those who have condemned the treatment of women in the middle east

What is it like to be a Middle Eastern woman?

Generally, Middle Eastern women enjoy something close to legal equality with men in political life, access to education, professional opportunities, and salaries - goals for which Western women have long had to struggle.

Are there feminists in the Middle East?

However, while many feminists in the Middle East have denounced the policies of the Iranian government, it is not unusual to find women who support the fundamentalists' demands and voluntarily adopt the behavior they call for. For many women in the Middle East, equality with men and personal freedom do not seem to be meaningful goals.

How are women treated in the Muslim world?

Eltahawy argued that in the Muslim world women are treated like animals by men who disdain and fear them. In the wake of the Arab Spring, she called for a shift in focus from political leaders who oppress their citizens to the men who oppress women in the streets and at home.

What are the legal issues involving women's status in the Middle East?

Legal issues involving women's status in the Middle East tend to be quite different from those in the West. Although there are feminist organizations in Middle Eastern countries, they tend to be small and to lack significant input into the political process.

What problems do women face in the Middle East?

Women in the MENA region face many challenges. One of the most prominent challenges is discrimination against women and gender-based violence, which consequently affect women's stability and security and act as obstacles in their humanitarian role and contribution toward development.

What human rights are being violated in the Middle East?

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 2021Right to health. ... Freedom of expression. ... Human rights defenders and freedom of association. ... Protests and the unlawful use of force. ... Torture and other ill-treatment. ... Death Penalty. ... Impunity. ... Armed conflict.More items...

What is the role of women in the Arab world?

For the most part, outside of the most rural and impoverished areas, Arab women are highly educated, performing as well as—and often better than—men. However, patriarchal norms lead to an environment where educated women are explicitly or implicitly discouraged from working.

Do women have equal rights in Arab countries?

Arab women's rights and legal restrictions Tunisia is the only Arabic-speaking Muslim-majority country to grant women equal rights as men, outlawing polygamy, allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, and giving them equal inheritance as men.

Are there human rights in the Middle East?

The Middle East is often portrayed as an outlier when it comes to human rights, but rights are an important part of the political, diplomatic, and social fabric of the region. This chapter summarises regional trends in human rights advocacy at both the international and domestic levels.

Does the Middle East have freedom of speech?

The Middle East and North Africa holds some of the worst records of freedom of expression in the world. Many countries in the region lack legal protection for human rights and the rule of law is undermined by a lack of independent judiciaries.

How are women treated in Middle Eastern culture?

Generally, Middle Eastern women enjoy something close to legal equality with men in political life, access to education, professional opportunities, and salaries - goals for which Western women have long had to struggle. Moreover, Islamic law has from the outset given women full legal capacity once they attain puberty.

How are women treated in Turkey?

Gender Equality In Turkey, women are free. Free to dress how they want (no head scarfs required, except when entering a mosque), go where they want, drive, work, etc. On the surface, some parts of Turkey (parts of Istanbul and Izmir for sure) feel like Mediterranean Europe.

How are women treated in Pakistan?

Pakistan ranks as the sixth most dangerous country for women in regards to domestic violence. Patriarchal and cultural norms greatly impact women's rights in Pakistan. Honor killings and violence within the home are prevalent. Recently, social media model and activist Qandeel Baloch's brother strangled her to death.

How are women treated in Iran?

According to Sharia, women inherit half of what a man would, and compensation for the death of a woman is also half. Sharia law still favors men, but Article 21 of the constitution as well as a few parliament-passed laws give women some advantages. Women are allowed to drive, hold public office, and attend university.

Why can't women drive in Saudi Arabia?

In response, the campaign's website (www.oct26driving.org) was blocked within Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan, one of Saudi Arabia's top clerics, said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems.

Is Saudi Arabia safe for women's?

In general, solo female travel through Saudi Arabia is safe and you will find locals welcoming.

Who denounced the call to abolish guardianship as a crime against Islam?

The mainstream religious lobby immediately went on the defensive. Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic figure, the grand mufti, denounced the call to abolish guardianship as a crime against Islam. Mullahs seem to prefer protecting inhuman laws to protecting humans.

What are women forced to wear in Saudi Arabia?

Women in Saudi Arabia, in the name of laws and "traditions", are kept effectively non-existent. They are forced, outside the house to wear full-body covering, abayas. Most full coverings for women are black, which absorbs heat, and are made of non-porous, cloth -- not cotton -- in the scorching heat.

Why was Aceh caned?

