I believe you are taking a generalist standpoint when saying this. You are referring to a few select extremely conservative countries that are generally of the Muslim faith. I also believe you are down playing some of the abuse women have been through in the US. But if you take a closer look at some of these countries you are thinking of you will find that women have more freedom than you might think.

It isn't all bleak.


In Morocco, a new family law makes it easier for women to get a divorce, keep custody of their children following a divorce, and puts restrictions on polygamy.


Two businesswomen in Saudi Arabia won election to the chamber of commerce.


Women hold about 20 percent of the seats in Iraq's national assembly and in Afghanistan's parliament--that's a higher percentage than in the U.S. Congress.


Some of the greatest gains have been made in education. In 2002-2003, over 50 percent of those students admitted to universities in Iran were women while women comprise two-thirds of the university-level students in Kuwait.


Another very encouraging sign is that a 2002 survey of social attitudes carried out in seven Arab countries by the U.S. company Zogby International, found that half of respondents considered the improvement of women's rights to be a high priority. Significantly, the firmest support for change came from Saudi Arabia, the country that needs it most.

While I won't argue that more improvements need to made for woman's rights in the Middle East, I will say that some of these places are improving greatly and are on the right path. You simply can't expect change overnight, it didn't happen in the US and it won't happen anywhere else. Most people who believe in this idea that women are treated worse than house pets get this idea from one country, Saudi Arabia.

On the flip side, one of the worst countries to be a woman in is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Which 80 percent of the population is Christian. In eastern Congo, the prevalence and intensity of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. A 2006 report by the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights prepared for that committee provides a broad overview of issues confronting women in the DRC in law and in daily life. They have been raped during warfare and kept as slaves for soldiers. When the women are released, most killed themselves or checked into a hospital where they would die.

So is this rogue Christian nation a basis of opinion for all Christians? Of course not!

Nepal is also a very brutal country for women to live in. Early marriage and childbirth exhaust the country's malnourished women, and one in 24 will die in pregnancy or childbirth. Daughters who aren't married off may be sold to traffickers before they reach their teens. Widows face extreme abuse and discrimination if they're labeled bokshi, meaning witches. A low-level civil war between government and Maoist rebels has forced rural women into guerrilla groups.

They are 95.5 percent Hindu. Does this mean that Hinduism is a horrible religion that is oppressive towards women? Again, of course not!

My point is that there will always be people who will twist religious text (or completely ignore them) to control people. In the Quran, much like the Bible, women are held in both a positive and negative light, depending on the circumstance. I can quote some pretty nasty scripture from the bible concerning women, so before you point fingures you better check your closet.



Again, this is you generalizing. "Middle East bad, US perfect."



Covered this one. And again, you are basing an opinion off of a minority view in the middle east. Most countries do not follow the Wahhabi traditions. I'm sure you can name several different religions within Christianity (Catholic, Protestant, Mormon), how many can you name in Islam without google? There are about as many interpretations of the Quran as there are of the Bible. Get my point?



Do what? Christians under the attack by Muslims? Sorry, that is just not the case. Most Muslims are fighting amongst themselves. Sunni and Shiite have been fighting for centuries. Not to mention the Christian population in Baghdad, some 250,000, are rarely targeted. This "Christian vs Muslim" idea comes from the West. While a few extremists have called Jihad on the West, this is by far a minority.



You are not Christian? You sure could have fooled me. What does Christians coming in "all races and colors" have to do with anything? Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, even Rastas comes in all races and colors. Has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I think you need to do more reading on other religions, not just Christians.