In sum, the widespread prostitution, trafficking and other forms of violence against women that mark women's experience today, mutually reinforce and are not separate from the existing attitudinal, economic and political prejudices that denigrate the personhood and dignity of woman.

In the West, moreover, the events of 11 September 2001 have triggered an outburst of hostility in some quarters, which are using the pretext of terrorist atrocities committed by extremist groups to attempt to denigrate Islam and are seeking and herein lies the danger to concoct a clash of civilizations and fan it into flame.

Likewise, instead of providing a shining example of supranational cooperation and pooled sovereignty for the twenty first century, the European Union remains mired in rather petty disputes. While it still cannot fully agree on the design of its banking union, it is allowing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, a member country, to denigrate the democratic and liberal values upon which the EU rests.