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Women face a lot of horrendous things throughout their life. Mainly in India and Pakistan, brides are being killed/abused by their husband because the family cannot pay for her dowry. The brides are literally set on fire with kerosene and are left to die or fend for their life. Some women are lucky enough to live from such a horrible situation but have to live in shame for what has happened. The attached video, "Indian Bride Burning " is a video that compares the Holocaust to Bride Burning and it shows that they are basically one in the same by taking away peoples rights. The video also shows that we should support the cause to stop bride burning because it is not okay.

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In this sad image it shows that a Bride is being burned alive because of the dowry system. The dowry system would be the bride's family gives money or valuable items to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage. If that stipulation is not met the husband throws kerosene on the bride and sets her on fire resulting death or a very painful way of living life with the aftermath of destroyed self-esteem.

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This has to be one of the most despicable acts a person could do. Honor Killings are acts of violence which most likely leads to death by a male family member towards a female family member because he believes that she has brought dishonor upon the family. The article attached is a heart-breaking story about a brother who killed his sister because she married a christian man and she would not "listen" to her brother when he told her to end the relationship therefore he shot her in her head with a gun. The sad thing is that this is a norm for some cultures and it should not be allowed.

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"Honor killings" persist in Pakistan. Almost always, the victim is a woman; the killer a man. The woman's offense is invariably refusing to bend to the will of her family.

"She is a sister who falls in love with a man not of her family's choosing," as t he AP's Kathy Gannon wrote in a remarkable story this week. "She is a daughter who refuses to agree to an arranged marriage, sometimes to a man old enough to be her father. She is a wife who can no longer stay in an abusive marriage and divorces her husband."

Though honor killings "seem like a relic of a far-ago time," as The Washington Post's Jessica Contrera wrote in July, in a story about the strangling death of a Pakistani social media star at the hands of her brother, they "are still rampant" in Pakistan. "An estimated 1,000 Pakistani women are killed this way every year," wrote Contrera," citing, among other recent killings, a father who lit his daughter on fire because she eloped and a 19-year-old schoolteacher burned alive for refusing to marry a man twice her age.

But rarely do those accused of committing such crimes, and those urging them on, talk to a reporter so openly as Mubeen Rajhu did in an interview with Gannon in September from behind bars, as he discussed how he shot his sister to death because she defied her family and married a man who had been a Christian.

Gannon, a prizewinning veteran foreign correspondent, has just returned to work after recovering from an April 2014 attack by an Afghan policeman while she was on assignment near Khost in eastern Afghanistan. Gannon took six bullets in her arm and has yet to recover full use, she said in an interview with The Post.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer accompanying her, Anja Niedringhaus, died in the attack.

[Journalists pay tribute to their AP colleagues who were shot in Afghanistan]

But that has not deterred Gannon from continuing her persistent reporting on honor killings.

Mubeen Rajhu's sister, Tasleem, was only 18 when she fell in love with a Christian man. He loved her too, so much so that he was willing to, and in fact did, convert to Islam in hopes that he could marry her.

In the meantime, the two were seen in public by co-workers of Rajhu at a steel mill where he worked in Lahore. They taunted him mercilessly.

Gannon visited the mill. Going from worker to worker, she managed to find those who had worked with Rajhu.

"They would say, 'Can't you do anything? What is the matter with you? You are not a man,'" Ali Raza, a co-worker told Gannon. "The guys here told him . . . 'It would be better to kill your sister. It is better than letting her have this relationship.'"

Rajhu pleaded with his sister.

"I told her I would have no face to show at the mill, to show to my neighbors," he told Gannon, "so don't do it. Don't do it. But she wouldn't listen."

One day, she and a younger brother slipped out of the house, saying they were going to buy some medicine. Instead, they went to court, where he served as a witness to her marriage with the former Christian.

Because they had been gone from the home a long time, Rajhu got suspicious and beat his brother until he confessed to what he, and she, had done.

Despite all this, the newlyweds returned to her parents home with the hope that they would find acceptance.

