I'll get yelled at, for sure, if I do not devote some tour time to Israel. Which seems funny since the whole opening post of the thread is about "...Women in the Muslim World". Israel has not entirely embraced that particular — honour. The opening post is also about how much it sucks to be a woman in America compared to how joyously wonderful it is to be a woman in the Muslim World. The words "what" and "ever" come to mind. As one would expect, it's not all wine and roses, which is true of all countries. But since it sucks so much America according to our thread founder, and I'll get yelled at for not including Israel in a thread about "Women In the Muslim World", let's check it out in ol' downtown Tel Aviv: state.gov
"The law prohibits domestic violence; however, violence against women is a problem, despite the steps taken by the Government and other organizations to reduce violence against women in Jewish and Arab communities.
Government funding to combat such violence increased significantly in 1998 but has remained level since. In 1998 the Government appointed a commission to address the subject of domestic violence; on the basis of the commission's recommendations, the Government allotted a supplementary budget allocation to combat domestic violence during this year. Funds went to fund crisis center projects, victim support programs, and education programs. Groups that focus on domestic violence include a committee established by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs that includes Jewish and Arab NGO's as well as government representatives, and a coalition of human rights organizations; however, women's rights activists reported that most of the groups are funded privately.
The Government provides partial funding for 12 shelters for battered women, including 1 exclusively for Arab women and 1 for ultra-Orthodox Jewish women. Women's rights advocates consider this number inadequate. The Government also provides funding for 13 rape crisis centers. There are approximately 10 hot lines and 25 domestic violence prevention and treatment centers, which mainly are funded privately."
"Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that Jewish religious extremists attacked physically women whom they considered to be dressed immodestly in public."
"Trafficking in women has become a significant problem in recent years. According to recent studies, every year hundreds of women from the former Soviet Union are trafficked to Israel by well-organized criminal networks to work as prostitutes (see Section 6.f.)." (Hey, this must be the mysterious 60 Minutes stuff I'm supposed to have seen live on the Internet!)
Hmmm... here's rough spot. What Court does that come from, Bob? Well Johnny, it's frommmmm the "Amalgamated United Islamic Court of How Much It sssSSuckks in Americkkkaaa" (runners-up get Solomonsonite luggage): "Some Islamic law courts in the country have held that Muslim women may not request a divorce, but that women may be forced to consent if a divorce is granted to a man."
Okay, so there's some equal time about how much it sucks in America, the topic of this thread (even though this tour portion was brought to you by the fine folks at Mishugane Bros. Produce and Optometrists). Where do we go next? |
