Arab Muslim Women Being Sexually Harassed in Their Own Nations

This is not just something that happens in the United States and elsewhere in the western world: a woman walks down the street past a group of male workers, who whistle at her and even try to reach out to touch her. In this case, it is happening in Cairo and other Middle Eastern nations where the majority religion is Muslim. Even though Islamic laws exhort women to wear modest clothing and the hijab, men are still trying to get away with leering at and touching the women which in our society would be considered unwelcome, non-consensual touching. The attention is so bad that some women have decided not to go into public at all but rather stay at home where they do not face such harassment. To compound the problem, some men have even complained how women have managed to enter the workplace and take away jobs intended for other men. Which brings to mind a personal experience of mine when I lived in Arizona: I worked at a job where a co-worker, a male, made the comment that women have made their way into the workplace and made it hard for men to get jobs that men were supposed to do, namely, janitorial work. Of course, there are plenty of women in housekeeping whether it is at a hotel or business office, so this man's comment was nonsensical at best.

In the Middle East, however, complaints about women going out in public seem to absolve the men of their own actions, since women are an appropriate scapegoat for such actions. In the western world, it is called blaming the victim and is considered to be unacceptable by most people in our society.

Even though sexual harassment is against the law in Middle Eastern nations, that still does not protect the women from being stalked, touched, or receiving unwanted advances. The men may feel threatened by the growing presence of women in the workplace, but if they do, then that is a sign of esteem issues the men have, and not necessarily on account of the women. Of course, it is not just Middle Eastern men who are like that, since there are also plenty of men in America who have the same issues.

The solution to the problem is to have the present laws enforced in these nations. Egypt is considered to be more modern compared to Saudi Arabia in terms of cultural development. Yemen has the same level of harassment, yet the women there wear the full aabiya which covers the entire head and body. Alongside of legal enforcement, education is the key to reducing sexual harassment. Better educated men will be less likely to treat women in such a manner and make society safer for women to move about in.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_arabs_sexual_harassment