Forcing Women's Rights

Abstract

If the West truly wishes to spread the ideas of democracy to the Middle East, it must trust the people of the Middle East to make their own decisions. The history of the United States shows that a true representative democracy will face challenges and struggles and will oftentimes be divided on the issues. Yet ultimately these issues were decided by the American people; the people of Iraq and Afghanistan deserve that right, too. To force women's suffrage or any other Western ideals does not promote democracy, and it may fail to achieve anything other than increased distrust of the West. Andrew Henchen is currently a JMU freshman. He plans to major in Media Arts and Design.