Oppression of women around the world Essays - Sex Crimes

Oppression of women around the world The Oppression of Women around the World and its Effects on Society Robyn Johnson PWSCC-Sociology-Professor Ballou The Oppression of Women around the World and its effects on Society "Of all the things that people do in the name of God, killing a girl because she doesnt bleed on her wedding night is among the most cruel." (WuDunn ,Kristoff, 2009, Half the Sky) Virginity is one of the most prized possessions a female can have. Its literally a matter of life and death in the Muslim world. Under Sharia law, If a woman is raped and there's loss of virginity the female can actually be charged with adultery and stoned to death. Take the case of 14 year old Hena Begum from Bangladesh India. One day her 14 year old cousin brutally raped her. After her rape, her rapist and his family beat her until she was unconscious. The local Sharia courts ruled that Hena committed adultery - for the crime of being a child raped by an adult. She was to receive 101 lashes. She could still not stand on her own when the Muslim clerics took her to the public square and proceeded to lash her. 80 lashes in she collapsed. Her parents were allowed to take her to the hospital, where she later died. Her father was ordered to pay $700.00 (US). Completely outrageous in such a poor country. The rapist had been charged with rape before and was forced to marry his victim. She coincidently was one of the people who initially helped beat Hena.(fortliberty.org,2014) It's hard for us in the USA to understand crimes and punishments such as these. To help us better understand we first need to really delve into the world of Sharia/Islamic Law. This is a system set forth 14+ centuries ago. Sharia law is considered the infallible law of God/Allah. Sharia law deals with many different things including politics, economics, crime, moral codes, and marital codes. One main thing to know is that women are completely oppressed and uneducated in regards to Sharia law. Amnesty International has found that 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape in her lifetime. They also found that women are more likely to be beaten, raped, or killed by a current partner than by any other person. Studies estimate that 20-50 percent of women experience partner violence sometime in her lifetime. One hundred and two countries have no legal provisions against domestic violence. The UN estimates that five thousand women in the Middle East and Asia die a year as a result of honor kill ings. As of 2011 child marriages are common in the Middle East, accounting for 1 in 6 marriages in Egypt and 1 in 3 in Yemen. Rape is considered a crime in ALL Middle Eastern countries. Yet in some cases the rapist is forced to marry the rape victim. If she complains she can also be charged with rape and adultery and stoned to death.(Wikipedia, 2014) Many scholars claim that Sharia law encourages domestic violence against women, when a husband suspects Nushiz ( disobedience, disloyalty, rebellion, ill conduct) in his wife. Other scholars that is not consistent with modern perspective of the Quran. (wikipedia,2014) If we are to question why men and women in Muslim countries allow for such atrocities we will find that a huge factor is that Sharia law has done a very good job of keeping women uneducated. Men are also not very well educated. As long as you keep the masses uneducated they will follow like sheep. Then when you add in the raping, torture, stoning, cutting off of limbs. You can better grasp why Muslim's are at such a vulnerable position. Some think that Muslim men are afraid of women. Women create life. Women deal with all sorts of oppressive things and yet they march on. Sexual Slavery, Trafficking, and Prostitution The next severe form of oppression is sexual slavery, trafficking, and prostitution. In India, prostitution is legal yet there are many related activities that are not legal. Such as; soliciting in a public places, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering. There's an estimated 1.2 million children in prostitution in India. Some as young as 6. (UN.org,2013) Indian migrants