The Status of Women in Middle Eastern Countries - Essay Example

Introduction The issue of women's rights and duties is considered as one of the most pressing social problems of the day. The human rights and status of women and girls, in any society, is considered as an integral part of the human right issues and is considered as an issue of universal significance. The participation of women at every forum, whether it is political, social or cultural and without any discrimination based on sex is considered as universal right of women. However, despite such significance, many societies in 21st century are still male dominated with little or no participation of women in major activities taking place in such societies. The predominately male orientation of different societies suggests that despite the universal significance of issues related with women, most of the societies view them as predominately weaker entities of the societies. This has also been because many societies not only considered women as different not only in the anatomy of the humans but also the way both the sexes think and act. The region of Middle East has a very rich history full of spiritual and religious movements which emerged from this region. However, despite its historical significance, the modern day Middle East is considered as a region with little contribution from the women in the mainstream activities of the respective societies. This paper will attempt to look into the status of women in Egypt and Jordan - two of the significant countries in the region. Status of Women In order to assess the status of women in Middle East Region, on a whole, we need to view it from the perspective of the religion as this region has been greatly influenced by the religious values and dogmas. It would therefore be better if a comparison can be made between the status of women in Pre-Islamic era and Post-Islamic era. The Pre-Islamic era is considered as one of the darkest in the history of the region as women was subjugated to a very lower position in the society. It is also however important to note that there were some exceptions to this fact also as the women, in some pre-Islamic societies were on a very dominate position in their respective societies.(Russett & Donno, 2004) Women, especially married females were considered as inherited property which could be inherited after the death of her husband. Besides, women were not given the equal or proportionate rights in inheritance of their parents as well as husbands. The social status of the women was not as such that it can be commanded as amazing however with the advent of Islam, this status seems to have changed as Islam provided much needed breathing space to the women in terms of their fundamental rights such as right to have share from the property, right to marry to the preferred husbands, right to divorce etc. It is also argued that the women, during this era of Islam gained rights which were unparalleled in the world until the liberalization of women in Western World. (Ali, 2004). The Islamic principles, especially Quran advocated the rights of Women as equal to the male and were duly supported by the Hadith- sayings and actions of Prophet. It is also important to understand that despite being given the rights by Islam, most of the Arab societies remained stagnant in terms of providing the sexual equality to the women and at the time of codification of the Islamic laws, most of the external influences prevailing deep into the cultural values prevailing before An Islamic era. Such influences helped culminated at the laws and practices which virtually delineated women from their true status as given by Islam. It is due to this factor that different cultural values and identities emerged from the Arab World thus distorting the very idea of the status of the women in Islam. It is therefore, still arguable that all the Arab countries share the same history and culture when they were finally linked through their Islamic identity (Tucker, 1993). Post- Islamic era As discussed above that there remains a question of whether despite being linked with a uniform religion, most of the Arab societies do have their own distinctive characteristics setting them apart from the other Islamic societies. In order to assess this view, it is critical to understand that after World War II, most of the Islamic nations pursued the path of modernization which was mostly dominated by the Western cultures. (Jawad, 1998). This shift towards adopting the modern values also required the adaptation of the secular thoughts and values which put some radical changes in place such as giving women more liberty and freedom. With the improvement in the literacy rates and the participation of women into mainstream Middle Eastern societies brought some change as women were seen more into public life however, the extent of such a change remained questionable as despite the adopting such values, women remained mostly off the scene. However, it is also critical to note that despite changes in the political, economic as well as social dynamics of the Muslim countries, there was very little adaptation of the Western family laws in their entirety. Muslim nations attempted to retain their original religious rules with little or no influence from the western cultural values. It is also critical to understand that during the nineteenth and twentieth century, Muslim countries pre-dominantly