Women's rights in muslim countries

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31st July 2012
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF LACK OF WOMEN RIGHTS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES.
There has been a raging debate on the rights and freedoms of women in Muslim countries. This is due to increased discrimination and outright denial of equal access to the basic provisions of life like education, right to associate and property ownership to the girl child. This has made many Muslim societies be depicted in a negative light in regard to promotion of rights of women. There have been several reports all over the globe where women suffer all kinds of mistreatment and abuse. These actions have portrayed most Muslim countries as conservative and unwilling to acknowledge that women rights are human rights. The denial of equality to women has reduced their participation in social, cultural and economic development of their societies. This is despite the fact that women are the majority in most of these societies.
Education of the girl child.
In most Muslim societies, girls are denied the right to attend school like their male counterparts. Most parents deny their girls this right (Flinn 8). Girls are allocated menial duties in the home like cooking and house keeping. This is in total contravention of the Muslim teachings of sharia that require women and men to be equally educated. This incapacitates the girl child by making her less advantaged in society. Such girls cannot compete for opportunities in employment since they are not equipped with any skills or knowledge. Such girls are often married off in their teens and become house wives very early in their lives. This has led to the low development of such societies and backwardness. Many talented girls are just wasted by these negative connotations perpetuated by their parents. This leads to the slow development of these societies since a significant part of it is not involved in making of decisions.
Exploitation of the girl child.
When the girls are denied the right to attend school, they are often allocated duties in the home in the guise of preparing them to become responsible house wives. They are subjected to child labor through working for long hours in some dangerous environments. Some girls are required to participate in hawking of wares in markets to supplement family income. They are forced to spend long hours moving from place to place. This exposes them to pedophiles who exploit then sexually. The exploitative nature of these tasks makes the girl child suffer physically and mentally. This affects the social, physical and moral development of the girl child. Such children development fear and resentment towards the society. The escalation of these acts has always portrayed most Muslim governments in a bad light. The governments have been depicted as being inept and insensitive to the promotion of equality in society (Smith 33). Such governments have scored poorly in human rights circles due to lack of any policies and legislation that empower women. They have also been rebuked due to non enforcement of Muslim teachings that promote equality and equal access to opportunities.
Early and forced marriage.
Girls are forced to marry men who are old enough to be their fathers. This practice is rampant in many rural Muslim settings especially in Asia and Africa. These girls lack the moral, physical and psychological maturity to become mothers and take care of homes. This leads to psychological torture of the girl child and can eventually cause depression. It has also led to some health conditions and diseases like fistula which result from birth complications especially on minors. Such minors have no rights to complain since these marriages are sanctioned by their parents. Their parents are in haste to receive dowry payments to substitute family income. There is no regard of public morality issues because some of these marriages qualify for sexual exploitation and rape.
Abuse and violence on the girl child.
There are several reported cases of physical, sexual and psychological abuse of the girl child especially in rural Muslim communities. The boy is normally accorded preferential treatment over the girl. This is mainly exhibited through allocation of duties in the home and access to opportunities like education. Girls especially those in the hands of foster parents normally receive less affection, care and support. This is in total disregard to Muslim rules and teachings that outlaw any form of injustices (Baden 7). There are also cases where the man accords preference to one of the co-wives. The preferred one receives a lot of support and attention from the man in terms of finances and general provisions like food and clothing. This creates anguish to the other wives who have nowhere to turn. This indiscrimination spreads to the children and is known to affect their psychological and physical growth. There also cases where the man physically assaults some of the co-wives. These wives have no cause of redress and are at the mercy of their master. This creates tension and slow progress of women rights due to lack of any objective mechanisms in the society that can address these injustices.
Preference of the male child.
Muslim societies are known for their preference of the male child over the female. Women who fail to give birth to boys are held in low esteem in these societies. In fact, this is known to be one of the main causes of the man opting to marry another wife. The woman’s status in society is diminished simply for not giving birth to a boy. The boy child is given preference even when it comes to inheritance. This preferential treatment is mainly caused by failure and reluctance of most Muslim societies to embrace gender equality. The preference of the boy over the girl is in contravention of basic human rights of equal access to opportunities and resources. Even the Koran demands equal treatment of all children regardless of gender. These behaviors defy the teachings in the Koran where all children should be accorded equal treatment because they are gifts from Allah (Baden 5).
Care for orphaned and poor girls.
Extended families normally refuse to accept caring and supporting girls who have been orphaned or who come from poor backgrounds. Such girls suffer immensely since they are unaccepted by close family relatives. Those who accept to care for them exert undue pressure and subject the girls to acts of mistreatment and abuse. They are subjected to mental and physical torture in a clear demonstration that they are useless when compared to other children in the household. This is against one of the most meritorious teachings of Islam on the feeding and caring for the needy and orphaned in society (Smith 4). The Koran teaches that such members of the society should be looked after by all since ignoring them is equated to defying religion. Even the children of the poor members of the society must be provided for by the rich. The rich should spare some of their wealth and spend in programs meant to provide basic needs to the disadvantaged in society.
Inequality in feeding boys and girls.
Some Asian socie...