Despite great advances in women’s rights and the women’s liberation movement, discrimination and underestimation of the so-called weak sex still exists. There are places in the world that are still forbidden for women, whether for a religious reason or tradition. Check out some of these places below.
In Greece, there are places where women cannot enter. In certain villages, there are men-only cafés, known as “kafenion”, where mostly elderly men meet to chat, play cards, backgammon or just drink some coffee after work.
In1046, the emperor of Byzantium decided to ban women from Mount Athos, to ensure celibacy. The ban still exists at present. The monks who live in the monasteries there have no contact with women, and spend every hour of their day praying in silence. The presence of a woman would alter their spiritual elevation. Curious women who want to visit the place can only do so by boat and observe the monastery from the green hills.
Mount Omine is a sacred mountain in Japan that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Before initiating the ascent to the mountain, there is a warning that says “No Woman Admitted”. It is said that in the last 1300 years, the place was visited by women. When there are women in the tour groups to the mountains of the area, they must go around the forbidden area of Omine. On the top of Mount Omine, there is a Buddhist temple where visitors can observe activities such as climbing over an overhanging stone.
Haji Ali Dargah is a mosque in Munbai, India. Women are banned from entering the tombs. This mosque receives at least 20,000 visitors per day, but the Islamic law indicates that women must not visit the tombs.
A woman who wants to go on a tourist trip to Saudi Arabia should think twice before visiting this country. There are serious religious restrictions there; one would think they would not exist. Wahhabi doctrine – the most radical in Islam – forbids the driving of motor vehicles by women because in case the vehicle breaks down, they cannot have any contact with men. If for any reason you need to go there, try to go with a man, because the religious tradition says that freedom of movement makes women “vulnerable to sin”. abc.es/internacional (2015)
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