Women and Gender Roles in the Middle East
Women all across the globe have unfortunately faced times of extreme oppression, including the United States. Consequently, women in the Middle East are still subjected to this treatment and lack rights that many women in the world do have in this day and age. Although the United States and many other countries have gone through a similar struggle, the situation surrounding gender roles around the world has improved, although there is still immense improvement to come. Many people have a preconceived notion about women and gender roles that are present in the Middle East, but many are not aware of the right that women do have and exactly what they do not have the right to do.
Although the culture in the Middle East is highly oppressive to women, they have more rights than one may think. Many people believe that the oppressive practices stem from the predominant religion in the Middle East, Islam, but they are embedded into the culture. This is identified in the Quran, that men and women are equal in the eyes of god (Hansen). In the Islam religion and Muslim culture, women have the right to specify conditions of their marriage, and can divorce their husband under certain conditions such as, if they engage with another woman in a physical relationship. Many women in the Middle East do not take their husband’s last name when they get married, because they are not expected to. The Quran also instructs Muslims to educate their daughters and sons, and women have the right to own and inherit property (Hansen). From this it can be gathered that, it is not the religion of the Middle East that enforces acts of oppression towards women, it is the cultural traditions that are present that are dictatorial over women, so Islam may take on a different role in terms of gender in other countries such as the US because of the interpretations of the Quran.
Because the gender roles of the Middle East are embedded into the culture, this treatment of women is taken as the norm of how their society runs. In this region, the family is the most important social unit, so women are seen and respected at the sustainers of the family, thus they believe that women’s bodies must be protected from their virginity being taken. According to London Douglas, “It is estimated that up to 90% of women never leave their home, and certainly the low number of women in public space supports this.” From this it is evident that women are prevented from living freely in the outside world as a form of “protection” because they are not thought to have the ability to protect themselves. This is why women wear a burqa to cover their bodies, faces, and hair, in fear of sexual abuse. Many women who are sexually abused, are scolded and intended to be killed by their families and their perpetrators face no repercussions. Women have the ability to escape to a safe haven, but then are forced to live in hiding and rejection (Douglas). According to the UN, everyone has the right to education, but the Middle East does not implement this into their culture. Women can go to school, but are then expected to serve their husbands as a wife and a mother. According to Annie Akkam, “Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iran, Egypt, and Yemen are almost 10% more behind male literacy.” This means that women are 10% lower in literacy compared to the global average. It is then explained that yes, some girls do attend school, but, “The total percentage of girls enrolled in primary and secondary schools in the Middle East is 44%.” From this it can be gathered that, many women and girls do not attend school for very long, or any school at all due to the oppression that is very prevalent in the Middle East. Overall, the culture in the Middle East is where the male domination stems from, not the religion of Islam.
Overall, in comparison to other regions, women in the Middle East face immense hardships surrounding gender roles and expectations. Many countries have gone through similar times of women’s suffrage, but have been on the road to equality, like the US. Many people have the misconception that the religion in the Middle East is where the roots of oppression toward women comes from, but it is engraved in the culture as a whole in the Middle East in terms of education and free reign that women have.
Bibliography:
Hansen, Jennifer. “Women and Gender Roles in the Middle East.” TeachMideast, teachmideast.org/articles/introduction-women-gender-roles-middle-east/.
London, Douglas, et al. “The Oppressed Women of Afghanistan: Fact, Fiction, or Distortion.” Middle East Institute, 16 Jan. 2020, www.mei.edu/publications/oppressed-women-afghanistan-fact-fiction-or-distortion.
Akkam, Annie. “Women’s Education in the Middle East: Facts About Lack of Women’s Education.” Women’s, Women\’s Gogo, 7 Nov. 2017, women-s.net/womens-education-in-the-middle-east/.
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