7 Bizarre Rules Women Worldwide Continue To Face In 2024

Worldwide, women have been targeted with bizarre regulations and expectations over their everyday behaviours, from dressing to curfew. Whether by parents or political leaders, women are prompted to stay within society's generational patriarchal limits. From strict dress codes in Iran to not being permitted in gyms in Afghanistan, women's rights are suppressed to constantly remind them that it is in fact a man's world. Although that sounds like an exaggeration, here are examples of outdated and bizarre instances that women confront even in 2024, making the saying feel like reality.

'Unnatural Intercourse' With Husband Does Not Account To Rape, Says Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed an FIR registered by a woman against her husband, observing that having unnatural sexual intercourse between a husband and wife cannot be considered "rape". The Court also said that a woman's consent becomes immaterial in such cases because she is wedded to him.

This news caused outrage across the nation, with many questioning whether marriage is a certification of permanent consent. Stating that there is no legal framework for 'marital rape' in India, the court order said, "Marital rape has not been recognized so far. Accordingly, an FIR is registered at Police Station Kotwali, Jabalpur, and criminal prosecution of the applicant (husband) is hereby quashed."

Kerala Govt Mandates Additional Fee For Disposal Of Sanitary Products

In May 2024, petitioner Indu Varma filed a public interest litigation (PIL) contesting the validity of an additional fee imposed by the Kerala government for the disposal of sanitary waste. A Supreme Court bench comprising justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan questioned the rationale behind such a regulation and expressed disapproval.

The SC bench remarked, "Why should you charge extra for sanitary waste? This will run contrary to the objective of our directions regarding menstrual hygiene. You will have to justify this."

Taliban's Crackdown On Afghan Women

From a ban on education and freedom to work to arrests for violating stringent dress codes, women in Afghanistan bear the brunt of the Taliban's repressive regime. Women in Afghanistan are restricted from pursuing higher education or careers, causing a dangerous shortage of staff in essential services like healthcare.

In January 2024, the Taliban announced that they would intensify its crackdown on women who were seen wearing 'bad hijabs' in public. Moreover, it was also announced that women would not be allowed in public places without a mahram, meaning male guardians. In May 2024, the Taliban warned that women engaged in adultery would be stoned to death.

Iran Tightens Grip On Women Defying Dress Code

In April 2024, several women were dragged from the streets into police cars for allegedly violating the dress code. The theocratic government, embroiled in a conflict with Israel, is also posing a threat to women within the country by intensifying its crackdown on women caught in public without hijabs.

Videos circulated online, showing the Gasht-e-Irshad (morality police) pulling women from the streets and detaining them. Dina Ghalibaf, a journalism student at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University, was reportedly the first to tweet about such the crackdown. Jailed Nobel-laureate activist Narges Mohammadi urged Iranians to protest the 'war against women'.

Vladimir Putin Asks Women To Have 8 Or More Kids

The Russian President made a ridiculous plea to women to bear eight or more children, as he believes that a large family is the solution to demographic challenges amid their conflict with Ukraine. As abortion rates in the country are soring, Putin urged women to embrace larger families to boost the country's population in a recent video speech at the World Russian People's Council.

"Many of our peoples maintain the tradition of the family, where four, five or more children are raised…Recall that in Russian families our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had both 7 and 8 children. Let us preserve and revive these traditions. The family is not just the foundation of the state and society, it is a spiritual phenomenon, a source of morality," Putin said. Abortion rights in the country are also under fire as the country has one of the highest abortion rates in the world (341 abortions per 1000 live births).

Kim Jong Un Pleads North Korean Women To Have More Kids

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un also followed the Russian president's footsteps, making a tearful appeal to women, urging them to have more children. At the National Mothers Meeting event in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un addressed the declining population in the country and got emotional while urging women to bear more children. 

"Preventing a decline in birth rates and ensuring good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers," he said. The North Korean supreme leader is notorious for such restrictions on women in the country. In August, Kim Jong Un had imposed a ban on women wearing shorts. 

Instead of focusing on the real cause of the declining population and the reason why women are choosing to have fewer children, both world leaders, Putin and Kim Jong Un are bearing the brunt of childbirth on women thinking it would solve the problem.

European Union Government Offices To Ban Religious Clothing

Government offices across the European Union are mulling banning employees from wearing clothing of religious symbolism like hijabs, in the interest of neutrality, the EU’s top court stated. The decision, published by the Court of Justice of the EU on Tuesday, said such bans were permissible in order to enforce an “entirely neutral administrative environment”.

The court was asked to rule after a Muslim employee in the municipality of Ans, Belgium, was told she could not wear a headscarf at work. However, the court documents noted that her job involved little contact with the public, but the court said that bans on religious clothing or symbols had to be applied evenly. “Such a rule is not discriminatory if it is applied in a general and indiscriminate manner to all of that administration’s staff and is limited to what is strictly necessary,” it said.