Fact can sometimes be stranger than fiction. At least that is what we learn from the official statement of the UN Committee on the Status of Women, which convened to examine the status of women across the globe. The committee is responsible for an issue of unrivalled importance—the repression and abuse of women across the world, mostly in non-western countries. However, when the committee convened and delivered its conclusions, it was impossible not to be startled by the incredible gap between what is happening in the world and the situation as the committee sees it. Out of all the UN member countries, the committee deemed it appropriate to accuse only one country of violating women’s rights and to call for measures to be taken against it. That country is Israel. Forty of the 42 member states of the committee that participated in the debate were in favor of singling out Israel as the only country in the world today found in violation of women’s rights, to be more precise, Palestinian women’s rights… Judging by the conclusions of the UN Committee on the Status of Women, millions of women across the Muslim world, Africa, the Far East, and elsewhere do not suffer from officially sanctioned discrimination, discrimination with regard to inheritance, division of property, abuse by marriage and divorce laws, forced female circumcision, in fact they aren’t suffering one tiny bit. At any rate, not in a way that is worthy of the UN General Assembly’s attention. Ask Iran, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China, and other countries famous for their liberal policies towards women—they are all committee members. Israel is the only country where women suffer from discrimination. In Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, it’s not like that at all. The women there are free—to walk around behind a veil, to be beaten by their husband if they refuse to have sex with him, to leave the house only if he allows it. So to avoid throwing accusations around, here is a short survey of the status of women in the above countries so we can see how marvelous women’s personal circumstances are and how much they don’t need the attention of the UN committee on the status of women. http://cicisrael.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1668