Instead, Rajhu walked up to her and put a bullet in her head.

Gannon, in an interview, said that while honor killings are still tolerated and even accepted by many in Pakistan, some younger people in particular are beginning to harbor reservations about them.

Such was the case with a local police superintendent, who allowed Gannon and a videographer to visit Rajhu in jail and talk with him alone for several hours.

He said he loved his sister. And he had urged her not to defy the family's wishes. And she had sworn on the Koran that she would not.

"I could not let it go," he told Gannon from his jail cell. "It was all I could think about. I had to kill her. There was no choice."

As her story reported:

On Aug. 14, Rajhu got his gun. Tasleem was sitting with her mother and her sister on the cracked concrete floor of their family kitchen.

"There was no yelling, no shouting," he says. "I just shot her dead . . .

"If it was the devil in my head such a thing could not be forgiven. I was left with no option."

Gannon said of her interview with Rajhu: "At times he was calm. At one point, I thought maybe he was going to cry, when he was talking about her as a child. But then he's talking about the guys at the mill. And her swearing on the Koran. And then he's getting angry. And then it's like 'what else could I do.'"

Gannon tracked down the family's neighbors.

Many agreed that he had "done the right thing."

"I am proud of this man," said one. "He has done the right thing to kill her. When the news spreads they will praise this man."

Said another, Babar Ali: "I am proud of this man that he has done the right thing, to kill her. We cannot allow anyone to marry outside our religion. He did the right thing."

As for the father, Gannon said, he was the most reluctant to talk of all. When she showed up at his doorstep, he was preparing to leave Lahore for the village from whence he had come. He told Gannon his big regret was no longer having the small amount of money Rajhu brought in from his job and the notoriety, now, of his son and the family.

He had this to say: "My family is destroyed. Everything is destroyed only because of this shameful girl. Even after death I am destroyed because of her."

You can read Kathy Gannon's story in full here.

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'She wouldn't listen': A wrenching story of an 'honor killing' in Pakistan

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After a local police superintendent in Pakistan allowed AP reporter Kathy Gannon to sit with Mubeen Rajhu in jail and interview him, she produced a remarkable glimpse into the mind of an "honor killer" and those who egged on Rajhu.

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Qandeel Baloch was a model from Pakistan. She became famous off of a show called "Pakistan Idol." She used her fame to empower women and girls. Unfortunately, her brother killed her in the name of Honor. He told the police he did it for "honor." Attatched is a photo of the posters at a protest for Qandeel Baloch.

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In many third world countires Women are treated very poorly. Men, judges, police and anyone of authority do not care to hear what they say. For example, in Pakistan women are not allowed to use DNA evidence to prove their rape cases. Another example would be Saudi Arabia finally letting women start driving as of 2017. Yes it is a step closer to hearing out what a women has to say but I find it ridiculous that women are not taken as seriously as men. As a woman, I find it extremely offensive that a simple thing such as driving as a female was not allowed up until a year ago.

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A woman behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia in 2013. The kingdom said on Tuesday that women would be allowed to drive starting in June. Credit... Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters

Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that it would allow women to drive, ending a longstanding policy that has become a global symbol of the oppression of women in the ultraconservative kingdom.

The change, which will take effect in June 2018, was announced in a royal decree read live on state television and in a simultaneous media event in Washington. The decision highlights the damage that the ban on women driving has done to the kingdom's international reputation and its hopes for a public relations benefit from the reform.

Saudi leaders also hope the new policy will help the economy by increasing women's participation in the workplace. Many working Saudi women spend much of their salaries on drivers or must be driven to work by male relatives.

"It is amazing," said Fawziah al-Bakr, a Saudi university professor who was among 47 women who participated in the kingdom's first protest against the ban - in 1990. After driving around the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the women were arrested and some lost their jobs.

"Since that day, Saudi women have been asking for the right to drive, and finally it arrived," she said by phone. "We have been waiting for a very long time."

