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Except when, as Cologne shows us, it isn’t. The attacks in Cologne reveal the ugly truth: cultural relativism is harmful to women. And feminists who refuse to call out sexism because they fear being called racist are doing women no favours.

The reality is that some cultures are more female-friendly than others. This is not a bigoted statement, but a factual one. In the World Economic Forum’s 2014 ranking of the best and worst countries to be a woman, Islamic countries made up 16 of the 20 worst nations. Syria ranked fourth-last. The Guardian’s graphic on women’s rights reveals that women in the Middle East enjoy the fewest rights of all women on the planet. And gender discrimination does not just affect women who live there. The International Women’s Travel Center’s 2015 List of Safest Countries in the World for Women Travelers concludes with the line, “At this time, we cannot recommend travel to any country in the Middle East.”

In Cologne, German women dressed in party clothes when they went out to celebrate New Year’s Eve. They did not cover their body, hair or faces. Walking alone in mixed-gender crowds is not frowned on. Conversing with men who are not members of their family is not taboo.

But that is not how many men in attendance saw it that night. In Islamist countries, a covered woman is considered pious and modest. She does not mix freely with men in public places. By contrast, an uncovered woman out on her own is seen as immodest and an unbeliever. And increasingly, a permissible target for sexual violence.