10 Ridiculous Global Laws For Women

Living conditions may vary from country to country. While there are countries that contribute to empowerment of their women, there are others that regress their women with laws that make us wonder whether they were really created with the idea to “protect women” or if they were created to spite women.

Here’s a list of 10 ridiculous international laws on women that may make your skin crawl.

Marital rape not really a 'rape' in India.

According to IPC Section 375 which provides that sexual intercourse or sexual acts by man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.

Non-recognition of marital rape is a huge setback in terms of gender equality in India. Quoting Bertrand Russell, an activist and philosopher – ""Marriage is for women the commonest mode of livelihood and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution.""

Women banned from driving in Saudi Arabia.

Laws in Saudi Arabia prevent a woman from driving owing to which, a lot of feminist groups in Saudi Arabia posted selfies of themselves driving cars. Now the Saudi Arabian Government plans to revoke the ban, but not without a few terms and conditions – they plan to make driving legal only for women above 30 years of age. In addition to this, they will also be allowed to only drive to school to drop or pick up their children and to hospitals. To be able to do so, they would need to seek the permission of their husbands or fathers, in absence of both, either a brother or a son.

Illegal for women to vote or divorce in Vatican City

In the male dominated society of Vatican City, it's illegal for women to divorce their spouses and vote for their country.

Yemen's 1992 act says that a wife "must permit (her husband) to have legitimate intercourse with her when she is fit to do so."

14% of Yemen girls are married to adult men before they are 15.

Yemenese wives are forced to have sex with their husbands by the law that governs the country, thereby legalising marital rape.

Illegal for women to work in Turkey without their husband's permission.

The working population of women in Turkey is just about 29%, but what makes it difficult for women seeking employment is the fact that they have to seek their husband's permission to hold a job.

Permission to wear false teeth

Women in Vermont require their husband's permission to be able to wear false teeth in their mouth.

Legal to beat wife, but just once a month!

In Arkansas USA, there is a law that allows men to beat their wives, but just once a month.

Illegal for women to wear 'mini skirts' in Uganda

Politicians in Uganda call for imprisonment of women who dress in a skirt 'above the knee'. This comes in view of Uganda's anti-pornography law introduced last year, banning indecent dressing.

Women in China don't have a claim to property in divorce

Since 2011, property is no longer split for the couple seeking divorce. It is awarded to the person in whose name the property is registered in. In China it is common for men to pay for the house, and women to pay for the interior decors of the house - which cost just as much as the house itself.

Female audiences banned from watching football in Iran

Iran has banned its women from entering football stadiums, as they are believed to provoke men to rape them. In 2006, the then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had proposed a special section for women in the football stadium, but the decision was overruled by higher authorities.

Powerof49: When will women have equal rights?

Patriarchy is a tool to suppress and control women, and it exists around the world. Men and women, both, need to confront this menace and tackle it head on. The opposite of patriarchy is equal rights, for men and women. It’s the 21st century and there should be no room for patriarchy today.

Time to let go of patriarchal ideals that threaten our very existence, as a world.