In the 21st century, it may be very hard for a majority of us to imagine that there are some places in the world where women aren’t even given the same rights as a second-class citizen. We hear stories of the brutal treatment that is meted out to these women but we dare not imagine that it is a fate shared by all women of that country. Here are some of the worst countries where even today, being born a woman is a desire that is bested by the desire to be born an animal.
. Chad
Chad is a volatile place for anyone though women face the worst fate. They don’t have too many rights and whatever rights they do have, they aren’t given. Girls are young as 11 and 12 are forced or sold into arranged marriages, and rape, harassment and sexual abuse is as much a part of their lives as breathing is. What’s even worse is that these threats come not only from the men folk of their own community but also from members of the Chadian security forces, bandits and members of the opposition armed groups.
. Afghanistan
The American and British forces may have rid Afghanistan of Taliban to some extend but the remnants of the feudal and savage mentality they enforced remains. A country where women were wearing skirts, getting higher education and driving in the 1980s now sees women covered up from head to toe in hijab. Seeking an education in the country may get you killed by the hands of religious fanatics. Rape victims are forced to marry their attacker or killed. The country also has the highest maternal mortality rate on the planet.
. Democratic Republic of Congo
Women have been the biggest causality of the war that has already claimed more than 3 million lives in the country. Rape and physical abuse is rampant though lack of proper nutrition has caused around 60 percent women in the country to develop anemia. Women are also not permitted to sign any legal documents with the authorization of their husbands.
. Sudan
Sudan has done well to reform its laws that give its women more right and provide them with the protection they need. However, in western Sudan and in Darfur, more than a million women have lost their lives to forced displacement, rape or abduction.
. Saudi Arabia
You’d think that a country as rich and as committed to development as Saudi Arabia would be a heavenly place for women to live in. but the reality behind the glittering visage of the nation remains that women in the country have no rights and remain under the guardianship of a male relative through their lives. They cannot drive or socialize with men in public. Strict segregation is enforced and anyone who dares to break these rules is punished physically. The country also hands out punishments to rape victims.
. Mali
Mali is a place where being a woman is seen as something of a crime. Women are forced in marriage early and one in ten of these teen brides dies in childbirth. Female genital mutilation is also a standard practice in the country with no laws against it and few women escape it.
