“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” - Brigham Young

Women's rights in the Arab world consistently rank low as compared to the rest of the world. There are definite issues of harassment, of degradation, of abuse and of a general lack of equality here. And while these issues come across as systemic in the region, change is happening, however slowly, and should be recognized and appreciated when it does.

Sexism is not specifically Arab, Muslim or Eastern. Sexism is still widespread in the United States today, even by those we entrust to run our country. Comments about "legitimate rape" and "binders full of women" and remarks like "slut" and "prostitute" directed at a college student aiming to support access to birth control and using medical, not sexual, reasoning proves that these issues are still alive and well in our own communities, and make me cringe and feel a little extra vulnerable as a woman every time I hear them.

But as a woman who feels particularly drawn to the Middle East, I would be lying to say that sexism is not something I worry about as I pack my suitcase, or think of my future career. The Middle East does rank poorly as a place for women, as does much of sub-Saharan Africa or Eastern Asia. I hear catcalls every time I walk out the door. But despite the ample warnings that we got upon arrival here, Palestine is doing a lot better than Tunis, where women's rights in general are more advanced but on an individual level I felt more ill at ease. In Palestine, maybe because the grasp of English is less strong, you get a lot of awkward staring and "Hello, how are you? Where you from?" and a few inappropriate words in Arabic that they assume I don't understand but I do. But a glare or averting your eyes will generally be enough to put a stop to anything.

I've gotten and heard worse here, but nothing worse than I've gotten walking down the streets of Portland. Which, in many ways, is precisely my point. Being a woman, to some degree or another, means tolerating being objectified no matter where you are in the world. And we should encourage and support those who are strong enough and brave enough to take a stand against such abuse.

The video shown here was produced by students in a Feminist Theory class in the Language department of University of Jordan, where sexual abuse is closer to what it is in Tunis than what it is in Palestine. These girls gathered together and as a school project, wrote out common phrases called out to them while they walked around campus or their feelings associated with it.

And equally as important as the women who stood up and made this video is the response of the university administration, which, dishearteningly, was to demote the professor who taught the class from Dean of the Language Department because of fears that the video provides negative publicity about the university as a whole. As societies, the best we can do is stand up against harassment and encourage, not discourage, others to do the same. Change is happening-- this video is proof that women here and around the world expect better.