The Middle East and Africa are always in the news because of wars, suicide bombings and every other kind of horrendous violence (because God forbid we hear a happy story for once). And based on that fact alone, it's pretty clear just how fortunate we are here in the west. There is, however, one big advantage of ours that we often take for granted: women's rights. As Christopher Hitchens has argued, the empowerment of women is the key to a healthy society. That is why women's rights are so important.
Here in the west, women have made great progress. Women now have the right to vote, work, play sports, etc. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for women in the Middle East. With Israel being the exception, Honor killings, legal restrictions and rape are what Middle Eastern women face on a regular basis. In Saudi Arabia, women can't drive and have to wear a Burka everywhere they go. In Yemen, women only count as half a witness. In Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), rape victims can be charged simply for being raped.
The religious component in these laws must not be ignored. Indeed, the common thread between these laws is that they all come from countries that adhere to Sharia or Islamic law. Now, this is not an attack on Muslims. Rather, it's an attack on Islamic fundamentalism (or as Islamic reformer Maajid Nawaz prefers to call it: Islamism) — that is, taking a strict, literal interpretation of Islam and wanting it to be in the political spectrum.
What can be done about this? Support the reformists. This includes people like Maajid Nawaz (known for work on Islamic terrorism) and Malala Yousafzai (who, of course is well known around the world for being an advocate of female education in the Muslim world). The fact that these reformists are finally being heard and recognized for their efforts is progress in and of itself.
However, it is not enough. We must be relentless. There is is still much to be done. This fight for women's rights will not be over until women in the Muslim world enjoy the same basic freedoms that women here in the west enjoy.
