After growing up in America, it is hard to believe that there are people in the world that are still fighting for their rights from the government. Here, American citizens have the same rights, male or female, but the same cannot be said for other countries. Gender disparities in rights and laws are most prominent in North Africa and the Middle East. One particular inequality takes place in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s strictest countries when it comes to women and family rules. They usually stem from religion (which is something I’m going to look into). However, one law in the country has recently been heavily protested.
Women cannot drive.
They cannot drive. I do not even want to think about how my life would be if I could not drive now, let alone for the rest of my life. This ban on driving limits women in everything they do. Granted they are allowed to drive in emergency situations, such as driving a family member to the hospital, but other than that they are not allowed behind the wheel.
In the last five years the women of Saudi Arabia have been voicing their unrest through social media. In fact, is October of 2013, sixty women took the wheel and documented it. Videos were posted on youtube and pictures were sent out on twitter and instagram. This brought in a world wide audience. Finally the struggles of Saudi women were receiving recognition. Within the country, the police did little to stop the protest. No women were arrested and it was mostly internally ignored.
However, in December of 2014, two women were not ignored. On the first, Loujain al-Hathloul and Maysa al-Amoud were arrested for driving and put in jail. After a month of being locked up (the longest for female drivers in the history of the country), the women were put on trial to be tried for terrorism charges. These are the first women to have such extreme charges (a woman was sentenced to 10 lashes in 2011, but had it revoked by the King). Loujain and Maysa are not being charged because of the driving, though. They are being charged with terrorism because of their acts on social media. The specifics of the case have not been revealed, but the idea is that the women have gone against the ideals of the country’s culture and government. The verdict for this case has not been reached yet, but hopefully the courts realize that terrorism could and is so much worse than two women behind the wheel of a vehicle.
(Loujain al-Hathloul driving before her arrest)
There is evidence that Saudi Arabia is leaning towards changing the ban towards women, but this leaning could take a long time. The only way for these women to get their right is to keep it in the world wide discussion. World wide pressure can quicken a government to take action. With the majority of the world having equal gender rights, it should not be hard to get a rise or change in Saudi.
This has just been one of many differences of men and women in other countries outside of North America. I plan on looking into others and finding the root of the problem. As for Saudi Arabian women, I hope they continue to fight peacefully for their right to drive. It is a simple act of independence that all humans should have.
Article on Loujain and Maysa Here.
Gulabi Gang (India)
Gulabi Gang (India)
Imagine a world completely different from our own, well for women that is. The illiteracy rate is 47% and infanticide, child marriages, and domestic violence is something of the cultural norm. Being a woman in this foreign world is a battle no would would ask for. This alternate reality is Uttar Pradesh in India. Last year alone there were 1,963 cases of rape, 7,910 cases of kidnapping and 2,244 cases of dowry death, which were all against women.
A woman by the name of Sampat Devi Pal has been working for the last 35 years to change all of this. Sampat, who goes by Devi, founded the Gulabi Gang, an all-women vigilante group. Their target? Rapists. Their weapon of choice? Sticks. Their costume? An all pink saree.
"Yes, we fight rapists with lathis [sticks]. If we find the culprit, we thrash him black and blue so he dare not attempt to do wrong to any girl or a woman again," says Devi.
~Sampat Devi Pal~
The group was started in response to the alarmingly large amount of crimes against women and the astonishing low amount of court and lawful punishment. With a broken law system, women have been taking matters into their own hands. The movement is now backed up up by over 400,000 women in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
However, these women do not immediately resort to beating the perpetrators with sticks. First they try to gain justice for the crimes through dialogues, rallies, and hunger strikes. When these and all else fails, they take action in the same way the criminals did, with violence.
By founding this gang, Devi has started a revolution. She brought a subject that was ignored for so long into the spotlight. The fight for women’s rights is now somewhat in the spotlight of the country’s problems. The group has gotten country and world wide recognition, and in turn, is empowering women across India and the rest of the world to stand up for themselves and each other.
The Turkish Epidemic (Turkey)
Epidemics break out every year. To many they mean disease and sickness, but to the women in Turkey, it means domestic violence. Violence against women is a public and private societal norm in this country. In fact, about 40% of females will experience some type of abuse or violence in their lifetime. That is almost 1 in every 2 women. In contrast, the probability here in the United States is 1 in 4, which is still high, but double what it is in Turkey. Domestic violence in Turkey has grown into an epidemic that is having little resistance.
From 2003- 2010, the amount of murders of women skyrocketed up 1,400 percent. This rise happened right after the Islamist AKP political party took over. The party stems from the Islamic religion, and therefore practices highly conservative values. Some of these values made the country lean towards having it’s women being second class citizens. In the courts, a woman’s testimony has half the validity and worth of a man’s. This makes it extremely hard for women to take their abuse cases to court. Once it even gets to court, the punishment for the perpetrator is given on a case by case basis and is at the discretion of the judge. Because of these two factors, the punishments fluctuate and are not set in stone. A man could get away with murder or be set free to abuse again and again.
The violence most often comes from the and of a husband, father, brother, or other male family member. Men are seen as the head of the house and what they say goes. So it is not surprising that the most severe cases of violence, including murder, occur when a woman indicates that she wants a divorce. This want and need would bring dishonor to her family, causing hostility and anger. Social image is an important part of Eastern culture that our Western one does not have. Individual actions mirror and reflect their entire family. This honor system is taken extremely far, as seen by honor killings.
(A video further explaining the idea of honor)
The honor system and second class females are just two things that are accepted in Turkey’s culture. If a woman is seen or heard being beaten in the middle of her neighborhood or in public, people turn the other way. They will listen but not act, then go on about their lives once it is over. Society has accepted domestic abuse as something that has and always will happen. It is normal.
However, even though it is extremely bad and the violence is only rising, there are groups that are starting to fight back. In early 2014, the Kadin Partisi (Women’s Party) was founded. This political party works towards putting women in places of power. One problem with the domestic violence is the government's acceptance of it. With women holding governmental power, their voices can be heard to change the countrywide opinion about the hushed topic. In addition to the party, social media is playing a role in helping the cause. The more an issue is talked about, the better the chances are of their being a change. Media outlets and news reporters are starting to pay more attention to the growing problem and throwing it to a worldwide scale. These two things, a new political party and expanding exposure, can help the women of Turkey stop the domestic violence epidemic and bring peace to the country.
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