Female genital mutilation, stoning to death of women adulterers and lashing rape victims may sound barbaric, but they remain horrifying facts of life for women from some parts of the world.
Discriminatory practices against women are commonplace particularly in the Islamic world, says a former researcher at Punjab University, Farida Shaheed, who runs the Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Centre in Pakistan and is also a core member of the international network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML).
At a talk recently at Hong Kong University on customs and laws in Muslim countries, Ms Shaheed said the biased practices have their root in strong patriarchal systems that are reinforced by references to Islamic doctrines.
In many cases, said Ms Shaheed, a custom was unrelated to any religious tenet but sustained by Muslim communities in a bid to maintain patriarchal control. One example she gave was female genital mutilation to limit sexual pleasure that has nothing to do with Islam.
'The basic issue is what a society wants to do, whether it wants to give equal rights to men and women,' stressed Ms Shaheed.
In Sudan, for example, women workers' promotional prospect are largely determined by male and state approval at various levels. There, according to the WLUML, popular committees and public outlook supervisors are empowered by the state to take women to court for immediate punishment for not dressing or behaving in an 'appropriate' manner, such as chewing gum in public.
