Women in Tunisia

Tunisia is the former colony of France and women were always veiled, uneducated and subjected to the domestic duties required by husbands and fathers.With the publication of Code of Personal Status in 1956, a new wind blows in Tunisia. In fact, they start talking about the abolition of polygamy, repudiation, forced marriage.

Dramatics conditions of women on this country have also pushed in 1993 to the emergence of the feminist movement. The movements claim equality between gender which women wouldn't more subjected to their husbands.

Tunisian women protest to demand equality 

Despite repeated willingness to change, nowadays, women's rights remain an open question. Bear witness to numerous protest movements and daily struggle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Tunisia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19253289

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x-dsibXl3o

Domestic violence in Cameroon

     In Cameroon, the women are always considered as inferior. She has a second role, she can not take high position in the society, she can have only domestic occupation. Domestic occupation means the widespread violence. The husband has the "right" to chastise his wife and he wife cannot oppose any resistance because she "deserves" the punishment.
    But, the Cameroon has signed international convention defending women rights. That is why, recently, he receive some recommendation by the United Nation.
Fortunately, there are also some NGO defending women right. These NGO are working despite the fact that they have not basic training and knowledge of women's issues and international human rights documents beyond the Universale Declaration of Humen Rights.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztYcKgzvEAU

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iwraw/publications/countries/cameroon.htm

The status of women in Cameroon

Most violence against women takes place in the within the private sphere.
State responsibility arising out of acts by private individuals lies at the
heart of the gender-interpretation of the Convention against Torture. A
growing body of international human rights law has recognised State
responsibility for private acts when the state fails to exercise due diligence
in preventing, investigating, prosecuting, punishing and repairing human
rights violations. While it is obvious that not all violence against women
can be qualified as torture within the meaning of the Convention against
Torture, the mere fact that the perpetrator is a private individual rather
than a state official should not automatically lead to the exclusion of the
violence from the scope of the Convention against Torture as according to
its article 1, torture means not only acts of sever pain and suffering by the
a public official, but also at the instigation of or with the consent or acqui-
escence of a public official or other person acting in the official capacity.
Depending on the severity of the violence and the circumstances giving
rise to State responsibility, OMCT believes that violence against women
perpetrated by private individuals can constitute a form of torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment.

Women in Cambodgia

Cambodia is a country emerging from conflict. The past decade has seen the government, civil society and international agencies work hard to advance the well being of Cambodians. However, women continue to face serious challenges. Many of women’s most pressing concerns in Cambodia relate to poverty and its impact on women. Frequent pregnancies and a high rate of maternal mortality are problems, and women’s difficulties accessing education and skills training are also obstacles to advancement. Women’s illiteracy hovers around 80%, while men’s is estimated to be about 40%. Domestic violence, though thought to be underreported, is widespread. Physical violence and economic hardship make women vulnerable to trafficking and exploitative prostitution. As both a receiving and sending country, Cambodia is a major centre in the regional sex trade.

In the recent past, Cambodia was a traditional society where women had a particular and defined role with a limited social life. There are various traditional codes of conduct for women as described in proverbs, folktales and novels on how women should behave. Here are some examples:

“Another flame is your husband who you stay with forever. You should serve well, don’t make him disappointed. Forgive him in the name of women, don’t speak in the way you consider him as equal. No matter what happen, we have to wait, to listen with the bad word (even if he say something bad you have to listen)”.

“Women are supposed to stay at home, and always behave quietly and sweetly,” otherwise it will bring bad luck to family.

Moreover, a famous proverb continually practiced in Cambodia says: ”A man is gold; a woman is a white piece of cloth.” When dropped into mud, piece of cloth never regains its purity regardless how often it is washed; however, the gold can be cleaned and it will always shine.

Education or schooling was never a priority for girls. This explains the lower rate of women’s participation in today’s labor market, on the other hand the illegal work is in bloom. It was considered useless or unnecessary to send the girls to school. There is a belief that girls should not learn much otherwise they will write love letters to boys or men. It was also believed that a woman’s duty was to stay home and treat her husband properly; there was no need to learn. These believes stemmed from an old proverb saying: "Women cannot do anything beside household work.”

From the above statements, we clearly see what is the Cambodgians widespread perception of woman: women don’t need education because sooner or later will come housewives, their duty is to be submissive to their husband and to serve him no matter what, anytime and anywhere. My question is: do you relate to this? Or do you believe that denying women to exercise their right of learning is  a measure taken by men who wants to feel that they are superior and thus aim to control them more easily?

source:Youtube

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html

http://www.unwomen-eseasia.org/projects/Cedaw/countryprogramme_cambodia.html

http://futurechallenges.org/local/women%E2%80%99s-rights-in-cambodia-breaking-up-with-old-traditions/