of the nuns is not personal, it’s factual to the best of my knowledge)
sashley31 ~ please see post 29
Cyn ~ Sorry to bring you down. I wrote & submitted this list some weeks ago and just kinda assumed maybe it was too depressing and wouldn’t be published. Like you, I am a mom of a daughter and when I was younger and first discovered Ms. Magazine I was overwhelmed by what I learned about women in other countries. I’ve just never gotten over it.
JayArr you getting your info from a website which homepage states it wants us to turn to “christ the messiah” thats like going to get history of USA from Iran
I don’t think female genital mutilation really qualifies as inequality since male genital mutilation is practiced much more widely than the female version. Granted, the female version is more horrific and painful, but still…
Also, it’s important to consider the other side of the issue here. Do you make an effort to understand the cultural reasons behind many of the cultural expectations attacked here? Woman’s rights have come a very long way in Egypt in the past decade. Egyptian women now have the option of dressing in the western fashion or in the more traditional dress. Many of the women choose the traditional garments for very personal reasons. While I do not agree at all with lack of legal rights or abuse of anyone for any reason, understanding where the traditions stem from is a vital part of any debate about them. I thought this list was well-done and carefully respectful, noting only legal facts. Not every country is or wants to be as progressive as the rest of the world in that area.