Yesterday I posted the ten best places to be a woman, today sadly I’m looking at the reverse, the worst places to be a woman. There is a common thread amongst these countries and in general one can tie it to literacy rates, although this is really only a symptom of the problem. Often low literacy rates are as a result of other societal and cultural norms. In many of these countries women are often brutally raped and in some cases even for men’s crimes. To avoid such violence women often remain in their homes and therefore lack opportunities for education, income and ultimately independence.
Here’s the list:
Afghanistan
The average life span of a man is 46 and for a woman is 45. Both are horrible statistics.
Literacy rates here are low for both men and women, however women have a staggeringly low 28% of male literacy rate.
Extremely high levels of domestic violence admitted by 87% of women.
Republic of Congo
As a result of the ongoing political turmoil, brutal rape has become systematic.
Iraq
Literacy rates here were at one point amongst the highest in the Arab region are now amongst the lowest. Women and children are forced to stay at home in order to reduce risk of kidnapping and rape.
Nepal
One in 24 women will die in pregnancy or child birth, often a result of young pregnancy and poor nutrition. Girls are married young and those who are not are frequently sold to traffickers before they become teens.
Read the Pangea Collection story about the Fair Trade organisation who helps women in Nepal, providing them with shelter, education, employment and healthcare.
Sudan
Rape and abduction are common place.
Unfortunately there are more countries for which women’s lives are significantly worse than men’s including, Guatemala, Mali, Tribal border areas of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
Source: The Toronto Star, March 8th, 2008, Ten Worst Countries for Women.
