Future of Womens Rights in Middle East

       Women’s rights are an issue all over the world. Contrary to what many Americans believe, this day in age in America, there are still instances where women and minorities are discriminated against. One area of the world we, as Americans, often think about as having a severe problem with this topic is the Middle East. For decades, women in the Middle East have been viewed as in superior to men; only there for child bearing and to serve men.  What this article, from CNN.com, talks about is the future of women’s rights in the Middle East.

      When reading this article something that stood out to me was what women from western countries are doing to help put an end to this unnecessary discrimination. By, “western women” I am referring to popular women from America or other established countries where women’s rights aren’t such an issue anymore. Nancy Pelosi is one female that has made an effort in recent years to change this discriminatory way of thinking in mid-eastern countries. I found it interesting that on several occasions she has made trips to places such as Egypt, Syria and Libya to talk to government officials about the positive effect women’s rights can have on social and political aspects in their counties. It has been said many times: if you educate a woman, you raise a whole village. That’s because an educated woman will teach her children the best path to the future. This is a great example of how women’s rights can improve a country as a whole.

      Another thing I found very interesting while reading this article was the fact that women’s social rights have increased in recent years, however their legal rights have been reduced. This seems odd to me and also seems as if it would make it harder for women to deal with. Think about it. You are a woman in one of these countries with no rights and then you’re all of a sudden allowed to get jobs, be voted to office and go to school. Everything would seem great; however legal issues are still very discriminatory towards women. The price of court costs are more than twice as much for women along with other legal issues that discriminate towards women.

      Often times men in these Mideast countries don’t understand that this discriminatory was of treating women is wrong. This is because it is how they have been raised and many times it’s what their religion calls for. Interesting to me was the fact that men don’t believe they are treating women negatively. They believe they are just doing what their Islamic beliefs call for. The major theme this article touches on is that awareness needs to be spread about this issue. If men in these countries along with political figures understood the positive impact women’s rights could have on the social way of life in their country, they would be more willing to change. 

      Though there are still cases in the United States where women are discriminated against it is something that is very rare in the overall scheme of things. My grandmother is on of the most hard working, loving and strongest individuals I have ever met. Because of the way I have been raised, I have always had a great respect for women. It puts a terrible feeling in my gut when I think about this issue in the Middle East; something must be done.

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