Female equality in Islamic countries including the Middle East will continue to be compromised until the development of a constitution that will liberate cultural restrictions and assimilate women in society while promoting educational rights. Interpretations of the position women have in Islamic societies from an examination of religious texts of Islam is a ahistorical approach, this means that much debate still revolves around conclusions of their statements on women’s rights. Compared to other countries across the globe, Islamic women endure the harshest wrath of instability. More often than not, females do not even have the ability to protest without repremantions. The issues of inequality in these regions spread to other aspects of human nature that are unfair for women. Laws must be set into place that not only prohibit the abuse of women but also incorporate them into functioning society.
At times, women and girls on Arab soil are bartered in arranged marriages. Specifically in Yemen, the constitution does not acknowledge liberties for women. Suha Bashren, a Yemeni who works as a campaign officer for Oxfam states “Crushing poverty creates a society in which women are only the property of men” (Cooke, 2008, p.46). The law in any Islamic country does not specify when a woman can be married; many females find themselves married with a husband as young as 12. In parts of Afghanistan, fathers give young daughters as brides to their debtors when their crops fail and cannot pay back what they owe (“Restrictions on Women” 2018). If a Yemeni woman has a baby, she has only a one-in-five chance of being attended by a midwife (assistant in birth), and she has a one-in-39 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth over her lifetime (Cooke, 2008, p.46). This has a significant impact on the mortality rates. Other serious health problems may also occur such as incontinence.
In communities across the Middle East, family honor still outweighs individual rights. Marriage remains the cornerstone of adulthood, a cultural gateway to specific gender roles. Women are still expected to raise children, maintain the family home, and prepare food. Males are largely responsible for the family’s income and protection (Gender Prejudice, 2007, p.123). Although a female may be best suitable to raise a child, this constricts how women participate in society. If men make all the money for the house, that may lead to issues in a relationship. Females may feel that they want to learn things outside of household items but are not able to because their husband does not allow it. Nontraditional gender roles displayed by parents and others are believed to harm children by taking away their self-identity as male or female and confusing their social responsibilities (Gender Prejudice, 2007, p.123). Likewise, the issues imbued for women in these cultures are based upon social responsibility. The particularity of a gender may literally define your abilities to liberate internal goals.
Wives are considered property and have few legal protections. Upon marriage, all of the wife’s property becomes property of her husband. The wife will not own property, sue others, or keep wages they earned. The wife is expected to raise her children and to be morally responsible grounded in religious faith (Gender Prejudice, 2007, p.123). With this said, a man beating his wife is considered bad only if it is for no reason. The Ministry of Women, Family and Childhood in Tunisia reports that at least 60 percent of Tunisian women have experienced some form of domestic abuse (Hutchinson, 2018). Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine reveal that more than three-fifths of men in most of the countries say a woman should tolerate domestic violence to keep the family together (Hutchinson, 2018). More than 70 percent in most of the countries also believe that how a female relative dresses or acts directly affects male honor and that it is a man’s duty to act as their guardian (Hutchinson, 2018).
Gender prejudice is highlighted by the rise of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan in 1991. Taliban leaders placed many restrictions on women in Afghan society, such as banning education for girls (Gender Prejudice, 2007, p.123) .This has emphasized a fear that too much book reading or delving into politics by a woman may lead to insanity. The woman’s psychological state of mind is considered by society in general to be too fragile to comprehend worldly issues and technical knowledge (Gender Prejudice, 2007, p.123).
The lack of education directly influences the prejudices towards women, a spiral of mistreatment that needs a solution. Furthermore, Yemen is one of the least developed countries in the world, a poverty level of over 40 percent. A woman has only a one-in-three chance of being able to read and write; some 71 percent of Yemeni women are illiterate, as opposed to 31 percent of men (Cooke, 2008, p.46). With the severity of fundamental mistreatment, women have no room to protest even if they wanted to because they cannot read. Not only will this influence how a female will influence society but also how the communities are ran. If men are the only people allowed to read, then they will stay in power thus making the cultural issues for women in these regions worse. Also Say’un, Oxfam is trying to improve reproductive healthcare by funding the training of midwives. In this part of Yemen-rural, religious, isolated-women are often unwilling to be treated by doctors, for the reason that they are men; it would be shameful for a woman to show her body to a man, even if the alternative meant that she might bleed to death (Cooke, 2008, p.46). The influence of dictatorships and cultural prejudices combat uncertainty for the future well-being of women in these regions.
