When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan turned out to be less than desired, and almost wholly unjustified, the West claimed to be liberating women from oppression. This is not, as you must understand in my argument, a bad thing. Certain areas of the world are in dire need for the liberation of women and as such should be greatly approved from the general Western populace.
Where this breaks down; however, has been brought to light during the Arab Spring. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has played a key role in the keeping the rebel movement alive in Libya. The justification for the no fly zone (invasion) of Libya was to protect the civilians of Benghazi from genocide or at the very least save lives of peaceful protesters. Where their argument ceases to function is that NATO, along with its member nations, seems to overlook similar events unfolding in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Of course they have their reasons... It must have nothing to do with the massive oil supply that comes out of Saudi Arabia... Or the fact that the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East is located in Bahrain. Of course not. Perhaps that also doesn't explain why the U.S. and NATO allows for women to be abused in Saudi Arabia, while condemning lesser oppression for many other nations.
It is obvious that other states have problems. However; as Saudia Arabia and Bahrain continue to massacre hundreds of pro-democracy protesters and deny women basic human rights the international community is condemning civilians and women to injustice. Perhaps economic, political and power interests should be set aside for a short time.
Women in Saudi Arabia currently:
-abide by a dress code
-require 6 males that know her to be witnesses if they hope to buy or sell property
-are prohibited from driving any motor vehicle
-suffer under unequal marriage rights
-have no right to their own children
-are blamed if they are raped
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