WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Ben Gertz

Overall rights Most women in the Middle East and North Africa are mistreated or denied most basic rights They are cruelly punished for minor actions that are normal for most western influenced countries Some are even punished for talking to men who are not relatives In most Middle Eastern countries women are not allowed to vote, show skin, and be in public without a male relative’s escort Some women cannot even go to trial if they are raped

Afghanistan under Taliban rule Under Taliban rule women were stripped of all basic human rights They could not show skin in public. They were forced to wear head-to-toe coverings called burqas with small mesh parts to see through In some cases women are beaten just for flashing an ankle on accident Also, women were not allowed to work, go to school, or go to college Health care is non-existent for women. If they got sick with bad diseases they would probably die

Afghanistan under Taliban rule If a man dies, a woman might die of starvation because she can’t go into public without a male relative Men can beat and kill their spouses without punishment In 2001 when America invaded Afghanistan they took the Taliban out of power People think that when America leaves Afghanistan the Taliban will take power again

Afghanistan Now Afghanistan voted Hamid Karzai to be their president The new government under Karzai is much better to woman then the Taliban was, but life is still bad If a woman lives in the rural areas of Afghanistan they still have to follow most of the laws imposed by the Taliban because they still have a large influence there

Shariah Law This is the law that most Arab countries use to govern themselves This is a very strict set of laws that run on the rules set by the Qur’an, the religious book of Islam It sets most of the restrictions for women like wearing jewelry and making noise while walking It was invented by Muslim scholars in the second century Under complete Shariah law it makes everyone act like a perfect Muslim

Syria Syria has a very poor human rights record Its arrested rights activists, censored websites, and imposed many travel bans It has run under emergency rule since This allows the police to arrest people without a warrant, thus allowing them to keep the political antagonists from starting a revolution and getting women and men rights The government is very terrible to women and men alike

Libya Libyan women are treated like 2 nd class citizens In Libya they have places for women if they were abused or raped in anyway called “social rehabilitation centers” Women who have been there say it is terrible and you might as well call it jail People who go there may have already finished their sentences at jails but are held for longer There is no way out without a male family member picking you up In some cases men can come in and take a random women to marry then the woman may leave

Libya Some women are forced to have invasive virginity tests upon entry The women have very restricted movement in their small cells One woman was raped and knew her brother would kill her so she went to one of the centers, they kept her there for a very long time and treated her badly There is no education in these “jails” just weekly religious instruction

Women in Egypt Women have had very bad lives in Egypt, but as the Mubarak regime went down they have gotten more respect there was even a women chanting out against Mubarak Women wearing Egyptian flags Beating Hosni Mubarak the old dictator of Egypt

Different kinds of Islamic dress In this picture it shows the different kinds of coverings for Muslim women ranging from the Burqa being for very radical governments to the Hijab for more reformed governments.

Bibi Aisha

Bibi Aisha is an Afghani women who got her nose and ears cut off by her husband She was abused by her family and she ran away from it Since she lived in a remote region of Afghanistan the Taliban was still partially in power there When her family found her the Taliban commander wanted to set an example for other women so he had Bibi’s husband cut her nose and ears off and leave her to die She woke up and made it to a women’s center where Time Magazine found her and made her famous In the picture on the right it shows her with her new fake nose

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"Libya: Women, Girls Locked Up Indefinitely Without Charge | Human Rights Watch." Home | Human Rights Watch. 26 Feb Web. 17 Mar "Oman." U.S. Department of State. 4 Mar Web. 17 Mar "Syria | Human Rights Watch." Home | Human Rights Watch Web. 17 Mar Trister, Sarah. "Sarah Trister: Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Supporting the Fight for Freedom and Equality." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 10 Mar Web. 17 Mar