In the poll about Women's rights in 22 Arab states, conducted and published by Reuters, Egipt ranked the worst, Iraq second and Saudi Arabia third. Actually the protection of women's rights in Middle East has worsened since Arab Spring. Some horrifying facts:
In Lebanon, the penal code allows a rapist to avoid prison if he marries his victim.
In Egipt women's rights are protected the least among 22 Arab states. Women played a central role in the country's revolution but activists say the rising influence of Islamists, culminating in the election of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi as president, was a major setback for women's rights.
99,3 % of women claim to be victims of sexual violation. Human Rights Watch reported that 91 women were raped or sexually assaulted in public in Tahrir Square in June as anti-Mursi protests heated up.
Female genital mutilation is epidemic in Egypt, where 91 % of women's and girls' - 27.2 million in all - genitals are circumcised, according to UNICEF.
Saudi Arabia’s guardianship system forbids women from working, travelling abroad, driving a car, opening a bank account or enrolling in higher education without permission from a male relative.
“The Syrian woman is a weapon of war, subjected to abductions and rape by the regime and other groups,” a Syrian women’s rights campaigner said.
This all makes me sick.
