The Sentinel Woman

THE SAFETY AND EQUALITY OF WOMEN IN WESTERN SOCIETIES DEPEND ON THE RECOGNITION AND PROTECTION OF THEIR RIGHTS, ESPECIALLY BY MEN. I and other female service members are HIGHLY AWARE of the extreme subjugation of women around the world and of the HARD-EARNED ACHIEVEMENTS and recognition of the vital role women play—not only in the military but in society as a whole.

Men in Western societies have a responsibility to ACTIVELY SUPPORT AND UPHOLD THESE RIGHTS, ensuring that women can live and work in SAFE, EQUAL ENVIRONMENTS. Allowing LEGAL NORMS OR CULTURAL PRACTICES THAT OPPRESS WOMEN to take root in the West threatens decades of progress and undermines efforts to maintain a SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN. In many countries influenced by SHARIA LAW, women are legally subordinate to men in marriage, divorce, inheritance, education, employment, and public life. Male guardianship, polygamy, and restrictions on movement or work institutionalize gender inequality and contrast sharply with the freedoms women enjoy in Western democracies.

COUNTRIES WHERE SHARIA LAW SHAPES THE LEGAL SYSTEM (broadly or in family/religious courts), listed alphabetically:
• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Brunei
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Gambia
• India (Muslim personal law)
• Indonesia (Aceh province)
• Iraq
• Iran
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Nigeria (northern states)
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palestine
• Philippines (Mindanao – Muslim personal law)
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• Syria
• Tanzania (Zanzibar – Kadhi courts)
• Tunisia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

WESTERN COUNTRIES WHERE SHARIA IS APPLIED IN PRIVATE OR COMMUNITY SETTINGS (voluntary, non-binding arbitration, councils, or tribunals), listed alphabetically:
• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• South Africa
• Sweden
• United Kingdom (Britain)
• United States