![]() ![]() ![]() Instead we find that ideas of women’s physical health and mental well-being are central to both legislation and discussions within Islamic thought and jurisprudence. Nor do those in government or religious authorities that engage different interpretations of Islam focus on fetal rights. We do not, for example, see the same level of violence and extremism against women seeking abortions or against providers. Yet, despite the parallels, it is obvious that discussions about abortion are far more nuanced in the Middle East than in the U.S. In the Middle East and North Africa, similar to what we will be seeing in the U.S., women with financial resources find access to safe abortions while it remains a huge challenge to those women without financial means. In many contexts, this goes alongside a wider erosion of democratic and civic rights. The more intense the crackdown on women’s and LGBTQI+ rights, the stronger the rise of authoritarian and often militant and sectarian forces. My own research and activism on gender issues in the Middle East reveals the close relationship between political repression and marginalization of minorities with patriarchal heteronormative attitudes and policies. Denying women the right to and choice of abortion, that is, denying them their bodily autonomy, is part of a larger global struggle for control and domination by authoritarian regimes and extreme right-wing political groups. an exception to the increasing onslaught against women - particularly poor women and women of color. ![]() is not a beacon of women’s rights and women’s freedom. Wade brings into sharp relief what many of us have tried to articulate for a while now: the U.S. Robert Family Professor of International Studies Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies More nuanced discussions in the Middle East than in the US ![]()
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