10 Anti-Women laws that still exist in world.
People have been fighting for gender equality since long time. In India the government is doing its best to help women to come forward and take active participation in decision making. But there are countries which still have repressive laws against women.
Such repressive laws are in existence despite the fact that over two decades ago, at the 1995 World Conference on Women, 189 countries signed on to a plan to advance women’s rights and achieve gender equality.
Despite this countries are yet not abolished the anti woman laws. Here are several countries which are still following such repressive laws against women.
Married women can be raped by their husbands
In Bahamas it’s legal for a husband to sexually assault his wife if she is over the age of 14, while in Singapore she needs to be over 13.
Women can be abducted
In Lebanon, any man who commits a kidnapping, rape or statutory rape can’t be prosecuted as long as he marries the victim afterwards. In Malta – a European country, no less – the penalty for abduction is reduced if the perpetrator intends to marry the victim, and the perpetrator is exempt from prosecution and punishment if they do go on to marry the abducted person.
Women can be murdered for cheating
In Egypt, a man can kill his wife and get off with a far more lenient punishment than is typically given for murder, if he catches her in an act of adultery. The situation is similar in Syria, where a man must only serve up to seven years in prison if he murders his wife, sister, mother or daughter after finding her engaged in an ‘illigitimate’ sexual act.
Women can be beaten
In Nigeria, a man can legally assault a woman without facing prosecution if she is his wife and if there is no ‘grievous’ hurt.
Women can’t leave the house when they want
A man in Afghanistan and Yemen can legally restrict his wife’s right to leave the house.
Men choose where women can work
In countries such as Cameroon and Guinea, husbands have control over the jobs that their wives are allowed to do, since a man can ban his wife from having a different trade or profession from him.
Women can’t get a divorce
In Israel, marriages and divorces sit under rabbinical law, which states that divorces can only take place if requested by the husband.
A woman’s testimony is practically worthless
In Pakistan, the evidence provided by a woman is worth exactly half that of a man in certain civil matters.
Women can’t drive
This law is well-known to many: in Saudi Arabia, the Fatwa on Women’s Driving of Automobiles prohibits women from driving and from obtaining a driver’s license.
Women don’t inherit as much as their brothers
In Tunisia, women’s inheritance rights are limited: sons inherit twice as much as daughters.
Related Posts