re-emerged to establish a strong Islamic identity including their family laws due to the perceived threats from the Europe and Communism at large. This shift in the values of the different Islamic societies suggests that despite being dreaming to step into modern world, most of the Muslim countries refrained from adopting the Western values fully as the issue of Islamic identity was considered as much superior as other values. Such approach suggests that the status of women remained shrouded in this shift of identities and values in the Islamic societies and the status of women started to significantly differ from one Arab society to another due to the prevalent values in Middle Eastern societies. The following section will take on this discussion and will attempt to apply the same to the two Middle Eastern countries. Status of Women in Egypt Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and more or less share one of the combine heritages of the humanity. Flourished on the banks of Nile River, Egypt is one of the most significant countries in Middle East. Situated in Northern Africa, it is neighbored by Gaza. Libya and Sudan. According to the July 2008 population estimates of the country, Female population comprised of 20% of the overall population of the country with median age of 24.9 years.1 The literacy rate in women is approximately 60% which is one of the highest in the region. The status of women in Egyptian society has been largely debated within the context of the whole Arab world and the issues faced by women in this country are approximately in same direction. The issue of women status within modern Egyptian society emerged during the 1970s and is continuously being debated at various forums with mixed results. A historical look at the status of women in Egypt specially during last one century would suggest that the women have been able to achieve much of their rights amidst opposition as well as favors. (Hawley, 1999). The women in Egypt have the voting rights with significant presence in the work force of the country due to higher literacy rates. Further women in Egypt also remained part of the ruling government thus gaining representation on the cabinet of the country. It is however, important to understand that the family laws of the country are considered as predominately discriminatory against women specially the divorce laws are quite strict in the sense that women, like men, are not allowed to divorce. It is also important to note that there are still some harmful customary practices present in Egyptian society which virtually subjugated women to a lot inferior position. The female gentile mutilation of married women is one of the highly practiced customs which is virtually forcing more than 97% married women to fall prey of such a practice. (Human Rights Watch, 2004). When comparing women with men, in terms of wages, women almost get 76% of the average men's wages in private sector however this ratio is higher in public sector enterprises where women get 86% of the wages taken by an average man. Similarly, according to the 2004 statistics compiled by Human Rights Watch suggest that 19% of the women are unemployed as in comparison to the 5% of the men. Similarly, in rural areas, women are even worse off than the women in the urban areas as more than 20% of the women form the agriculture labor force of the country in rural areas with land ownership of only 6%. Such statistics suggest that the Egyptian society is still far behind in achieving the true freedom for women. It is also critical to note that women have very little or no power in family decision making due to male dominance in the decision making process in families. It is also due to this reason that most of the female is forced into marriages against their own will, mostly because they are forced to marry by their male relatives, especially fathers and brothers. Due to this tendency, the early age marriages are also common in Egypt with most of the women aged between 18 and 24 are married. According to Human Rights Watch Report, the early age marriages not only hamper the education of the girls but also put them on risk of sexually transmitted diseases besides increasing the overall incidences of the maternal and infant mortality. One of the critical issues which have been discussed at length is the right of women to divorce as discussed above. Though Government has established different family courts to look after the matters such as divorce however such efforts still failed to yield substantial results as men still have the rights to divorce their wives without going to or referring to the courts however women, on the other hand, are required to refer to the courts if they require divorce from their husbands. The existing courts system in the country however, gives rights to women to seek a fault based divorce with full financial benefits however; the onus of evidence still is on the part of the women to prove that any physical abuse etc has happened to them.