Sue Lloyd-Roberts was the first female investigative reporter in the UK. A multi-award-winning BBC journalist she dedicated her career (spanning 30 years) to uncovering human rights scandals.
War on Women is a gripping commentary on female subjugation that is taking place around the world. The book is comprised of 12 chapters, each first-hand account gives voice to devastating experiences that women have endured. From being held under house arrest to being forced into marriage, undergoing female genital mutilation, experiencing rape as a weapon of war, sex trafficing, disfigurement and honour killings.
Take Maimouna, the daughter of a village circumciser who fled Gambia in order to reject her ancestral obligation to become the next village ‘cutter’ after being forced to mutilate her own daughters.
Or of the reality faced by women in Jordon who are not protected by the law because
“Premeditated murder carries the death penalty, except for men who kill female members of their family who have committed adultery or behaved in a way the male members of her family deem morally unacceptable.”
What about the targeted beatings, arrests and subsequent virginity tests that were experienced by female protesters during the Arab Spring uprisings as a strategy to discourage protest. These women never received justice for the crimes committed against them.
This blatant lack of accountability for such crimes was in part the result of the judiciary and military enforcers who held the belief that women’s participation in protests was a sign of loose morals and imprudence.
Faiths such as Wahhabism are also brought under scrutiny and are called out by the author for their oprression of women. Wahhabism's rigidity has led critics to argue that it has misinterpreted and distorted Islam.
“Wahhabism treats women as perpetual minors and as mentally defective. A woman needs a male guardian at all times whose permission must be given before she can leave the house, undergo medical treatment, open a bank account and enrol for further education or travel. She can be married off at any age by her guardians. If she is divorced and has no father or brother, she may find herself asking permission for these privileges from her teenage son.”
These stories are not isolated one-off accounts they speak of systemic violence and mistreatment that women experience on a daily basis all across the world as a direct result of a deeply rooted belief that female sexuality and our body need to be controlled. Because
“Women are seen as unthinking, unfeeling items of property to be denied any chance of a mature, mutually loving adult relationship. Their virginity and unquestioning obedience are associated with family honour and honour is so important that it is worth killing for.”
― Sue Lloyd-Roberts, The War on Women
This book will fill you with indignation, bring you to tears and most importantly spur you into action.