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Customary laws, Islamic laws, imported European laws, and reformed versions of Islamic laws affect women in varying degrees in the different Middle Eastern legal systems, and the status of women does not seem to have been settled in any of them. Legal issues involving women’s status in the Middle East tend to be quite different from those in the West. Although there are feminist organizations in Middle Eastern countries, they tend to be small and to lack significant input into the political process. This improvement in the status of women has not resulted from pressures from women and women’s groups. It has been more from male members of the political elite to modernize and industrialize their societies. They feel that using law reform as a tool of social engineering can help improve the treatment. I have known a few people from the middle east. I also know people who are not from their but have decided to take up muslim culture. I have discussed some cultural differences with them and the lack of support women receive.
One of my best friends is from afganisatan. She has expressed to me the joy she has and how thankful she is for the opportunity to come to the united states. The things she remembers about treatment of women are very harsh. The social position of women in Muslim countries is worse than anywhere else, for example a woman can work and travel only with the written permission of her husband or male guardian, they can not obtain divorce without their husband’s cooperation who in contrast can obtain divorce simply by filling out a divorce form. This is really different from the western culture because divorce statistics are on the rise. A women can file without the cooperation of her husband and like in states like California are entitled to half of everything when she does file.
Many Islamic fundamentalist are against any change regarding women’s rights that can undermine male domination with regards to family and society. Their goals are to setup special curriculam to train girls for their role as housewives, to restrict their access to political life, remove them from the legal profession, and to impose a rigid dress code. Despite these inequalities between men and women, for many of these women freedom of expression and equality do not seem meaningful goals to obtain. The majority of them see the Western culture as a danger for their native culture, brining with it the disintegration of families and social breakdown. Historically, Islam has resisted women’s rights and modernization. Unjust laws, discriminatory constitutions, and biased mentalities that do not recognize women as equal citizens violate women’s rights. According to the readings, Moranm, Abrason, and Morans say “Although the percentage of women expatriates is rising, many companies fail to send women overseas, in particular to areas of the world where the demarcation between male and female roles is clearly defined. Global women managers often talk about the “double-take” or stares they receive in Asia, South America, or the Middle East when they are first introduced.” When women visit this country and wear their traditional western culture clothing they are looked upon by the natives differently.
A friend of mine who is in the military was in Yemen and was almost taking to jail for not having on the traditional burka. She was getting a little roughed up and it was hard to explain that she was in the military because it was on their day off in a bar. Yemen along with Dubai are still one of the countries who has a place in the middle of town to take women to be killed by either being stoned to death, hung, beheaded, or shot to death.
Moran, Robert T.; Abramson, Neil Remington; Moran, Sarah V. (2014-02-24). Managing Cultural Differences (p. 159). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2014/01/yemen-women-marginalized-death.html
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179098
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