I wrote this essay a while ago for a school assignment. We were asked to write a satirical essay discussing an issue, be it a light one or a serious one, in an ironic/satirical manner. I had no idea what to expect when I wrote this. I was encouraged by many of my peers to post this online or publish it, but I never really had the courage to do so. Due to recent events happening in the middle east, I have decided I have had enough and I had to speak out on this. I hope this essay gives you a voice. I hope this essay helps you. You are not alone.
Forget investing in better health care, a better education system, and strengthening our economies; our useful and extremely thoughtful leaders are busy paying millions to the western world and ignoring their people. Matter of fact, two-thirds of the Arab world have completely ignored half of our society (which, this may come as a shocker, also raises the other half). These two-thirds lack legislation on laws that protect women, such as laws against sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence, because, honestly, who cares? I don’t think there’s any need for these laws. According to UN Women, 37% of women in the Arab world have experienced some sort of domestic violence, which leaves the majority unharmed, right? So I think our leaders are completely valid in ignoring those 37% and instead focusing on being puppets to the privileged.
I need to point out that our leaders aren’t leaving out these laws because they don’t care about us as women; it’s because they care enough to be killing us. No need for ancient sentiments such as humanity, as we are not looked at as humans in the Arab world. 14% of our girls are being married off under 18 years of age, article 475 of the penal code in Morocco allows rapists to avoid prosecution if they marry their victims, (that law was only appealed in 2014), and the list goes on. Let’s not mention the honor killings which have been paid a great deal of attention by our leaders, since they care so much. A great number of countries (three, the great number is three) in the Arab world have abolished all laws that treat honor crimes leniently. What a progressed world.
I think governments should put a little more care into this issue, not to kill us further but to actually protect us, which may be a little hard to do for them considering the great number of three countries who have agreed to abolish laws that treat honor killings lightly. In my humble opinion, our leaders, which I shall stop referring to them as “our’’ as I do not want to associate myself with them, should look at us as human beings when pondering over laws to implement about issues that have to do with us, maybe even think of their mothers as they are implementing these laws. They should work on lowering the rates of domestic violence (37%), the rates of child brides (14%), and lowering the number of the 5000 women who are victims of honor killings annually. I also think that the two thirds of the countries that lack any form of legislation on sexual assault and domestic violence should implement some legislation. It seems to me that our ancestors would be proud, the ones who were living in the most advanced empires that existed in their time, when they look at our “empire” and how much more advanced we became.
I don’t want to hear anything about the victims who have suffered because of this society. Don’t talk to me about Israa el Ghrayeb, Ahlaam, or all the domestic violence victims who had to and are still suffering in silence unless I see some sort of reform happening. Their cases have been long overdue and I think it’s time we serve some justice to them. Finally, to “our” leaders who turn a blind eye to these crimes, the same ones who are busy being puppets of western leaders, you’re doing a fantastic job of being leaders for your countries. I hope that one day, these radical appeals and petitions will be taken seriously and the issues will be dealt with.
