After billions spent in Afghanistan, the oppression and violence of women is still there as it is in most of the Middle East…

The hard-line veneer is cracking just a little with the Saudis allowing women to drive and now Iran not jailing women who don’t follow the Islamic dress code. Both come with caveats: The women may begin driving when they reach the age of 35 and the women who don’t follow the dress code are still punished with “classes”.

One example of how poorly women are still treated is below. Isobel Yeung is a very brave female journalist who interviewed an Afghan politician who threatened to have her nose cut off when he disagreed with her:

https://twitter.com/JPY_Kurdish/status/946643394734018565

THE LONGER VERSION IS VIA VICE/HBO:

Isobel Yeung describes what’s happening in Afghanistan with women’s rights:

Where are the “so-called” women’s marchers and feminists? These women are the most abused and most oppressed to this day. Why no help for these women?

Iran just threw a bone to the women telling them they wouldn’t be arrested if they didn’t wear the “required” dress in public. Oh how ridiculous! Let those women have every right in the world NOW!

From The Independent:

Police in Iran’s capital said that they will no longer arrest women for failing to observe the Islamic dress code in place since the 1979 revolution.

The announcement signaled an easing of punishments for violating the country’s conservative dress code, as called for by the young and reform-minded Iranians who helped re-elect President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, earlier this year.

But hard-liners opposed to easing such rules still dominate Iran’s security forces and judiciary, so it was unclear whether the change would be fully implemented.

“Those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centers, nor will judicial cases be filed against them.” Tehran police chief General Hossein Rahimi was quoted as saying by the reformist Sharq newspaper.