Violenceagainstwomen 090426231344 Phpapp01

According to the United Nations, "Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.”*The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, General Assembly Resolution, December 1993

Violence against women and girls is a global epidemic and is present in every single country. It is one of the few plagues

that is indifferent to culture, class, education, income, ethnicity and age.

Domestic violence in Arab and Islamic countries is not considered an issue of special concern. Research carried out in several Arab countries, however, shows that at least one out of three women is beaten by her husband.

Definition: Although there is no universally accepted definition of violence against women, the UN has defined violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, economic, or psychological harm or suffering to women..”

Who is most vulnerable:

1) Minority groups

2) Indigenous and migrant women

3) Refugee women

4) Women in areas of war

5) Disabled women

6) Female Children

7) Elderly Women

Middle East Statistics

Egypt 35% of women report being beaten by husbands at some point in Marriage

Israel 32% of women report physical abuse and 30% report sexual coercion by husbands, according to a 1997 survey of 1826 Arab women

Is n’t it s a d we o nly ha ve s ta tis tic s fro m two M. E. c o untrie s ?

An a rtic le in' The Middle Ea s t Qua rte rly ' e ntitle d ARE HO NO R KILLINGS SIMPLY DO MESTIC VIO LENCE? :

On February 12, 2009, Muzzammil Hassan informed police that he had beheaded his wife. Hassan had emigrated to the United States 30 years ago and, after a successful banking career, had founded Bridges TV, a Muslim-interest network which aims, according to its website, "to foster a greater understanding among many cultures and diverse populations." Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III told The Buffalo News that "this is the worst form of domestic violence possible," and Khalid Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, told the New York Post that Islam forbids such domestic violence. While Muslim advocacy organizations argue that honor killings are a misnomer stigmatizing Muslims for what is simply domestic violence, a problem that has nothing to do with religion, Phyllis Chesler, who just completed a study of more than 50 instances of North American honor killings, says the evidence suggest otherwise. — The Ed ito rs

Aamir Latif, a correspondent for the Islamist website Is la m O nline who writes frequently on the issue, reported that in 2007 in the Punjab province of Pakistan alone, there were 1,261 honor murders.

However Islamist advocacy organizations argue that such killings have nothing to do with Islam or Muslims, that domestic violence cuts across all faiths, and that the phrase "honor killing" stigmatizes Muslims whose behavior is no different than that of non-Muslims.

Female genital Mutilation (FGM)

FGM is done to girls in order to “curb sexual desire and preserve their sexual honor before marriage”. The problem is pervasive throughout the Levant, the Fertile Crescent, and the Arabian Peninsula, and among many immigrants to the West from these countries. New information from Iraqi Kurdistan raises the possibility that the problem is more prevalent in the Middle East than previously believed. Studies estimate 97% of girls in Egypt suffer from fgm.

Thousands and thousands of children from Western Africa are sent to the Middle East each year to prostitute for money

Killing in the Name of Honour:On April 21,2000, the chief executive of Pakistan announced that such killings would be treated as murder, “The government of Pakistan vigorously condemns the practice of so-called ‘honor killings’. Such actions do not find any place in our religion or law”

In Pakistan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto strongly defended a 35-year-old mother of two who was severely burned by her husband in a domestic dispute: "There is no excuse for such a behavior. My presence here is to send a message to all those who violate Islamic teachings and defy laws of the land with their inhuman treatment of women. This will not be tolerated."

In Turkey, a Ministry of State for Women was established whose main goals are: to promote women's rights and strengthen their role in economic, social, political and cultural life. Legal measures are being adopted towards the elimination of violence against women.

Reports show that Qatar will ratify the U. N. Co nve ntio n o n the Elim ina tio n o f All Fo rm s o f Dis c rim ina tio n Ag a ins t Wo m e n (CEDAW) soon calls attention to the problem of domestic violence in the Arab world

Chelala, C. (2009). Violence Against Women: A Hidden Pandemic in the Arab World. Retrieved April 26, 2009, http://www.metimes.com/Opinion/2009/03/02/violence_against_women_a_hidden_pandemic_in_the_arab_world/9347/

Khan, M. (2000). Domestic violence against women and girls. In Innocenti digest (Vol. 6, , pp. 1-24). Florance: UNICEF.

Chesler, P. (2009). Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence? Middle eastern forum, XVI, 2, pp. 61, 69. Retrieved April 26, 2009, http://www.meforum.org/2067/are-honor-killings-simply-domestic-violence

Von der Osten-Sacken, T., & Uwer, T. (2007). Is female genital mutilation an Islamic problem? The middle east quarterly, XIV, 1, pp. 29, 36.

Human rights (1996, February). Retrieved April 26, 2009, http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1772e.htm

Violenceagainstwomen 090426231344 Phpapp01

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