By Ben Gertz

Most women in the Middle East and North Africa are mistreated or denied most basic rights
They are cruelly punished for minor actions that are normal for most western influenced countries
Some are even punished for talking to men who are not relatives
In most Middle Eastern countries women are not allowed to vote, show skin, and be in public without a male relative’s escort
Some women cannot even go to trial if they are raped

Under Taliban rule women were stripped of all basic human rights
They could not show skin in public. They were forced to wear head-to-toe coverings called burqas with small mesh parts to see through
In some cases women are beaten just for flashing an ankle on accident
Also, women were not allowed to work, go to school, or go to college
Health care is non-existent for women. If they got sick with bad diseases they would probably die

If a man dies, a woman might die of starvation because she can’t go into public without a male relative
Men can beat and kill their spouses without punishment
In 2001 when America invaded Afghanistan they took the Taliban out of power
People think that when
America leaves Afghanistan the
Taliban will take power again

Afghanistan voted Hamid Karzai to be their president
The new government under Karzai is much better to woman then the Taliban was, but life is still bad
If a woman lives in the rural areas of Afghanistan they still have to follow most of the laws imposed by the Taliban because they still have a large influence there

This is the law that most Arab countries use to govern themselves
This is a very strict set of laws that run on the rules set by the Qur’an, the religious book of Islam
It sets most of the restrictions for women like wearing jewelry and making noise while walking
It was invented by Muslim scholars in the second century
Under complete Shariah law it makes everyone act like a perfect Muslim

Syria has a very poor human rights record
Its arrested rights activists, censored websites, and imposed many travel bans
It has run under emergency rule since 1963. This allows the police to arrest people without a warrant, thus allowing them to keep the political antagonists from starting a revolution and getting women and men rights
The government is very terrible to women and men alike

Libyan women are treated like 2 nd class citizens
In Libya they have places for women if they were abused or raped in anyway called “social rehabilitation centers”
Women who have been there say it is terrible and you might as well call it jail
People who go there may have already finished their sentences at jails but are held for longer
There is no way out without a male family member picking you up
In some cases men can come in and take a random women to marry then the woman may leave

Some women are forced to have invasive virginity tests upon entry
The women have very restricted movement in their small cells
One woman was raped and knew her brother would kill her so she went to one of the centers, they kept her there for a very long time and treated her badly
There is no education in these “jails” just weekly religious instruction

Women wearing Egyptian flags
Beating Hosni Mubarak the old dictator of Egypt

In this picture it shows the different kinds of coverings for Muslim women ranging from the Burqa being for very radical governments to the
Hijab for more reformed governments.

Bibi Aisha is an Afghani women who got her nose and ears cut off by her husband
She was abused by her family and she ran away from it
Since she lived in a remote region of Afghanistan the Taliban was still partially in power there
When her family found her the Taliban commander wanted to set an example for other women so he had Bibi’s husband cut her nose and ears off and leave her to die
She woke up and made it to a women’s center where Time
Magazine found her and made her famous
In the picture on the right it shows her with her new fake nose

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