Women In The Middle East: Women's Place Is In The Home

The conjecture held of women’s lives in the Middle East is derived from a standardized Western view and judgements come from a singular dimension viewpoint. Especially in the United States, many believe that women in the Middle East are denied all basic rights. What is failed to be taught in many American grade schools is that a vast number of women in the Middle East are receiving rights that American women did not have up until the 19th century. For example, the Quran explicitly states in Section 5 that women have the same rights as men when it comes to inherent property. Women in the United States only gained this right in 1839. When looking at such a complex issues as gender norms and roles in the Middle East it is vital to consider their evolution of their rights.

The political participation of women in the middle east has been highly encouraged since 1979 revolution which led to the initiation of Islamic Republic but Authoritarian government tends to put women to a halt. Authoritarianism is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, “of, relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people.” Women in the Arab world are still facing many challenges when trying to gain equivalence in legislative bodies. While there are systems in place to ensure gender inequalities are as limited as possible, research conducted by Goulding (2009,76) studying Tunisia “the efficacy of gender quotas set forth to encourage women to become active participants in their government is hindered by the authoritarian structure in which they exist.”

Women in the Middle East are making leeway in their fight for equality in the judicial system. Article 8 of the Basic Law requires the government to be held to the standard of equality in accordance with Shari'a, or Islamic law. One amendments that is vital to women moving forward in the Middle East is Article 16 of the Citizen Law (amended in 2007) gave citizenship to women who were widowed or divorced by a Saudi man. Another amendment amended shortly after Article 16 gives the government ultimate power to repeal citizenship to a foregin-born Saudi women after being widowed, or divorced. These amendments are big steps in ensuring that women have basic and equal rights. This gives the opportunity for them to stay in the country where their families reside. It would require renunciation of citizenship if they desire to come back. Since 2002, women have had the right to apply for an ID card rather than depending on their guardian's ID cards. In 2008 the Saudi National Society for Human Rights gave women the opportunity to obtain an ID without needing permission from their guardian, yet another step in the right direction. Not everywhere, though. In Saudi Arabia there is a hierarchical society that gives men ultimate power, especially power over women. Women is Saudi Arabia are required to be veiled while in public, and do not have the right to drive inside the Kingdom. The government is taking big strides for women in the middle east but in order to keep the momentum moving forward, they need to review all of their current policies and completely forbid gender discrimination.

FGM, also know as female genital mutilations is defined by the World Health Organization as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.' The WHO claims that FGM 'reduces a woman's libido and therefore [is] believed to help her resist extramarital sexual acts” and claims it to be 'associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are clean and beautiful after removal of body parts that are considered unclean, unfeminine and male.' FGM originated 2000 years ago in anciet Egypt and is often warrented as a religious reason. The Quran makes no remarks in agreeance with this. Pain, excessive blood in urine, childbirth complications, and long-term psychological damage are just a few consequences of the vile act. FGM has been banned in Eypt, Sudan and Djibouti. Not all countries have banned it; although countries such as Yemen have prohibited it by medical professionals. A huge iissue at large here is that it is still legal to perform in the home and there is no way to know if a young woman has gone through genital mutilation is if they suffer tramatic bleeding and have to be taken to a medical professional, even then it is not punishable by law. The worst part of this is that women feel as if their daughters will be shunned if they do not undergo this procedure. Women are teaching their daughters to not talk about their procedure afterwards and forbidding them from touching their sexual organs. Conversations about FGM are taboo in most Middle Eastern countries which ultimately leads to a lack of information. This is happening to girls so young they can not even fully understand what this procedure is, or what is happening to them. We can not keep putting millions of women’s lives at risk every year to avoid hurting a culture’s tradition.