In Saudi Arabia a 19 year old gang-rape victim was lashed and jailed because she had been out in public with a man who was not her husband. The rapists were tried and convicted. Public outcry led to the extention of their prison sentences to a few years each - that's something, at least. Men like this used to always walk free. But the married woman was punished for what she later admitted to be an affair with the other man. Now, I'm not in favour of adultery but enforcing Sharia law on an adulterer and calling it "God's word" doesn't work for me either. In some cases, the punishment is execution - yes, in 2007.
In Sudan, a British teacher is being held in a dirt hole while she awaits trial for crimes against Islam. The woman asked her schoolchildren to name a little stuffed bear in hopes of teaching them about animals. The kids voted for Mohammed. That's the name of the Prophet and by allowing the bear to be named Mohammed, the teacher allegedly violated Islamic law. She's terrified and rightly so because if she's convicted she will be lashed and jailed.
These aren't simply actions against women, that is true. They're atrocities in the name of religion. But they happen to be launched against women more often than not. The man who was having the affair with the married woman endured no punishment or scorn. It only happens to the women. Women who must be covered up head to toe lest they inspire lust in male passersby. Women who must not speak unless they are spoken to, must not vote, must not go out after dark and it goes on and on. It frustrates and upsets me. These are my sisters. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it.
UPDATE: The school teacher has been found guilty of insulting Islam and sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation from Sudan. I don't see how the deportation counts as a "sentence"... but at least she's getting the hell out and teaching others about the country's laws in the process.