Want to Learn From Yemen on Anti-Rape Law?

In the age of Facebook Warriors and Facebook Celebrities all around, where success is measured by the number of likes one receives, “Truth” takes the back seat. This phenomenon was evident the moment I saw a number of my friends sharing a status update of some HR recruiter (who are famous for such publicity stunts in order to reach out to more people). Here goes the status with the image:

The response was phenomenal. The image and the “message” got 200+ “shares” and 40+ “likes”. This made me curious about “Yemen”. Is it really such a great nation when it comes to women’s rights, that India should emulate it?

I read the following in a quick web search and I was shocked at their records:

    

1. Yemen is ranked last of 135 countries in the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report [1] [3]
2. Human Rights Watch reported on discrimination and violence against women as well as on the abolition of the minimum marriage age of fifteen for women. The onset of puberty (interpreted by some to be as low as the age of nine) was set as a requirement for marriage instead. [2] [3]
3. Yemeni parliament only has one female lawmaker. [4] [5]
4. Women in Yemen cannot marry a non-Yemeni without approval form both her family and the state. [4] [5]
5. Yemeni men have the right to divorce their wives at any time without justification, a woman on the other hand must go through a process of litigation in which they justify their reason for nullifying the marriage contract. [4][5]
6. Before the court, a women is considered only half a person, that is it takes “the testimony of two women” to equal “the testimony of one man.” [4] [5]
7. Yemen is a country where female genital mutilation (FGM) remains an issue, even after being banned by the Ministry of Public health. In addition, many women are forced to marry at a young age, made possible by state policies, which gives the family the control over whether or not a girl marries and when. [5]
8. Yemen has one of the worst records of child marriage in the world, with UNICEF recording in 2005 that 48.4% of Yemeni women currently aged 20–24 had been married before they were 18 (and 14% before the age of 15). [6] [7]
9. In 2005, Yemen ranked 136th of 167 nations in terms of press freedom. [7] [8]

References are here (I mainly took the points from Wikipedia articles mentioned below and yet have mentioned the original sources also):

[1] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2012.pdf

[2] World Report 2001 on Yemen". Hrw.org. Retrieved 2013-02-22

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen

[4] Basha, Amal. “Yemen.” In Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice, edited by Sameena Nazir and Leigh Tomppert. Oxford: Freedom House, 2005.

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Yemen

[6] http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_26024.html

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Yemen

[8] Reporters Without Borders: 2005 Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index accessed 8-8-2006

I think it is clear the amount of our understanding of Islamic nations is pathetic. And this is why we appreciate their brutal methods of punishment, as if these were nice things worth emulating by us. We do not need to ape animals in order to become civilized. We have our own law in India and the problem lies in its enforcement and to make laws more effective and quick implementation! In no way I am undermining the need to have strict laws, but I am of the opinion that surety of punishment rather than brutality of the punishment methods can come better at reducing the crime rates! Crime against women is one of the worst forms of crimes and we should have more women-friendly police stations and faster proceedings to help reduce the crime rates.

But I think next time you meet some Facebook Celebrity sharing some brutal violent image as a “prescription” for ills in India, do think about doing a little research. It may be that in our generation of fast food and shallow opinions we may be appreciating the very demon we should be fighting against! Just like Yemen’s women’s rights!

Note: Views are personal and do not represent views of any organization associated with the author. [Detailed disclaimer]