Egypt Worst Place for Women?

The third annual study conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation since the Arab Spring in 2011, has declared Egypt the worst place to be a woman in the Arab world. Taking first place is the quaint little island of Comoros, which begs the question: why is Comoros considered an Arab country? 

In any case, the study surveyed 330 gender experts in 21 Arab League states (fun fact: as well as Comoros, the Arab League also includes Djibouti and Mauritania) who stated high levels of sexual harassment and female genital mutilation, as well as, an increase in conservative Islamic groups as their reasoning behind Egypt's terrible ranking. Iraq ranked second worst, while Oman ranked second best. 

Many commentators are disappointed, but not surprised by the results. The revolution brought with it hopes that women's standing in politics and society would increase, though turmoil that followed and continues to plague the country has contributed to their lack of rights. However, the survey does fail to take into account the views, feelings and day-to-day lives of actual Egyptian women, who we're sure would agree with much of the study's findings, but might add some pros in the mix, perhaps recalling men protecting women at Tahrir and, for example, their right to drive.