Women’s rights are a controversial topic in the Middle East. Many have spoken out against Arab’s strict laws regarding women, but little action has been taken to improve the lives of Arab women. However, some Arab countries have women’s rights that are fairly similar to those in Western countries. In other parts of the world, many people are against these harsh laws, but they don’t truly know what cruel realities women in the Middle East face and how minimal action has been taken to combat these issues.
In Arab countries, women and men are not equal in marriage. A wife is only allowed to marry one man at a time, although a husband is able to have four wives at a time. Also, women have to be compliant with their husbands, and if they aren’t …show more content…
When women are raped in Arab countries, instead of getting protection and justice, they have the possibility of being incarcerated for unlawful sexual intercourse. The law system in the Middle East does not care about the safety of a women, but rather if the woman is "pure" or not. Many rape victims are persuaded to marry their rapist. If they refuse to marry their attacker, they have a chance of being the target of an honor crime. An honor crime is the punishment of a woman at the hands of her family members in order to restore honor to her family. To prove that a Middle Eastern women was raped, the rapist must “confess or four male witnesses must testify that the rape occurred” (The Religion of Peace, “Rape and Adultery”). Also, Islamic law forbids the use of forensics to prove a rape victim's case. If the accused does not confess to sex of any kind (consensual or not), the accuser is punished of unlawful intercourse while the accused is not. Another jarring fact about rape cases is that, in 2013, Syria's chief Mufti declared that soldiers are legally allowed to rape captured women for religious reasons. However, the captured women are unable to receive justice due to the “unlawful sexual intercourse”
In Arab countries, women and men are not equal in marriage. A wife is only allowed to marry one man at a time, although a husband is able to have four wives at a time. Also, women have to be compliant with their husbands, and if they aren’t …show more content…
When women are raped in Arab countries, instead of getting protection and justice, they have the possibility of being incarcerated for unlawful sexual intercourse. The law system in the Middle East does not care about the safety of a women, but rather if the woman is "pure" or not. Many rape victims are persuaded to marry their rapist. If they refuse to marry their attacker, they have a chance of being the target of an honor crime. An honor crime is the punishment of a woman at the hands of her family members in order to restore honor to her family. To prove that a Middle Eastern women was raped, the rapist must “confess or four male witnesses must testify that the rape occurred” (The Religion of Peace, “Rape and Adultery”). Also, Islamic law forbids the use of forensics to prove a rape victim's case. If the accused does not confess to sex of any kind (consensual or not), the accuser is punished of unlawful intercourse while the accused is not. Another jarring fact about rape cases is that, in 2013, Syria's chief Mufti declared that soldiers are legally allowed to rape captured women for religious reasons. However, the captured women are unable to receive justice due to the “unlawful sexual intercourse”