A surge in obesity and related illnesses over the past few decades has been due to the lack of ownership women can obtain. Sheikh Abdullah al-Maneea, a member of the Supreme Council of Religious Scholars (Saudi Arabia), has said that allowing virgins to exercise is dangerous, claiming that activities like running and jumping cause damage to the hymen (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Likewise, a 2015 study found that “75 percent of Saudi women do little to no physical activity, compared with 46 percent of men, and the rate of obesity among women is about twice that of men.”(Aziza, 2018, p.336). The inability to simply exercise can obviously cause ubiquitous health problems in these regions. Today, 70 percent of the total population in Saudi is overweight (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Although these regions are trying to assimilate equality, women will still be owned by government and religious rule.
Male power is total in politics, as there is only one woman out of 301 members in the Yemen parliament and 35 women represented in local councils out of 6,000 (Cooke, 2008, p.46). Moreover, women do not contribute to the Middle Eastern economy. Although a growing minority of Saudi women have taken jobs outside the home, they “account for only about 20 percent of the workforce” (Hutchinson, 2018). Gender-based discrimination laws and cultural stigmas prevent women from participating in the economy “cost the region $575 billion annually,” according to a report by the international Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (Hutchinson, 2018). Even more surprising, buildings that serve both sexes; such as banks and mosques, typically maintain separate entrances; offices sometimes have separate rooms to accommodate a single female employee (Aziza, 2018, p.336). This segregates woman away from participating in any manner because contributing leads to alienation.
Under Saudi law, women are dependent on a wali, a male guardian, from birth to death. The wali has the power to “deny access to travel, medical care, and marriage”(Cooke, 2008, p.46). Often, men demand a wali’s documented approval before they will interact with a woman. A woman cannot marry without the permission of a male relative; if she has no male relatives at all, she must turn to a judge (Cooke, 2008, p.46). In the perception of the Saudi state, women who could not vote until 2015 and whose testimony in court is granted half the value of a man’s: are second class citizens (Aziza, 2018, p.336).
The Saudi government is known to punish women for behavior that threatens arf, the traditional way of life: in 2016, police arrested several women for attending a mixed-gender party (Cooke, 2008, p.46). The country’s prisons are filled of women falsely accused of crimes that are vague; even they are uncertain as to what they have done wrong. Many women will never face a trial (Cooke, 2008, p.46). Until recently, after a finished sentence a female could not leave the prison until she was collected by a male.
The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, an organization founded in the 1920s by the first king of Saudi Arabia. It consists of thousands of enforcers; muttawa, who patrol public spaces to ensure adherence to strict religious rules. Primarily, they “crack down on transgressions such as nail polish, improperly positioned headscarves, and audible laughter” (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Officially, the CPVPV is supposed to defer to the police, but the group has “committed innumerable human rights violations: including chasing, beating, and unlawfully detaining women. In 2016, after a string of incidents of abuse by CPVPV officers were documented by human rights groups and local media, the government attempted to limit the committee’s power.”(Aziza, 2018, p.336). However, the CPVPV continues to receive generous government funding continuing many of their hard-line tactics . The latitude granted to the CPVPV is symptomatic of the ambiguity in Saudi law: the kingdom has no formal constitution. Instead, the monarchy cites the Koran and the Sunnah–the traditions of Prophet Mohammed–as its fundamental law (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Many issues, including civil rights, are left to the discretion of the ulema, or Islamic scholars. Historically, most of the ulema have favored “Punitive interpretations of Islam, steering the government toward authoritarian policies” (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Over the years, activists calling for a formalized constitution have been subjected to imprisonment for their “un-Islamic” ideas and disrespect of the monarchy.
