10 Horrific Acts Against Women You Won't Believe Still Occur In The 21st Century
For all those who believe that women are finally reaching equality, think again. As difficult as it is to accept or understand, women are dehumanized in many parts of the world. Sexual, physical and mental abuses are still common ‘punishments’ for innocent women who just want to achieve equality among men.
In some parts of the world, a woman’s right to report allegations of abuse is outweighed by her husband’s right to control her. In Asia, 81% of women reported experiencing sexual domestic violence in the past year. The effort to end abuse against women must be brought to the forefront. Here are ten horrific acts of abuse that you won’t believe women are experiencing in the 21st century.
A woman’s husband chops her fingers off for pursuing a degree.
Hawa Akhtter, a 21-year-old young woman from Bangladesh, had her fingers chopped off by her husband for studying. Her husband warned that if she continued her studies, there would be ‘serious consequences.’ One day, Hawa’s husband told her he had a ‘surprise’ for her. He blindfolded her, sat her down, took her hand and chopped off all five of her fingers. Akhter says she will still continue her studies.
A woman was sentenced to jail after being raped by a co-worker for having 'extramarital' sex.
Marte Deborah Daley from Norway was on a business trip in Dubai, and she was raped by her co-worker on a trip to the Arab city and sentenced to jail upon reporting it. The police went as far as to ask Daley if she reported the incident as rape simply because the sex was unsatisfying. Under Arab law, rapists are only convicted if there are four adult Muslim male witnesses, or the attacker confesses (yeah, right).
18-year-old Afghan girl gets her nose and ears cut off for running away from her abusive in-laws.
In 2010, a young Afghan girl named Aisha chose to have her picture featured on the cover of TIME magazine, after her ears and nose had been cut off for escaping from in-laws who physically abused her. TIME made sure Aisha was in safe hiding before the issue was published. The Grossman Burn Foundation in California sponsored the young woman’s reconstructive surgery.
An American CBS Correspondent, Lara Logan, was sexually attacked and raped in Cairo.
Lara Logan was ripped away from her bodyguard and crew in Cairo, while covering 60 Minutes for CBS, during the time when the Cairo government fell. An estimated 200-300 men were involved in the attack in which they raped and beat Logan, an innocent American woman.
The forced procedure of female circumcision becomes more prevalent.
In parts of the world including Asia, Africa and even Britain, women are forced to have their Labia and Clitoris cut off and their vagina is sewn together, only to allow them to go to the bathroom.
A young Pakistani girl was shot by the Taliban for her women’s rights campaign.
Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban on her school bus. The brave young girl still continues to speak up for women’s rights. Malala spoke at the UN on her 16th birthday, urging women to pursue an education.
A Yemeni girl runs away from home after being forced into marriage at age 11.
Nada al-Ahdal, a brave young girl from Yemen, ran away from her family when they forced her to get married at age 11. She decided to run away because of her aunt, who had doused herself in gasoline and ignited her own body, killing herself after her arranged married at the age of 13.
A 15-year-old Afghan bride was beaten by her husband and in-laws for refusing to become a prostitute.
Sahar Gul’s husband and in-laws burned and beat her, including pulling out her fingernails, after she refused to sell her body for prostitution. Afterwards, the husband and in-laws locked Sahar in a toilet room for six months before being rescued by police. The men were released early from prison.
A 17-year-old girl was gang-raped and beaten in South Africa.
Anene Booysen was brutally gang-raped outside of government subsidized housing in the Western Cape of South Africa. The rapists also punched her repeatedly in the face and cut her vagina open. Booysen was rushed to the hospital where she died shortly after.
A woman was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in Sudan and held in jail with her 6-month baby.
In an attempt to ‘100 percent follow’ the Islamic Constitution, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan is cracking down on the law. In response to this, Laila Ibrahim Issa (23) was sentenced to death by stoning and held in jail with her 6-month-old child to await her death. The conviction was based on her confession of adultery and the fact that she couldn’t afford a lawyer.
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