In a province of Indonesia, Aceh, a woman, accused of being intimate with her boyfriend, is caned in front of a jeering crowd. Later, a photograph of the screaming woman is published as a token of pride for the men who had just exacted this "justice" -- on her; no consequence for the boyfriend. It was a lesson to remind women to submit to their place in society.

What is a full covering for women?

Most full coverings for women are black, which absorbs heat, and are made not of cotton but of non-porous cloth - in the scorching heat. In a province of Indonesia, Aceh, a woman, accused of being intimate with her boyfriend is caned, in front of a jeering crowd. Later, a photograph of the screaming woman is published as a token ...

What are the laws that are put in place by the governments and the clergy?

These laws, put in place by the governments and the clergy, provide a safe escape for criminals , such as those who kill their women and claim it is in the name of "honour". The deeper horror is that all these abuses -- child marriage, confinement, FGM, rape, torture, and legal discrimination -- have accomplices.

What is the Turkish government's bill for pardoning rapists?

It was a lesson to remind women to submit to their place in society. Turkey last year presented a bill for tackling its widespread child-marriage issue: the Turkish government introduced a bill that pardons a rapist if he marries his victim. The victim is not consulted.

Where is FGM practiced?

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), not required by Islam, is a pre-Islamic tribal norm across the African belt of the Muslim region, as well as in parts of India, Indonesia and Middle East.

What rights did Muslim women have in medieval times?

Even in medieval times Muslim women enjoyed rights that Western women only won much later, such as the right to own and manage property, to sue and to be sued, and to enter into contracts and conduct business. In contrast, where Middle Eastern women have been severely disadvantaged has been in the areas of family law and inheritance, ...

How does the Middle East affect women's status?

Thus, the improvement in the status of women has not resulted from pressures from women's groups as much as from the desire of male members of the political elite to modernize and industrialize their societies, using law reform as a tool of social engineering. It is where political leadership has judged that legal reforms in the status of women would promote the achievement of full modernization that reforms have been made.

What is the Islamic fundamentalist movement?

The Islamic fundamentalist movement has campaigned to forestall any legal changes that might undermine male domination and privilege in the family and to eliminate reforms that have enhanced women's rights - a campaign which invokes traditional interpretations of Islamic law as its justification.

How does Islamic fundamentalism affect women?

One sees the impact that Islamic fundamentalism can have on women's status in Iran, where in the wake of the Islamic Revolution most of the legal reforms benefiting women have been cancelled and women have been relegated to traditional roles in the home. Women are now subject to harsh criminal penalties if they let so much as a single lock of hair show in public.

What were the rights of women in Islamic law?

While a woman could marry only one man at a time, men were allowed up to four wives and an unlimited number of concubines. Women were legally required to be submissive and obedient to their husbands; were they not , their husbands were entitled to beat them and to suspend all maintenance payments. Obedience included never leaving the house without the husband's blessings; a husband could gel the assistance of the police to forcibly return his wife to the marital home if she were absent without his leave. Her contacts with persons outside the family were similarly subject to restriction at her husband's wishes.

What did the Middle Eastern governments compromise on?

In other Middle Eastern countries, governments had to compromise in their attempts to improve women's status. They were assisted in these attempts by liberal Muslim intellectuals, who propounded new interpretations of Islamic law that justified modifying the rules propounded by medieval jurists to accommodate the changing circumstances ...

Why are liberal interpretations of Islamic law discarded?

As a result of the increasing political influence of Islamic fundamentalism, the liberal interpretations of Islamic law that had previously gained popularity have been discarded by many Muslims in favor of more conservative ones.

Why are women oppressed in the Middle East?

In the words of Nawal El Saadawi, women in the Middle East are oppressed not because they live under the rule of Islam or belong to the East, but as a result of the patriarchal class system that has dominated the world for thousands of years.

What did Western economic penetration of the Middle East and the exposure of Middle Eastern societies do?

Western economic penetration of the Middle East and the exposure of Middle Eastern societies to Western political thought and ideas, however, did little to dismantle Islamic law and its backward social institutions oppressive to women. Changes in Islamic law pertaining to women have met with considerable resistance.

What is the cornerstone of Islamic oppression of women?

These changes are called Islamic and Islamic courts generally retain some power. Family law as the cornerstone of the Islamic oppression of women was and is maintained by establishment Islam and governments in the Middle East.

What is the defense of Islam in the face of Western challenges?

