back to topThe day-to-day existence of many women in the Middle East belong on the front page on your morning newspaper but so far the Western media has payed lip service to the lack womens rights in the Middle East.
You do not have to look deeply to find stories of honor killings, forced marriages and domestic abuse. In addition, employment is often paid at 75% less than that of a man, there is a 50% literacy rate and women are denyed the ability ot vote.
In the last 100 years, Western women fought for their rights and won, Arab women are still fighting.
Family honor in the Middle East hinges largely on the chastity of women. A woman's chastity is a matter of public record and, in order to retain social standing for her and her family, her record must be whiter than white. Any accusation of indiscretion causes the family name dishonor and the only way of regaining societal acceptance is for the men of the family to murder the woman accused of indiscretion.
It does not take much to arouse suspicion; a mere rumor could trigger a spiral of abuse ending, ultimately in death. These women have no effective legal protection and their killers, often receive no punishment what so ever.
Kefaya was raped by her own brother. She was then murdered by the rest of her family for bringing dishonor upon the house.
Rania was shot five times in the head and chest by her own younger brother for running away from a forced marriage and causing family embarrassment.
Amal was an independent woman. After hearing communal gossip, her own father and brothers strangled her to death and then celebrated.
FRIF
The above stories are only the tip of the iceberg – The United Nations Population Fund estimates as many as 5,000 women are being killed each year. These women serve testament to a widespread practice of honor killings that remain unreported.
UNFPA
In a world where family honor is to be protected at all costs, Arab women ultimately pay the highest price of all.
Honor killings are in fact the culmination of the cycle of abuse that starts, for many women in their childhood. Arab women are used as commodities to be traded not unlike cattle! Women are sold off as wives that they are forced to marry, often against their will and at a young age. Any woman attempting to avoid the marriage could be murdered by her own family (see above).
Suline was abducted by her uncle, who organized the kidnapping to secure, by force, a wife for his son. After the kidnapping Suline was left no choice but to marry her cousin as the stain on her chasisty was so great she would never find another man willing to take her.
Lebanese Women
Polygamy, having more than one wife, is also a common and accepted practice and some men will stop at nothing to secure wives.
And the abuse does not stop on an Arab woman's wedding day. Domestic violence is the norm – 80 per cent of women surveyed in rural Egypt said that beatings were common and often justified, particularly if the woman refused to have sex with her partner.
UNFPA
In the United Arab Emirates, husbands have the right to beat their wives in order to discipline them—“provided that the beating is not so severe as to damage her bones or deform her body.”
City Journal
For almost all of the Arab women in these horrific situations there is no escape. Living a life independent of your father or your husband is impossible.
Many women are unable to get a job. If you grew up in an Arab country you only have a 50% chance of being about to read. In some of the Arab block, for example Yemen and Iraq, only one in four women are literate.
Even for women who do manage to get a job, they will be paid 75% less than men in countries such as Yemen. No woman would be able to independently support herself, let alone a family.
Change is unlikely to come from above. Arab government attitudes are reflected in the rights of women to vote. In Kuwait, women have no vote in an election, in Saudi Arabia your right is “questionable” and in other countries, although legal, social conditions mean that there is a slim chance you will actually get to the ballot box let alone cast an independent vote. There are some countries in which women play a role in politics, however, overall the percentage of women in elected positions in the Arab world is 3.5%.
Studies have shown that poverty affects women more than men and Arab women are no exception to this rule. Arab countries began the third millennium with high levels of poverty - in fact the GDP of Spain is higher than that of the GDP of all of the Arab countries put together. One in five Arab's live on less than $2 a day- imagine having this as your household budget! It is no wonder that Arab women have a lower than average life expectancy.
Arab women have been abandoned by their people, their government and by the international community. As long as Arab women continue suffering, Free Middle East is determined to wake up the world to their plight.
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