The Incredible Courage of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East · Global Voices
This region is not hospitable to human rights
defenders in general and women are even more at risk in some of the most
dangerous countries in the world to speak your mind, such as Iraq,
where a critical comment can get you killed; or Syria,
where being a human rights defender means risking your life and
liberty; or Bahrain, where tearing a photo of the king could land you in
jail for seven years; or Saudi Arabia, where women have been arrested
for trying to drive; or Iran, where protesting about acid attacks on
women will incur punishment.
The crisis in Iraq and Syria has
made the wider Gulf region more unstable and the situation of women
human rights defenders even more dangerous, particularly with the rise
of the Islamic state group known as ISIS. As ISIS has spread across Iraq
and Syria, women have been murdered or even enslaved..
Zainab Al-Khawaja & her daughter Jude / Razan Zaitouneh
