• Since theTaliban took power in 1996 women have had to wear a tentlike garment called a burqua. They have been beaten and stoned in public for not having the proper attire, even if this means simply not having the mesh covering in front of their eyes. One woman was beaten to death by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm while she was driving which she was also forbidden to do. Another was stoned to death for trying to leave the country with a man that was not a relative.
• Women were not allowed to work or even go out in public without a male relative; professional women such as professors, translators, doctors, lawyers, artists and writers were forced from their jobs and restricted to their homes.
• Homes where a woman is present must have their windows painted so that she can never be seen by outsiders. They must wear silent shoes so that they are never heard.
• Women live in fear of their lives for the slightest misbehavior. Because they cannot work, those without male relatives or husbands are either starving to death or begging in the street, even if they hold Ph.D.'s.
• Depression is becoming so widespread that it has reached emergency levels. There is no way in such an extreme Islamic society to know the suicide rate with certainty, but relief workers are estimating that the suicide rate among women must be extraordinarily high: those who cannot find proper medication and treatment for severe depression and would rather take their lives than live in such conditions.
• At one of the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak, eat, or do anything, but slowly wasting away. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most of them in fear. It is at the point where the term "human rights violations" has become an understatement.
• Husbands have the power of life and death over their women relatives, especially their wives, but
  an angry mob has just as much right to stone or beat a woman, often to death, for exposing an inch of flesh or offending them in the slightest way.
  

• In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman's genitals but is prohibited from looking directly at them during the examination. He may only see their reflection in a mirror.
  

• Over 2000 women a year are victims of fatal or disfiguring acid attacks for alleged improper behaviour. (The World and I, May 2003)
• A rapist can sometimes marry the woman he has assaulted and avoid prosecution. This saves the family's "honor" and the woman's life. The result is that the assailant is now effectively allowed to rape his victim repeatedly, with the blessing of the court system.
  

• A woman cannot leave the country without her husband's permission.
• FGM (Female Circumcision or Female Genital Mutilation) is widespread in Egypt.
• "Honor Killing" is still practiced in rural areas and even in the main city of Cairo..
• Wife beating is so prevalent that most housewives see it as a normal part of marriage. Social workers spend much of their time just trying to convince victims that their husband's violent acts are unnacceptable.
  

Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran

• The legal age for marriage of a girl is 9 years old.
• Iran's penal code specifies, "The stoning of an adulterer or adulteress shall be carried out while each is placed in a hole and covered with soil, he up to his waist and she up to a line above her breasts". Court appointed officials or ordinary citizens then pelt the accused with stones large enough to cause pain but not large enough to kill immediately. In the Islamic penal code called Sharia the burden to prove guilt in a man is much more than with a woman. Thus women are punished more by their "transgressions" than men. Two women were stoned to death in Iran in 2001, one for adultery and the other for appearing in a pornographic movie. Cited in TIME Europe; Sept 2, 2002, p. 26-7
  

Women in Jordan

• Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code states, "He who discovers his wife or one of his female relatives has commited adultery and kills, wounds, or injures one or both of them, is exempted from any penalty." In December 2001 Articles 97 and 98 allow for a reduced sentence for crimes committed in a "fit of fury" related to the perceived loss of honor. Approximately 75% of such "honor" killings are committed by the brother of the victim. The average sentence for the murder is about 6 months. Attempts by International Human Rights groups to cancel or modify this law are charactarised as attempts to erode Arab morals and destroy families. 62% of Jordanians oppose amending this article.
• At least 50 women a year are imprisoned in Jordan on "honor" related cases. Most will be killed by their family if they are released. "Once imprisoned a woman can only be released to a male relative who must agree not to murder them. Regarless of assurances women are often murdered within hours after their discharge. In one particularly grisly incident, Fayaz Mohammed secured the release of his seventeen-year old daughter, Lamis, from a Jordanian Detention center. He guaranteed her safety and then slit her throat once she was released in his care. Fayaz was sentenced to nine months in prison for his crime. (The World and I, May 2003, p. 184-9)
  

Women in Muslim Kashmir

• A woman who leaves the house with her face uncovered runs the risk of having acid thrown in her face.
• A woman's virginity is considered the family's responsibility, especially the male members who will dominate her for her entire life, first her father, then her brothers, then her husband and finally her sons.
  

Women in Palestine

• Women are not allowed to travel alone. They are required to have a male relative accompany them if they leave the house. Unfortunately, her male "guardian" - father, brother, uncle or cousin - may also be her rapist. Should she become pregnant, he will publicly condemn for dishonoring the family and then kill her and the unborn child. In 2002, 17-year old Afaf Younes was killed by her father, who had allegedly been sexually molesting her. Afaf had tried to escape his sexual abuse by running away, but she was caught and returned to her father. He then shot her in the name of honor. (The World and I, May 2003, p. 191)
• Among Palestinians, all sexual encounters, including rape and incest are blamed on the woman. Men are presumed innocent; the women must have tempted him into raping her or enticed him into having an affair. Even if a woman survives a violent rape, she is condemned for her "mistake" and may be killed by her family. (The World and I, May 2003, p. 188)
• If a woman brings shame to her family, her male relatives are bound by duty and culture to kill her. "A woman shamed is like rotting flesh," according to one Palestinian merchant. "If it is not cut away, it will consume the body. What I mean is that the whole family will be tainted if she is not killed."
  

Women in Pakistan

• In law, the testimony of one man is equal to that of two women
• For a woman to prove rape, four adult males of "impeccable" character must witness the penetration according to the local interpretation of Shari'a or Islamic Law. As a result very, very few men are charged with rape.
• However, according to a CNN report in August 2002, 60% of women are charged with adultery in Pakistan if they are raped. The punishment for their "crime" is that the women are jailed or are forced to marry their rapist.
• As reported by BBC News, under Hudood, the Pakistani rape law, a woman must produce 4 male witnesses to her rape. If she cannot do this she can be charged with "zina", sex outside of marriage.
  

Women in Saudi Arabia

• Women are not allowed to drive automobiles or fly anywhere without the permission of their husband or senior male relative.
• Women can only work in complete segregation from men.
• "Honor killings" are widespread. A male relative can kill his female relative for such "offenses" as, allegations of premarital or extramarital sex, refusing an arranged marriage, attempting to obtain a divorce, or simply talking with a man.
  

Women in the Sudan

• "Honor killings" widespread in the Muslim areas of Northern Sudan.

If you know of any laws, teachings or cultural practices that violate women's rights in a country or region of the Muslim world please do not hesitate to let us know of them. It is only when the spotlight is on these abhorrent practices that there comes the impetus for change.

For the Blacks of Apartheid South Africa it was only when the spotlight of world attention was focused on them that things began to change. And so too shall it be for the women of Islam. Write to us and be sure to include as much detail as possible about the custom, religious teaching or law and the country or region where it is practiced.

And if you know of any positive developments in the Muslim world for women also let us know. Sometimes we need to have positive news about the status of Muslim women in the world so we can have hope. We are optimists at World Art Erotica!