Why would a woman from a civilized country go to one of those hellholes anyway?
It is called climbing the corporate ladder which, to many, is more important than anything else.
An international company for whom I used to work had a policy against sending female employees on business trips to any Arab country. That policy included even transit through Arab airports. Since the company was based in Japan, it was considered just common sense. If it had been based in the U.S., Canada or Western Europe, we probably would have been hauled into court.
Anybody remember the first Gulf War and the transit passengers in Kuwait held hostage for a time by Saddam Insane? That's when my former employer put the policy into place.
Why would a woman from a civilized country go to one of those hellholes anyway?
<><><>
The article indicated it was a business trip. Likely she had no choice if she wanted to keep her job.