Thorough reviews of the Q'uran have revealed that it actually forbids sexual oppression of women. Several and well-entrenched customary practices in the region, however, violate women's basic human rights. These practices include honor crimes, stoning, female general mutilation, and virginity tests. Women researchers and activists did not find a basis for these practices in the Q'uran (Ilkakaracan).

Modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries, the foundation of nation-states and the establishment of nationalist ideologies and the rise of the Islamic religious right have somewhat modified the conditions of the women in the Middle East (Ilkkaracan 2002). Social values have begun evolving and strengthening the activities of women's groups to produce change. New attitudes about sexuality, especially among young people, have spurred new and progressive legal and social changes and reforms. As a consequence, a new basis for new rights for women has surfaced concerning their sexuality and family status. The...
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