Despite claiming to care about women, many on the left refuse to speak honestly about the lives of Muslim women living in the Middle East. They argue that since America isn’t perfect, we have no business telling other countries what to do. As a consequence, Middle Eastern women continue to be regularly subjected to abuse.

For example, last week, a woman was assaulted while riding on a bus in Turkey. The reason? She wasn’t wearing what he considered “appropriate” clothing.

According to reports, Asena Melisa Saglam, a 21-year-old female university student, was assaulted by a Muslim man, who was later identified as Ercan Kiziltas, on a public bus. Before striking the student, Kiziltas, who was sitting behind her at the time, allegedly harassed her for wearing shorts during Ramadan. “From the moment I sat down he was making these remarks ‘you dress like this during Ramadan? You should feel ashamed to be dressed like that,'” recalled Saglam.

Instead of responding, she told reporters that she put headphones in her ears and tried to ignore him. Doing so, however, only angered Kiziltas even more. After waiting for the right moment, he stood up, smacked her hard across the face with the back of his hand, and made his way towards the exit.

In response, Saglam jumped out of her seat and rushed toward the assailant. Unfortunately, she was no match for him. One she got close enough, he grabbed ahold of her and threw her toward the back of the bus. During the altercation, the doors to the bus opened, giving Kiziltas the opportunity to escape. After pushing her away, he ran off of the bus and fled the scene. Clearly shaken, Saglam dropped down in the middle of the bus and started crying, prompting bystanders, who did nothing during the attack, to finally come to her aid. A surveillance video of the incident can be viewed below (Warning, graphic content):

Unsurprisingly, she was deeply traumatized by the assault and called on for justice. “My only wish from the justice system is that an appropriate, dissuasive punishment is given to the assailant,” she told reporters. “I do not want him to walk around freely because I cannot anymore. Since being assaulted I have been unable to go anywhere without my mother. I cannot even get on public transportation,” she continued.

Her mother, Melisa Sağlam, called the attack “unlucky” and used it as an opportunity to remind other mothers to love their children. “We were with her, we supported her, we had to do it,” she stated, noting, “my daughter has had an unlucky incident, I’m always safe and supportive. I’m calling all the mothers. Support your children, do not leave them alone.”

Eyup Saglam, her father, added, “whether it is a head scarf, head open, or [a] mini skirt, we see it on the street, we see it at work, and our society has accepted it.”

Three days after the attack, law enforcement officials managed to track down Kiziltas and brought him into custody. While speaking to a judge, he tried to defend his actions by claiming that she had “provoked” him. “Women dressing this way affect one’s sensuality,” he argued. Despite hearing this ridiculous statement, the judge reportedly granted his release pending investigation, sparking outrage.

On Twitter, We Will Stop Femicide Platform reportedly tweeted, “the release of the attacker is a threat to all women. We will wear whatever we want outside. We will not give up our freedoms.”

However, this turned out to be only partly true, and as a result, the tweet was later deleted. Although the judge did, in fact, grant his release, he was never set free. Instead, shortly before releasing Kiziltas, the police realized that he was previously found guilty in a “tax offense” case and was currently being sought to serve a 3-year and 9-month-long prison sentence. As a result, they threw him behind bars. Hopefully, after the police’s investigation is complete, he’ll be given additional time behind bars for assault.

Women living in the Middle East are some of the most oppressed women in the world. Because of this, they need all the support they can get. For this to happen, people need to start being more honest about Islam.