The Real Roots of Sexism in the Middle East (It's Not Islam, Race, or 'Hate')

This article, written by Max Fisher, appeared on the Atlantic on April 25,2012

Picture a woman in the Middle East, and probably the first thing that comes into your mind will be the hijab. You might not even envision a face, just the black shroud of the burqa or the niqab. Women's rights in the mostly Arab countries of the region are among the worst in the world, but it's more than that. As Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy writes in a provocative cover story for Foreign Policy, misogyny has become so endemic to Arab societies that it's not just a war on women, it's a destructive force tearing apart Arab economies and societies. But why? How did misogyny become so deeply ingrained in the Arab world?

READ MORE AT The Atlantic

*Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons