Our World and Theirs

Hilary Clinton is sixth on the list of the world's most influential women.  Frankly, I'd rate her higher -- at least ahead of Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil and leader of a very corrupt country.  This list was published recently in 'Forbes' magazine.  Who's first?  Angela Merkel, which figures.  Here are a few more which stood out:

3.      Melinda Gates (money)
14.    Oprah Winfrey (money)
17.    Beyoncé (huh??)
35.    Queen Elizabeth II (would've put her much higher)
50.    Angelina Jolie (another huh? here)
67.    Lady Gaga (triple huh?)
89.    Gisele Bundchen (what can I say?)
100.  Greta van Susteren (this tops it, her only claim to fame was she was a supporter of murderer OJ   Simpson!)

But what this list does for me is remind me of the great divide between the "haves and the have-nots", the "have-nots" being the millions of women who live in poverty, oppression, violence and degradation.  Margaret Wente -- of whom I am a big fan -- wrote a column in today's Globe and Mail which stood in stark juxtaposition to the top 100.  It was about the treatment of women in Egypt.  According to Wente, Egypt's treatment of women is now the worst in the Arab world and that's going some. 

"At the dawn of the wretchedly-misnamed Arab Spring, Westerners hoped the overthrow of a corrupt dictatorship would liberate Egypt's women.  Instead it made things worse.  Public order deteriorated.  The military regime of the immediate post-Mubarak period imposed 'virginity tests' on female protesters.  When the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, it began to introduce gender segregation in public places.  Some politicians even argued that women who had been assaulted at demonstrations should be punished for simply showing up and inciting the assaults," writes Wente.

Apparently there is a video of a huge crowd in Tahrir Square in which a woman is being mobbed and sexually assaulted by dozens of men.  As the assaults continue, she is stripped completely naked.  Her body is bloody(sic, should be "bloodied") and bruised.  By the time the police carry her away, she is limp and still.  "This is Egypt today," says Wente, "a nation where women who dare to venture out in public are routinely harassed and gang raped with near impunity."

This is so disgusting I can barely write about it, but we must whenever we come across it.  Frankly, I never give the plight of women in these countries much thought as I go about my daily routine with such "important" tasks as getting to the pool, hitting the grocery and liquor stores, puttering in my garden and enjoying my grandchildren. 

As I said, the juxtaposition between our world and theirs is tragically breathtaking.