International Women’s Day is this Sunday, and we’re celebrating International Women’s Week here at GOAT because why not? As much as there is to celebrate about being a woman in today’s world, there is also sadly a lot that really isn’t so great, and nothing exemplifies that more than some of the sexist laws that we still follow.
2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Women, when 189 governments pledged to get rid of all the sexist laws in their countries. 25 years on, here are some of the very real laws that are still in place around the world that need to be spoken about.
CW: Sexual assault, domestic violence
Women Are Banned From Some Jobs
There are 104 countries that don’t give women the same job options as men. These laws differ from country to country, but generally any job that’s seen as “strenuous” or involved working at night won’t be open to women.
Women Can Be Raped By Their Husbands
There are 10 countries in which forcing your wife to have sex with you is totally legal. In four of those countries, it’s still legal if your wife is a child. In Ghanian law, “consent given by husband or wife at marriage, for the purposes of marriage, cannot be revoked.”
Women Can Be Beaten
In 46 countries, there aren’t any laws that protect women from domestic violence. In Nigeria, she can be beaten as much and for as long as her partner likes, “for the purpose of correcting” her. As long as the man doesn’t cause “grievous bodily harm,” he’s good to go.
Men Can Inherit Twice As Much As Women
In Tunisia, there is a law stating that “where there are any sons, the male inherits twice as much as the female.” Cause you know, men are twice as valuable as women. A bill has been introduced to parliament to repeal this law, but it hasn’t passed yet.
A Woman Can Be Refused An Abortion
What is often a life saving procedure for a woman is an illegal practice in a lot of countries, because a fetus is considered more valuable than an adult woman. Legislators in Ohio have gone so far as to order doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancies’ or be charged with murder. It’s impossible to reimplant and ectopic pregnancy, by the way.
A Woman’s Whole Life Can Be Controlled By Men
Saudi Arabian women might be able to drive these days, but they still live under the male guardian system. From the day they’re born, every detail of women’s lives are controlled by their fathers, and then their husbands, and sometimes even brothers or sons.
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