International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate women around the world and a day to appreciate them for all that they have done.

Many countries have declared it as a national holiday, and some like the US have made the whole month, a month for women.


Look at the following. Which of the following do you think is true and which is false?

• Only about 20% of government seats are occupied by women
• Women perform 66% of the world's work
• Women only earn 11% of the world's income as a whole
• Women only own about 1% of the world's land as a whole
• 66% of all illiterate adults are women

All of the above are true. Women are really put under the bus for all their hard work and contributions to society. The first International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8th, 1911 and it was declared an official day in 1917 by the United Nations. This day was a milestone for women. They were finally being recognized after a long time of struggle.

But keep in mind, this is only recognized by countries who really want to recognize it. 

While some women are able to rejoice a day where they are being commemorated and appreciated, there are other women, like those in some Middle Eastern countries, who are being suppressed and are being denied even the most basic of rights making it almost impossible for them to do anything.

Hopefully, it will dawn upon governments who suppress women that women can contribute so much to society and have the ability to do more than sit at home.

Ideally everyday should be Women's Day, where every woman can celebrate knowing they are not being denied of their rights and are being treated as an equal.

(P.S.- Wear purple to celebrate the day)

The Significance of Women's Rights Activists

Women's rights activists spread awareness and bring about change in their respective countries. They identify the flaws in a system and persistently fight to convince the rest of society as well as the governing powers. Their efforts are hardly recognized by the intentional community, but those who are recognized have a farther reach. To help help their efforts reach a wider audience and eventually change their countries for the better, it is our responsibility to spread awareness of their cause and rally people to get involved. 

The power of activists is so strong that it could transform even the most corrupt countries. 

Women's Rights Activists in Action

There are a few more women's rights activists in the Middle East who should be pointed out for their achievements.

1) Tawakkol Karman

Tawakkol Karman was the first Yemeni/ Arab woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize award. She is journalist, activist and politician in one of the harshest Middle Eastern countries (when concerned with women's rights). She is also the co-founder of the group “Women Journalists Without Chains".

She contributed to the Arab Spring, and uprising against injustices. Her courage and effort is further appreciated since she was a woman who pushed her way through the boundaries of the gender barrier and fought for her rights and the rights of others, men and women alike.

2) Razan Ghazzawi

Razan Ghazzawi is a blogger from Syria who has been campaigning for human rights, especially in her country. She contributed to the Syrian Civil war, spoke out about the arrests of many of her fellow activists and spoke against the rights being violated by Bashar al Assad.

She has been arrested many times by the Syrian government for her acts of campaigning but she refuses to leave since she has such a big task on her hands, fighting for the equal rights of her countrymen and woman.

3) Manal al-Sharif

Manal al-Sharif is a women's rights activist from Saudi Arabia who helped start a big campaign for the right to drive in her country. She was arrested a few times for her outspokenness, but that made her pursue her case further.

Queen Rania: The Crusading Queen

It is one thing to learn about women's rights and feel sorry for those whose rights are being snatched away from them, and it is another to actually do something about it.

Apart from looking at the rights of women in different Middle Eastern countries, we would also like to look at people who are already out their fighting for the disappearing rights of women. 

One person who we will look at is Queen Rania, the Queen of Jordan. Queen Rania is known for her advocacy and fighting for public health, education and women's rights. 

Though she was married into the royal family, she still held her stance and earned the respect of her people. In fact, being a "commoner" allowed her to connect with her people and has allowed her to focus on real issues that her country is facing.

Being a Queen, people look up to her and follow her. She is well-known as an opponent to the practices of "honor killing" where women were killed by their own family if they violated the Islamic code.

"A woman caring for her children; a woman striving to excel in the private sector; a woman partnering with her neighbors to make their street safer; a woman running for office to improve her country - they all have something to offer, and the more our societies empower women, the more we receive in return."

"I have nothing against the veil. And I think that, wrongly, many in the West look at the veil as a symbol of oppression. Now, as long as a woman chooses to wear the veil, because that's her belief and because of her own - that's a personal relationship with God, so she should be free to dress in whichever way she wants." 

-  Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania reaches out to the public through speeches, tweets and posts, hoping to reach people farther off, fix their misconceptions and have them join the fight to give women the rights they have been deprived.

Funny to a Certain Extent

Share your interpretation and thoughts about the cartoon.

Women's Rights in Yemen

Yemen has been named one of the worst places for women to live. They neglect their women citizens, so much so that they might as well not be considered citizens but more as prisoners.

Women do not have the right to marry without the permission of their male guardians. However this can also mean that they can be sent off to another family through marriage at a very young age like 8 years. They also do not have equal rights to divorce or inherit things like family possessions. This is enforcing the male chauvinist attitude that men were born to control everything.

More importantly, women completely lack legal protection, which makes them more vulnerable and makes them easily "attackable" with violence, either physically or mentally.

A growing concern regarding Yemen and gender-based discrimination has been the concept of child-marriage which is not only a loss of the opportunity for an education but also the ruining of a childhood and life. Western ideologies obviously conflict with such practices but the Yemeni government allow the practice to continue and raise no concerns.

Yemen also has high rates of violence targeted towards women. Which brings up the next concern and point. Before giving women the right to vote and the right to make independent choices, the first right that should be granted is the right to protection. Women need to be safe and then they need to have access to rights which allow them to thrive in society. Right now, women are too scared to even exit their houses in fear they will be abducted or assaulted. Once they are free to roam around in peace they can prove their true power and ability and can rise up to show people they mean business.

 

Women's Rights in Syria

Once again the Extremists, ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, attack the women of Syria. Not physically but socially and emotionally. They have tightened the laws and regulations for all citizens, but have also worsened the conditions and situations of women in the country.

Though the life of a women has been bad for many hundreds of years, all of a sudden men who barge into their country and destroy things to shows their power, meanwhile claiming they are strict followers of the Qu'ran, deem themselves the creator of rules in the country.

They have further diminished their sparse rights by restricting any access to education, reducing the ability for them to provide for their families (by keeping them trapped within the confines of their home) and even obtain the basic necessities for survival. When women stood up or disobeyed, they would be further isolated even to the extent of not being able to go out, use public transportation and buy bread.

However, women and girls in Syria have it slightly better off than others in neighboring Middle Eastern countries. Syria doesn't have a state-mandated religion and it has a constitution protects freedom of religion. Along with religion, it also guarantees gender equality. However, some of the laws like ones regarding marriage, divorce and inheritance have been fashioned in a way that discriminates against women.

Prior to the taking over by ISIS and other terrorist groups, women had a lot more freedom as Syrian citizens.

“Groups like ISIS and al-Nusra claim to be part of a social movement, yet they seem more focused on diminishing freedom for women and girls than providing any social benefit... As we have seen in situations in Somalia, Mali, and elsewhere, these kinds of restrictions often mark the beginning of a complete breakdown of women’s and girls’ rights.”         

--Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch