By Casey King
There is a new viral photo going around the internet this week and it’s not a picture of Kim Kardashian. A recent photo was posted on social media of a young woman walking around the streets of Kabul. The reason that so many people are talking about the photo is simply because the women is exposing her legs in the capitol of Afghanistan.
The outrage over a pair of legs can be seen all over the internet this week. Many conservative Afghan people are speaking out against the picture. One Facebook post by Zahir Alokozai reads, “A half-naked girl walking in the middle of local people!!! Where is the Islamic government”.
The country, like many other countries over seas, does not give women many rights and is often not a safe place for many women to live. Violence and oppression towards women is spread throughout the country and constantly poses a threat to women’s lives.
In 2003, the Afghanistan constitution was made to include women’s rights. This has allowed more women to work, and for more education to be given to young girls. However, even with some recent improvements the country is still extremely gender biased.
This is not the only story about women’s rights overseas to make headlines recently. In Saudi Arabia, two women were recently detained for driving into the country on December 1, 2014. The women began driving to bring attention to the ridiculous laws against women’s rights, including the ban that forbids women to drive a vehicle. As supporters of a recent grassroots campaign the women wanted to bring attention to the way women are treated in Saudi Arabia.
Currently, the women are still detained for driving. According to an article on Mashable.com a family member of one of the women has said that on Sunday it was announced the women would be held for 25 more days.
These brave and clever women are starting to grab our attention via viral internet stories and photos. Taking advantage of the fast pace, word-of-mouth, world of social media may be the best way to get more people informed and involved in women’s rights outside of the United States.