In Saudi Arabia, women cannot vote, drive a car or go outside without their bodies completely covered. They also cannot own property, and they inherit less than half of what their brothers do solely because of their gender, according to blog.standforisrael.org. In Syria, if a woman wants out of a dangerous marital union, she must navigate a complicated legal process that typically takes up to two years to complete, while a husband can divorce his wife simply by telling her “You are divorced” three times, according to blog.standforisrael.org.

Female genital mutilation entails the removal of all or part of the external genitalia and is used as a way to control a woman’s sexuality. Female genital mutilation is extremely painful and can lead to heavy bleeding, infection and even death, and the mutilation prevalence in some African countries, like Somalia, are at 90 percent, according to rainbo.org.

Feminism in America is needed. There are obvious areas where it is needed, like in rape culture, equal pay, social equality, political equality, etc. However, another part of being a feminist and advocating human rights is fighting for those who can’t. In places in the Middle East and in Africa, women are given little-to-no rights. They are treated as literal property and practically scum.

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others, according to polarisproject.org. Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to trap victims in horrific situations. In Africa, the Middle East and many other countries this practice is common.

I don’t think that it is highly disputed that a lot of things that happen to women in other countries is wrong. However, there are people that think that people in America, specifically feminists, should try and advocate for the women who can’t. I, too, believe that we should.

If these women could fight for themselves, I believe that they would, but their lives are in danger without them trying to get their own human rights. So, even if you aren’t a feminist or aren’t able to actually go to these countries and help these women, there are other things that you can do to help. Simply raising awareness is more help than these women previously had. People need to know that feminism is about more than just white women in America. It is about women and men everywhere, in every country.