The defense of Islam in the face of Western challenges took many forms, but ultimately aimed to prove the “progressive” nature of the Qur’an, Hadith, and the Sharia, either by denying the low status of women in Middle Eastern societies or by attributing it to pre-Islamic traditions and to the contemporary political Islamic movement.

Why do women need permission from their father?

Family laws based on the Islamic Sharia frequently require women to obtain a male relative’s permission to undertake activities that should be theirs by right. This increases the dependency women have on their male family members in economic, social, and legal matters. For example, in many Arab countries adult women must obtain the permission of their father, brothers, or husband in order to attain a passport, travel outside of their country, start a business, receive a bank loan, open a bank account, or get married.

What are some of the things that feminists and academic intellectuals apologize for?

Many feminists and academic intellectuals apologize for Islam by saying that veiling, female genital mutilation, and the savage oppression of women are not restricted to Middle Eastern societies.

What were the issues of women's rights in the twentieth century?

In the struggle to improve the condition of women, the first names associated with those struggles were male, but from the beginning women too were involved. In this period, women’s rights, particularly the issue of veil, emerged as a central subject for national debate. For the first time in the whole history of Islam, issues such as veil, polygamy, divorce, and segregation were openly discussed in Middle Eastern society. Public and independent activity for women’s rights became widespread in the twentieth century. Modernization has improved women’s position generally. Although the success of reform was tied to economic and social changes, its immediate problems were often ideological, mainly what attitude to take to the holy Islamic law.

Who wrote the Diverse Roles and Aspirations of Middle Eastern Women?

“The Diverse Roles and Aspirations of Middle Eastern Women,” written by Barbara Petzen, a major contributor to global education.

When covering a charged subject like gender in the Middle East, it is important to consider context?

When covering a charged subject like gender in the Middle East, it is important to consider context: the progression of rights over time, the value of the family network, the variation in family or personal status laws across states, or the role of Sharia (Islamic law) or indigenous religious practices in shaping cultural norms, for example. Rather than viewing gender in isolation, it can be helpful to compare and contrast a Middle Eastern country’s gender practices with those of your own students’ cultures. How long did it take to achieve women’s suffrage after independence in Oman, for example, as compared to the United States? What are the priorities of Saudi women besides driving? How do Muslim girls and women feel about covering their hair? With significant attention paid to the plight of girls and women, what are we missing by not looking more deeply at the lives of boys and men?

What does the Quran say about women?

The Quran explicitly states that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. Furthermore, the Quran: forbids female infanticide (practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia and other parts of the world) instructs Muslims to educate daughters as well as sons. insists that women have the right to refuse a prospective husband.

Why did Neda join the protests?

A student of philosophy taking underground singing lessons, Neda joined the protests not out of curiosity but because the universal demands for freedom moved her to do so. Her sacrifice for the defense of her country gave the protests a personal story that drew the attention of viewers worldwide. Read more here.

What are the taboo issues in Iranian cinema?

Iranian cinema is renowned for its ability to make public, delicate taboo issues such as identity, relationships, divorce, infertility, drug use, and domestic abuse that are generally understood to be private, family issues. Filmmakers depict the daily struggles women endure as a result of a patriarchal, conservative and traditional society. Women’s lives are constrained, Iranian films tell us, but the female protagonist faces her challenges with a quiet tenacity, and a dignified and stalwart resignation to the inevitable. Viewers’ feel compassion for the female characters as the filmmakers present gender inequality and unfairness overtly. The taboo topics explored in films vocalize the social injustices experienced in everyday life in Iran. “The Feminist Portrayal of Woman in Iranian Cinema, The Works of Bahram Beyzai and Tahmine Milani” takes a closer look at the phenomenon of film’s use as a tool for self-reflection and acknowledgement of Iran’s social forces at work.

Why are Muslim women oppressed?

Some Americans believe that Muslim women are oppressed by their religion, forced to cover themselves completely, and denied education and other basic rights. It is true that Muslim women, like women all over the world, have struggled against inequality and restrictive practices in education, work force participation, and family roles. Many of these oppressive practices, however, do not come from Islam itself, but are part of local cultural traditions. (To think about the difference between religion and culture, ask yourself if the high rate of domestic violence in the United States is related to Christianity, the predominant religion.)

Who was the first female hip hop artist in Iran?

Salome is recognized as the first female hip-hop artist in Iran. In a genre dominated by men irrespective of national borders, and known for its blatantly misogynistic messages, Salome has naturally turned a few heads.

What were the restrictions on women in the Taliban?

