Women's rights violated in Middle East
By Kim Linden
Only weeks before the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, women in the Middle East are paying a heavy price for speaking out for their rights, according to a report released by Amnesty International on August 2.
"In wars and conflicts, women are killed, taken hostage, raped and driven from their homes. In peace, they are imprisoned and tortured for opposing the government or simply for being related to political activists", said AI spokeswoman Nalyni Mohamed.
In the report, "Women in the Middle East — Human Rights under Attack", AI details how governments in the region violate human rights with impunity, despite their international obligations. Many of the violations are exacerbated by legalised discrimination.
Women are also killed and subjected to other abuse by armed opposition groups. For example, in Algeria women are forced to wear the Islamic veil and prevented from working in the public sector and media. Women have been killed and injured by security forces.
"In some countries, women face cruel judicial punishments and even death. For certain offences, Iranian women face sentences of flogging and stoning to death. Iranian law even specifies the types of stones to be used. In Sudan, women risk arrest and flogging if they don't cover their hair, whereas in Tunisia they are harassed if they do", Mohamed said.
In Saudi Arabia, dozens of women were detained when they staged a symbolic protest for women's rights by driving a convoy of cars. Many of them subsequently lost their jobs, and legislation was introduced outlawing female drivers.
Since the outbreak of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in 1994, women and schoolgirls have been arrested, held without charge or trial and ill-treated.
In the Arab-Israeli conflict scores of Palestinian women have been killed by Israeli soldiers, particularly during the intifada which began in 1987.
"Despite these widespread violations, women in the Middle East continue to participate in a range of activities in defence of their rights. Together with women around the world they will be hoping for specific outcomes from the Beijing conference", Mohamed said.