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, is an absolute monarchy ruled according to Shariah law. Saudi officials and clerics have provided numerous explanations for the ban over the years.

Some said that it was inappropriate in Saudi culture for women to drive, or that male drivers would not know how to handle having women in cars next to them. Others argued that allowing women to drive would lead to promiscuity and the collapse of the Saudi family. One cleric claimed - with no evidence - that driving harmed women's ovaries.

Rights groups and Saudi activists have long campaigned for the ban to be overturned, and some women have been arrested and jailed for defying the prohibition and taking the wheel.

In 2014, Loujain Hathloul was arrested after trying to cross the border from the United Arab Emirates into Saudi Arabia and detained for 73 days.

Ms. Hathloul tweeted a simple reaction to the news: "Thank god."

The ban has long marred the image of Saudi Arabia, even among its closest allies, like the United States, whose officials sometimes chafed at a policy shared only by the jihadists of the Islamic State and the Taliban.

The decision won near universal praise in Washington. Heather Nauert, the State Department's spokeswoman, called it "a great step in the right direction for that country."

The momentum to change the policy picked up in recent years with the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's 32-year-old son, who has laid out a far-reaching plan to overhaul the kingdom's economy and society.

Increasing numbers of women are working in a growing number of professions, and in 2015, women were allowed to vote and to run for seats on the kingdom's local councils.

Ending the ban on women driving is expected to face some resistance inside the kingdom, where families are highly patriarchal and some men say they worry about their female relatives getting stranded should their cars break down.

But in a small news conference at the Saudi embassy in Washington, an exuberant Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador, said women would be able to obtain driver's licenses without having to ask permission of their husbands, fathers or any male guardian - despite so-called "guardianship" laws that give men power over their female relatives.

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transcript

'Ladies First': Saudi Arabia's Female Candidates

In this documentary, The Times takes us into the largely inaccessible world of Saudi women by profiling three women running for public office, including Loujain al-Hathloul, in the first Saudi election open to female candidates.

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In this documentary, The Times takes us into the largely inaccessible world of Saudi women by profiling three women running for public office, including Loujain al-Hathloul, in the first Saudi election open to female candidates. Credit Credit... Yousur Al-Hlou for The New York Times

Under these laws, women cannot travel abroad, work or undergo some medical procedures without the consent of their male "guardian," often a father, a husband or even a son. While the enforcement of guardianship laws has loosened in recent years, there is little to stop Saudi men from greatly limiting the movements of their wives or daughters.

The ambassador, who is a son of the king, said that women would be able to drive alone but that the Interior Ministry would decide whether they could work as professional drivers.

He said he did not expect the change in policy to face significant resistance.

"I think our society is ready," he said.

That remains an open question. Many Saudis remain deeply conservative, and social strictures like the driving ban have been reinforced over the years by the kingdom's top clerics, many of them on the government payroll.

But there was little public dissent on Tuesday, likely because the Saudi government often exerts pressure on prominent voices to make sure they either back the government line or keep quiet. In recent weeks it has arrested more than two dozens clerics, academics and others, accusing them of being foreign-funded dissidents.

After the change on the driving ban was announced, an anonymous text circulated through What's App in the kingdom calling on the "virtuous ones" to work against its implementation, to protect against epidemics, adultery and other disasters.

At the news conference, the ambassador insisted that the decision would not be reversed or seriously opposed.

Beyond the effects it could have on Saudi Arabia's image abroad, letting women drive could help the Saudi economy.

Low oil prices have limited the government jobs that many Saudis have long relied on, and the kingdom is trying to push more citizens, including women, into private sector employment. But some working Saudi women say hiring private drivers to get them to and from work eats up much of their pay, diminishing the incentive to work.

In recent years, many women have come to rely on ride-sharing apps like Uber and Careem to gain some freedom of movement.

Many of the kingdom's professionals and young people will welcome the change, viewing it as a step to making life in the country a bit more like life elsewhere.

Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi women's rights advocate who filmed herself driving in 2011 and posted the footage to YouTube to protest the law, celebrated the announcement on Tuesday.

Ms. Sharif was instrumental in organizing groups of women for collective protests to demand an end to the ban on female drivers. She was arrested at the time for taking part in the actions, and later wrote a book about her experience. She now lives in Australia.

But despite celebrating the success for female drivers, she said the next campaign would be to end guardianship laws.

The royal decree, read by an announcer of state television and signed by King Salman, said traffic laws would be amended, including to allow the government to issue driver's licenses "to men and women alike."

The decree said a high-level ministerial committee was being formed to study other issues that needed to be addressed for the change to take place. For example, the police will have to be trained to interact with women in a way that they rarely do in Saudi Arabia, a society where men and women who are not related have little contact.

The committee has 30 days to provide its recommendations, the decree said, so that the new policy can be carried out starting on June 24, 2018.

The decree said that the majority of the Council of Senior Scholars - the kingdom's top clerical body, whose members are appointed by the king - had agreed that the government could allow women to drive if done in accordance with Shariah law.

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Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that it would allow women to drive, ending a longstanding policy that has become a global symbol of the oppression of women in the ultraconservative kingdom. The change, which will take effect in June 2018, was announced in a royal decree read live on state television and in a simultaneous media event in Washington.

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In this video, it shows many issues ranging from education, sexual assault, and even unsafe pregnancies that affect females in developing countries. Many women in developing countries do not have the tools or knowledge to stand up for themselves and take care of themselves in a safe healthy manner. This video makes you aware of many injustices women have to face. I think it is unfair and these women do not deserve to be in such dire situations.

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Issues Affecting Women In Developing Countries

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In North America, we do not have a serious problem with Bride Burnings, Honor Killings, and the fact that women are not credible. I am not saying that it does not happen here because it does happen here, but we take it very seriously and serious consequences are put in place when violence, death or injustice is happening. It is not a social norm. Taking someones life on purpose, or intentionally hurting someone on purpose is taken very seriously in North America therefore that type of violence is not heard of as much here. We do not put dowry's on our brides or throw acid on their face because you do not want to be married to them anymore. We do not kill our female family members when they have shamed the family, and we definitely let women have a say in which path they would like their life to go on whether it be schooling or marriage. In the article I have attached it shows the rights women have country-by-country. For example, if a women was to get raped in Bangladesh she does not have the right to get an abortion whereas in North America you may have the choice to have an abortion whether its for mental purposes or any reason you feel.

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Which countries have laws preventing violence? Which legislate for gender equality? And which countries allow abortion? Using World Bank and UN data we offer a snapshot of women's rights across the globe. Select a region and hover over a country to see how it has legislated for violence, harassment, abortion, property and employment rights, discrimination and equality. Click on a country to tweet a message on the figures. Country data can be viewed in relation to its population size and those of its neighbouring states. Click the centre of the circle to return to the beginning

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Women's rights country by country - interactive

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Which countries have laws preventing violence? Which legislate for gender equality? And which countries allow abortion? Using World Bank and UN data we offer a snapshot of women's rights across the globe. Select a region and hover over a country to see how it has legislated for violence, harassment, abortion, property and employment rights, discrimination and equality.

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Bride burning, Honour Killings and other Injustices Performed by Families

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Broadly (2018). Protests Erupt over Honor Killing of 'Pakistan's Kim Kardashian' Qandeel Baloch. 11/29/2018 Retrieved from https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/vv55jb/qandeel-baloch-pakistan-kim-kardashian-honor-killing-protests

The Guardian (2018). Women's rights country by country – interactive. 11/29/2018 Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2014/feb/04/womens-rights-country-by-country-interactive

The New York Times (2018). Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive.11/29/2018 Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html

The Washington Post (2018). ‘She wouldn’t listen’: A wrenching story of an ‘honor killing’ in Pakistan. 11/29/2018 Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/05/she-wouldnt-listen-pakistani-man-explains-honor-killing-of-sister/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8a27bb768a16