Women in the Arab World – a generalization

I have lived seventeen years of my life in the Middle East, and was the target of a great amount of stereotypes. A common stereotype that many Muslims have to deal with is that we practice a religion of gender discrimination and misogyny. While it may infuriate many Muslims, especially women, I do find it understandable that people correlate misogyny with Islam; my blog posts will aim to further that correlation, while clearing out any misconceptions I would encounter along the way. My blog will focus on the analysis of women’s treatment around the world – much of it will center on the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia. The regions I have mentioned previously have a significant Muslim population; while I will be contrasting the treatment of women in other religions and Islam, I will be focusing on the Muslim viewpoint due to my personal experiences and knowledge. I will also heavily incorporate elements of religion, culture, and tradition in my posts in order to set boundaries between regional problems, and Islamic ones. While you will notice, in later posts, that I tend to focalize my arguments on one issue, I will be giving a very general analysis on a number of controversial subjects in this post. I will be introducing my blog quite broadly, and personally, in order to give you (my reader) an idea of where I came from, and the public’s general treatment of women there.

“Qiyadiyat (meaning “female leaders” in Arabic), is Abu Dhabi’s first Emirati female leadership platform. It was created last year by a group of friends in management positions to develop, inspire and provide networking opportunities for fellow Emirati working women.”

After introducing myself to most Americans, I’m almost always asked how life back at home was (as a means to carry on the conversation) and that is almost always followed by: “How are women treated in your country?” or, for the sake of tact, “Does your mom/sister work or dress the same as we do?”; the latter is usually easier to answer because it is information that comes directly from my own experience, and so is much simpler to explain than to speak for the millions of women living in the United Arab Emirates. While I could generalize by using the laws and regulations of the UAE that are governing the female population, the correlation of how that really affects the women in the country is as accurate as how the United States’ statutes protect the disenfranchised minorities here;  what I’m trying to say is that while rules exist, they can never prevent the general populace from hating, discriminating, or misogynising.

To answer the ‘easier’ question, I always tell a story of this relative of mine who on the age of 18 was peer pressured into wearing the hijab. This relative of mine went on to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering from a prestigious university. After her graduation, my relative got a job from a top firm as a Radiology and Explosives Manager with a starting salary of around 60,000$. After having established herself as a successful person with a great social circle of friends at the age of 24, my relative (no longer peer pressured) felt that she no longer wanted her hijab, and decided to take it off; not surprisingly, she still has a great job, good friends, and the support of her all-Muslim and Arab family. However, I must reiterate the fact that the Arab World consists of 22 extremely different countries and so my relative’s comfort is never the case for all Arab women. The Arab World, while constantly progressing, still has a huge gap to fill when it comes to gender equality.

A woman in Saudi Arabia protesting by posting a picture of herself driving online

Let’s take for instance Saudi Arabia, while no official law actually exists that bans women from driving, the social pressure from extreme Islamic conservatives still prevents women to drop their own children to school, or drive around town in their own cars. Saudi Arabia is the only country of 50 Muslim majority countries in the world to ban women from driving.  Another example, somewhat parallel to the previous one, would be the laws of Egypt regarding Female Genital Mutilation; even though it is strictly prohibited to carry out any acts of FGM in Egypt as of 2008, it still continues as the norm in many parts of the country. It is not the acceptance of misogyny that allows discrimination to persist in some parts of the Arab World, but rather the lack of protest from many men, and women who are raised to comply with the demands of their male counterparts. A country is composed of land, a governmental body, and a significant populace; any can’t function without the rest. The government can only do so much – as in the case of Egypt. We aren’t always split into “the 98%” and “the top 2%”, sometimes the difference of distribution isn’t that great; even if most the Saudi Arabians want to grant women equal rights, why should the government comply with them if there’s another significant chunk who wishes otherwise? Until next time.