Are woman in the Arab world oppressed - Essay Example

Souheila (2006) is of the firm opinion that Arab women are breaking down barriers to gain greater freedom. They should not be judged by the veil that they adorn. The veil is merely a requirement of the Islamic religion to hide the contours of the body so as not to attract the opposite sex. The west considers the veil as a symbol of religious cruelty or oppression. Our Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan once said, “I am afraid we are seeing that trend today in the tensions between East and West, with each side encumbered by stereotypes of what the other must be like.

To hear some in the West, all Arab women are backward and oppressed….” While woman in the Arab world are seen to be oppressed, they do enjoy political and social rights, and the media should be showing the other side of the Arab woman in our world today. The role of woman varies from one country to the other. In Kuwait women have participated in the country’s elections for the first time ever (Souheila). As far back as 1979 cabinet, the first female minister was appointed in Jordan. In the field of education, about 55% of the college graduates in Saudi Arabia are women while 57% of the university-age women in Tunisia are enrolled for college education.

In Syria, women make 15% of lawyers and 13% of judges apart from 20% of university professors. Women hold 34% of all private sector businesses in Riyadh and 25.6% in Jeddah (Ahmed, n.d.). Four thousand Saudi business women hold bank accounts worth $11.5 billion and Saudi women also hold 20% public company shares. A Saudi woman has also been appointed head of an UN agency. According to the Jordanian Constitution, all Jordanians are equal before the law, have the right to assume public office and the right to work.

The government of Jordan signed the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in December 1980, which was