Thankful to be an American Woman

Recently I ran across a survey that listed the five worst countries for women’s rights. Can you guess which ones?

Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan, India and Somalia.

In Afghanistan women are regularly imprisoned for refusing to marry, for running away from their husbands, and for “adultery” when they are raped.

Here is the true story of one young woman who was raped as told by NPR.

Gulnaz was home by herself one day when her cousin’s husband found her alone. He tied her hands and raped her. She was afraid to tell anyone, but two months later her morning sickness gave her away: She was carrying the rapist’s child. When she went to the police they arrested the rapist, but they also arrested Gulnaz for adultery.

Gulnaz’s baby girl was born on the floor of the prison and she is now nine months old. Tradition dictates that if Gulnaz is set free she has no choice but to marry the man who raped her. Gulnaz orginal sentence for being raped was 12 years in prison.

Another prisoner there, Meena, is a former Afghan government employee. She says that when she got into a fight with her husband recently, he threw boiling water on her, and she has scars on her face and arms. The police arrested both of them, and Meena says she expects a lengthy sentence.

Add to that a lack of  legal protection, high maternal mortality rates (They have a 1 in 11 chance of dying in childbirth), limited access to doctors and a total lack of economic rights.

And the other four countries are not a whole lot better.

The “staggering levels of sexual violence” in the lawless east of the DRC is a good reason to stay away from there. One recent US study claimed that more than 400,000 women are raped there each year. The UN has called Congo the rape capital of the world.

Pakistan is ranked third on the basis of cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women. “These include acid attacks, child and forced marriage and punishment or retribution by stoning or other physical abuse,” according to the study.

Pakistan has some of the highest rates of dowry murder, so-called honour killings and early marriage.” According to Pakistan’s human rights commission, as many as 1,000 women and girls die in honour killings annually.

India is ranked as  hazardous because of the subcontinent’s high level of female infanticide and sex trafficking. India’s central bureau of investigation estimated that in 2009 about 90% of trafficking took place within the country and that there were some 3 million prostitutes, of which about 40% were children

Up to 50 million girls are thought to be ‘missing’ over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide,”, the UN population fund says, because parents prefer to have young boys rather than girls

Somalia, a state in political disintegration, suffers high levels of maternal mortality, rape, female genital mutilation and limited access to education and healthcare.

One of the sources is quoted as saying,  “The most dangerous thing a woman in Somalia can do is to become pregnant. When a woman becomes pregnant her life is 50-50 because there is no antenatal care at all. There are no hospitals, no healthcare, no nothing.

“Add to that the rape cases that happen on a daily basis, and female genital mutilation being done to every single girl in Somalia. Add to that famine and drought. Add to that the fighting [which means] you can die any minute, any day.”

Saudi Arabia was not listed in this study, but women’s rights are limited there as well. It is the only country in the world where women are banned from driving.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia released a study last week claiming that lifting the driving ban for women in the country would “provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce,” as well as cause the nation to have “no more virgins,” prompting observers to question the seriousness of the study.

My thoughts…

The more I read about women’s rights in other countries, the more I realize that not only am I thankful to be living in America, I need to be praying for my sisters in other countries. I need to help raise awareness of what they are going through.

Hopefully this post is a starting point. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!