in other mena countries cultural specificities which do not recognise the human rights of women are so anchored in their societies that they go against the universality of women s rights these discriminatory customs and traditions violate the principle of equality in certain cases when the health of women is jeopardised in order to comply with men s wishes such as early marriage or female genital mutilation although some discrepancies exist they also secure equal rights for men and women to engage in litigation including women s right to conduct legal actions file lawsuits and sign contracts women s rights are often explicitly stated in various legal texts