missing by the millions

a very shocking article by ayaan hirsi ali, a somali-born member of the dutch parliament "women go 'missing' by the millions"

"...One United Nations estimate says from 113 million to 200 million women around the world are demographically "missing." Every year, from 1.5 million to 3 million women and girls lose their lives as a result of gender-based violence or neglect"

the article cites that there are many reasons for this, including:
1. selective abortion and infanticide
2. neglect (in favor of boys & men)
3. 'honor' killings
4. 'dowry' deaths
5. int'l sex trade
6. domestic violence
7. death at childbirth
8. genital mutilation

how can something so self-evident for us be so commonplace in other parts of the world? living with dignity and having basic human rights respected should not be a privilege of the west; there should be no other approach to human rights than those achieved for women in the western world; there should not be alternative sets of values allowing this kind of genocide to exist and at such proportions in the world today, and the western world needs to fight for this