Struggles for Women Around the Globe

Gender equality can most certainly be subjective to where you are in world, not who you are. Here are some countries around the globe where gender inequality is at its worst.

• Jordan:

While education levels for women in Jordan are equal, if not slightly higher than men, outside of schooling they struggle for equal economic opportunity and rights. According to World Bank, the unemployment rate of women is double the amount of men, lying at around 20%. According to USAID, Jordan is has one “of the world’s lowest rates of women’s workforce participation at only 13.2 percent”. However, among this percentage, a great deal of these women have graduated from college and received a higher education. Additionally, violence against women in still highly prevalent and underreported due to societal norms and pressures. Marriage is often forced onto young girls as in the next few years, “early marriage could be as high as 33 percent among Syrian girls” (USAID).

• Egypt:

Egyptian women have experienced an alarming amount of sexual assaults in the past and it continues to happen regularly today. Egypt is also home to the largest number of women who have had to undergone genital mutilation. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population “a practice that more than 90 percent of married Egyptian women between ages 15 and 49 have been subjected to”. Amany Zeinab, a resident of the small village of Awlad Serag, states that “every girl must be circumcised so she can get married… It’s our … tradition”. In Egyptian societal norms, female genital mutilation is often looked at as a way to promote chastity, and most men prefer their wives to be circumcised before marriage. Because of this, many young girls do not have a choice and “all a girl can do is to pray that god eases the pain of the operation” (Reuters).

• Turkey:

Between 2008 and 2014, Turkey made absolutely no progress towards ending domestic violence. Throughout those 6 years, the amount of domestic violence remained the same. There is also a huge gap between the rights of men and women politically as well as in the work force. AS of 2015, almost half of Turkey’s cities had no political female representation and there was “only 28% of Turkish women [participating] in the workforce, compared with the European Union average of 63%” (BBC News). In 2014, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even said himself that “women and men are not equal” and Minister Mehmet Muezzingolu suggested that the best career for a woman was motherhood. The outrage that has been seen from women by just these statements alone has contributed to rallying and activism towards women’s equality, but this has contributed to much of men’s violence against women.

• Iran:

As of 2016, Iran had been one of the six nations that had not ratified the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In Iran, the last attempt to rally on women’s international day (a battle against the consequences that women faced if they worked) was in 2006 and police forces told everyone that the “demonstration [was] not authorized,” and to “disperse”. Since then, there has not been much improvement on the role women play in Iran’s society ad workforce. Furthermore, since 1979, women have been forced to use a hijab when in the presence of a non-related male. Even today, women run the risk of being arrested if this rule is not followed. In the past, women have been attacked with knives for not following these rules or for not wearing the “correct” clothing around a man.

• Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia is perhaps one of the strictest nations for women. Here, women are considered minors that have to be escorted by male guardians, also known as mahrams. Women are not allowed to leave their houses without their male escort, otherwise they could face serious consequences. Women in Saudi Arabia were not give the right to vote until 2015, and it wasn’t until the end of 2018 where the first drivers license was issued to a woman. On June 24^th, 2018, the ban against female drivers was finally lifted. Women in Saudi Arabia are also not allowed to wearany clothes or makeup that “show off their beauty”. The majority of women wear an abaya – a long cloak – and a head scarf, and without it, they are harassed by religious police.

Different countries have their different religious beliefs of course, but many of these countries still face huge issues regarding gender equality and basic human rights that we acknowledge here in America like voting, protesting, and other political and societal standards.