Taliban restrictions on the cultural presence of women covered several areas. Place names including the word "women" were modified so that the word was not used. Women were forbidden to laugh loudly as it was considered improper for a stranger to hear a woman's voice. Women were prohibited from participating in sports or entering a sports club.

How did the Taliban affect women?

7,793 female teachers were dismissed, a move that crippled the provision of education and caused 63 schools to close due to a sudden lack of educators. Some women ran clandestine schools within their homes for local children, or for other women under the guise of sewing classes, such as the Golden Needle Sewing School. The learners, parents, and educators were aware of the consequences should the Taliban discover their activities, but for those who felt trapped under the strict Taliban rule, such actions allowed them a sense of self-determination and hope.

Why did the Taliban promote the extended family?

The Taliban promoted the use of the extended family, or zakat system of charity to ensure women should not need to work. However, years of conflict meant that nuclear families often struggled to support themselves let alone aid additional relatives. Qualification for legislation often rested on men, such as food aid, which had to be collected by a male relative. The possibility that a woman may not possess any living male relatives was dismissed by Mullah Ghaus, the acting foreign minister, who said he was surprised at the degree of international attention and concern for such a small percentage of the Afghan population. A Physicians for Human Rights researcher that traveled to Kabul in 1998 described "a city of beggars" filled with "women who had once been teachers and nurses now moving in the streets like ghosts under their enveloping burqas, selling every possession and begging so as to feed their children." : 3

Why did the Taliban force women to marry?

Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws. : 12, 31–32 The Taliban allowed and in some cases encouraged marriage for girls under the age of 16. Amnesty International reported that 80% of Afghan marriages were forced.

Why do women wear burqas in Afghanistan?

Women in Afghanistan were forced to wear the burqa at all times in public, because, according to one Taliban spokesman, "the face of a woman is a source of corruption" for men not related to them. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, they were not allowed to be educated after the age of eight, and until then were permitted only to study the Qur'an. : 165

What was the Taliban segregation code?

The Taliban segregation codes meant that women were invaluable for gaining access to vulnerable women or conducting outreach research. This exception was not sanctioned by the entire Taliban movement, so instances of female participation, or lack thereof, varied with each circumstance. The city of Herat was particularly affected by Taliban adjustments to the treatment of women, as it had been one of the more cosmopolitan and outward-looking areas of Afghanistan prior to 1995. Women had previously been allowed to work in a limited range of jobs, but this was stopped by Taliban authorities. The new governor of Herat, Mullah Razzaq, issued orders for women to be forbidden to pass his office for fear of their distracting nature. : 243

Why is the Taliban so controversial?

Its stated motive was to create a "secure environment where the chasteness and dignity of women may once again be sacrosanct", reportedly based on Pashtunwali beliefs about living in purdah. Since the Taliban seized most of Afghanistan in 2021, there are many concerns.

What were the abuses women faced under the Taliban?

The report cataloged the abuses women faced under the Taliban: no schooling for girls older than 8, minimal access to medical care, and a restrictive dress code that mandated the wearing of burkas--garments that cover women from head to toe.

What did the Taliban do to women?

The Taliban closed the women’s university and forced women to quit their jobs, the report said. The regime decreed that women could no longer walk on the streets unescorted. Windows in houses were painted over to prevent outsiders from looking in. Singing, stuffed animals and dolls were banned.

What did the first lady say about Afghanistan?

In Afghanistan, “we see the world the terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us,” Bush said. Saying the campaign to protect women should not stop with the military success in much of Afghanistan, the first lady said the terrorists “now plot and plan in many countries.”. “They must be stopped,” she said.

Where did Gerstenzang report from?

Gerstenzang reported from Crawford and Getter from Washington.

Who said the war on terrorism was a fight for the rights and dignity of women?

Seeking to draw attention to the treatment of women and children in Afghanistan, the White House assigned President Bush’s weekly Saturday radio address to First Lady Laura Bush, who said the war on terrorism was “a fight for the rights and dignity of women.”.

Does the Northern Alliance have a perfect record with regard to women's rights?

In a statement released Saturday, Amnesty International officials agreed with the sharp criticism of the Taliban’s “systemic torture and abuse of women.” But the human rights group cautioned that neither the first lady nor the State Department mentioned “that the Northern Alliance does not have a perfect record with regard to women’s rights.”

Islamic Resistance to Women’s Rights

See more on centerforinquiry.org

Political Islam

Women Are Second-Class Citizens

What Is to Be done?