Gradually throughout the late 1990s and early twenty-first century, some gains were made, such as elimination of unfair practices. In 2016, the prince of Saudi had announced a plan called Vision 2030, an ambitious economic campaign touting an array of social reforms (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Although his priority is diversifying the economy-50 percent of the country’s GDP currently depends on oil and gas-the crown prince has said that he also aims to “increase women’s participation in the workplace, foster national cultural pride, and improve public health.” (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, an entrepreneur with no previous political experience, was appointed office leader for women and sports; overnight she became the highest-ranking woman in government (Aziza, 2018, p.336). Furthermore, female activists began by forming alliances with tribal chiefs, and the people who write marriage contracts. They will soon lobby parliament yet again in the hope that a law will be passed setting the legal age at which a girl can be married at 18 (Aziza, 2018, p.336).
Despite hostile environments and imposing barriers to entry, female entrepreneurs are developing innovative methods for skirting the discriminatory laws and are finding creative ways to make a profit. Middle Eastern governments can capitalize on this opportunity by completely removing the legal barriers that prevent women from working (Hutchinson, 2018). In 2017, Saudi Arabia passed a historic law that “institutes measures that prevent violence, protect survivors and punish their abusers”. It claims that citizens are entitled to notify police if they witness violence against women, provide special training for police, and empower professionals such as doctors and teachers to ask questions if they suspect abuse in the home (Hutchinson, 2018). With these refinements comes education; the intellect of women in these areas are so inferior and brainwashed with assimilating to this culture.
Many Middle Eastern countries have legal provisions that allow men accused or convicted of rape to avoid punishment. Often called “marry-your-rapist” laws, these provisions generally state that a rapist won’t be prosecuted if he marries his victim (Hutchinson, 2018). These laws provide no protection for the victims of rape and actually empower the perpetrator. For example, nearly “half or more of women in Egypt, Morocco and Palestine thought that a rape victim should marry her assailant” (El Feki, 2017).
The insanity embedded into a culture of conservatism clearly implies that men can have sex as they please while as if a woman is raped she should marry him for the sake of her femininity. Thankfully, growing internal pressure is changing that status quo. In 2017 alone, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan repealed their versions of the law (El Feki, 2017). With enough pressure, it’s possible that 2018 could be the end of “marry-your-rapist” laws in the region.
Many countries use their religious and legal codes to justify domestic violence. However, Middle Eastern nations are beginning to recognize the devastating effects on both women and their families; increasing legal protections for victims (Hutchinson, 2018). Islamic governments could better serve families by “implementing legal reforms that protect a mother’s right to her children, especially in cases of domestic abuse” (El Feki, 2017). Another solution would be amending an article in a religious code that grants lesser penalties for “fits of fury,” a.k.a. honor killings (El Feki, 2017). For at least some of the 36 cases of women murdered last year still before the courts, they still are only perceived as half of a person in the judicial system (El Feki, 2017).
President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia is launching a commission on how to put laws on individual liberties and equality into practice for women, including the topic of equal inheritance between the genders(Hutchinson, 2018). He demanded the country’s ministry of justice to repeal the law prohibiting Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men, a practice in force across the region of the wider Islamic world (Hutchinson, 2018). The attitudes among men are just some of the many obstacles standing in the way of efforts by women’s rights activists to tackle other long standing laws. For example, laws fail to address marital rape or prevent a woman from inheriting a share of her family’s wealth.
Female equality in Islamic countries including will continue to be compromised until the development of a constitution that will liberate cultural restrictions and assimilate women in society while promoting educational rights. Implementing reforms would be a good starting place for Internal change. However, a constitution is the only way to guarantee long-term results in the region. Those of us who are more fortunate can continue advocating for them; if we want progress on women’s rights, we shouldn’t forget the women across the Middle East.