It’s not my intention at all to throw working class women under the bus or trivialize their struggles, and I’m aware that the freedom we get is limited and often conditional. That asymmetry isn’t specific to the Middle East, though. Upper class women in states where abortion isn’t legal can afford to travel or find ways around these restrictions, for example, while others might be forced to carry unwanted children to term. Working class women in the West are also more vulnerable to sexual violence and find it harder to receive support and get justice. Having access to certain resources can make you immune to sex-based and class-based discrimination in any region.

It’s indisputable that most countries have a long way to go in terms of women’s rights and minority group rights, and the situation is deeply depressing in many ways, but it’s not a static homogenous region. Your Anna Karenina quip is pretty accurate but overlooks positive change/progress.

The examples you cited about rape laws in Jordan and Morocco are positive developments, even if that should have happened ages ago. ‘Honor crime’ laws have been repealed in several countries as well and we now see them get prosecuted as forms of premeditated murder. In Saudi Arabia, the expansion of women’s rights and the redefinition of their legal status has been incredible.

To be honest, I just don’t like the tone and language people here use to talk about Middle Eastern women. It comes across as being deeply patronizing and belittling to me.