(Dawla,2000) Such differences between the men and women in Egyptian society can be accounted for due to the pre-dominant role of male in society. Though Islam gives a man and woman almost same rights however, it still gives preference to be male over female and as such this factor has greatly influenced the very fabric of the Egyptian society. Status of Women in Jordan Jordan falls in the northwest of Saudi Arabia and is considered as one of the most important countries in the region due to its persistent conflict with Israel. The major neighbors of Jordon include Israel, Syria, Iraq as well as West Bank. The sex ratio at the time of birth is 1.06 males/female with female literacy rate of 84.7%. It is also important to note that women in this country have one of the highest life expectancies at the time of birth. . A historical look at the history of Jordan suggests that it remained under the mandate of UK with monarchy as the system of governance. It is argued that monarchs of the country allowed some liberalization however they were faced by strong tribal as well as Islamist opposition.(Keddie,2006). However, despite that Jordan has been able to achieve a certain degree of socio-political development during last few decades. This change also resulted into the improvement of the status of women in Jordanian society specially due to the personal involvement of the Princess of Jordan. The constitution of Jordan permits equal rights to every man and woman of the country and grants significant legislative protections to the women. It is due to this reason that Jordan is considered to have one of the best human rights records within Middle East Region. Women were given the rights to vote and run for the elections during 1974. Subsequent to this, a National Committee for Women was formed too in 1996 with the basic purpose of overseeing the process of women development in the country including formulating priorities for women. It is also critical to notice that Jordan, through solid legislative processes, provided protections to the working mothers. This legislation not only allowed certain monetary benefits to the pregnant working women but also outlined the criteria to further secure their jobs during their maternity leaves. It is also critical to note that the such improved record of Jordan in terms of giving an equal status to the women is largely influenced from the initiatives taken from top i.e. King Abdullah, The monarch of the country, is fully committed towards giving women equal rights to the men. It is also due to this reason that the participation of women in the public affairs of the country specially politics has greatly increased.(Gavlak,2004). However, despite such efforts there are still some issues which are de mining the status of women within the society. Violence against women is still a common practice which still requires the attention of government as well as non-governmental organizations in order to put a check on such practices. (Gavlak,2004). Conclusion The status of women in Middle Eastern societies is largely dependent on the relative religious values of the country. Most of Middle Eastern countries excluding Israel are Muslim countries with majority of the population belong to Islam. Due to this reason, the influence of Islamic principles is greater on the mainstream societies of the region and the role and status of women is largely viewed in this perspective. Egypt though is one of the oldest civilizations of the world however; its record in terms of women status is not so satisfactory. The women though are allowed to vote and participate into a political process however; there is still a lot to be done due to the growing domestic violence, lack of legislative rights as well as greater illiteracy of women made them subject to humiliating conditions. On the other hand, however, Jordan has one of the most important and significant records in terms of women rights and status. The country has made unparallel progress in recent times as the Hashemite Kingdom of the country is taking great care in protecting the rights and obligations of the women by providing strong legislative support. The literacy rates in women are higher, and they form significant part of the overall work force of the country besides being actively participated into the Political process of the country. All in All, Jordan still needs some improvements in order to fully implement the rights of women. References 1. Tucker, Judith E (1993). Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 7. 2. Jawad, H. A (1998). Rights of Women in Islam: An Authentic Approach. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 35. 3. Ali, Syed Mohammed (2004). Position of Women in Islam: A Progressive View. New York: Albany State University of New York Press. 10. 4. Hawley, Caroline. (1999). Egyptian women's rights: A century on. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/483309.stm. Last accessed 29 December 2008. 5. Human Rights Watch. (2004). Divorced from Justice. Available: http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11887/section/3. Last accessed 29 December 2008. 6. Keddie. Nikki R. K (2006). Women in the Middle East. New York: Princeton University Press. 389. 7. Gavlak , Dale . (2004). UN examines Jordan women's status. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3511068.stm. Last accessed 29 December 2008. 8. Dale Gavlak . (2004). Bringing Jordan's women into the fold. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3462385.stm. Last accessed 29 December 2008. 9. Dawla. Aida Seif El (2000). Reproductive Rights of Egyptian Women: Issues for Debate,. Reproductive Health Matters. 08 (16), 45-54. 10. Donno, Daniela and. Russett. Bruce M (2004). Islam, Authoritarianism, and Female and Empowerment: What Are the Linkages. World Politics,. 56 (4), 582-607 Read More