women in the middle east:
DESCRIPTION
Women in the Middle East:. Common Threads and Diversity of Experience. Common Threads. Fewer women than men in public life Fewer women than men in the public workforce Higher rates of female illiteracy Lower rates of female education Patriarchal system in the home and in public life. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Women in the Middle East:
Common Threads and
Diversity of Experience
Common Threads
Fewer women than men in public life
Fewer women than men in the public workforce
Higher rates of female illiteracy
Lower rates of female education
Patriarchal system in the home and in public life
Female Literacy
* Female literacy in the MENA region has tripled since the 1970s, but half the women in the region still cannot read or write.
Women’s Participation in the Formal Work Force & Politics
About 80 percent of men participate in the workforce; only about 33 percent of women (in the MENA region)
About 3.5 % of parliamentary seats are occupied by women (lowest % in the world)
Patriarchy: a system that privileges males and elders, giving males legal and economic power over his family members. In broader terms, the extension of male dominance over women in society in general.
Patriarchal system
Public:Public officeCourt testimonyDress codesSegregated work spacesLimitations on movement
Private: Last namesChild custodyDivorce/marriage lawsFreedom of movement & employment
Cultural, linguistic, ethnic diversity
A Bedouin girl
Egyptian women on a bus
Moroccan women demonstrating.
Some Iranian women.
Languages: Persian, Arabic (many dialects), Turkish, Kurdish, Hebrew, etc.
Ethnic groups: Arab, Berber, Persian, Turkish, Jewish, many more
Religion: Shiites, Sunnis, Jews, Christians, Druze, others.
Regional and historic diversity
EXAMPLE-
Saudi Arabia: Women make up 4% of the formal workforce
Egypt: Women make up about 30% of the formal workforce
Women in Turkey: A case study
A Turkish mayoral candidate greets locals at a Diyarbakir market. Photo: NF Watts, 03/04
Historic Backdrop
Kemalist reforms in the new RepublicSources of reforms re: women
EconomicIdeological
Nature of the reformsLegal equalitiesLegal and social inequalities
New Feminism (1980s onward)2002: New civil law
New legal equality within the family
Multiple experiences: Class and status
Women in eastern Turkey.
Class differences: Jobs and status
Former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller
Female employee at a carpet restoration center in Turkey.
Market woman in central Turkey.
My friend Selin making pottery.
Regional Diversity
Map of Turkey; inset map of Turkey’s southeastern provinces
Regional diversity- a Turkish case
Literacy: 78 % literacy for women in Turkey overall (92 % men); in Southeast Turkey, only 55 % women literate.
Education: 92% girls in elementary school in Turkey overall; only 75% in the Southeast
Marriage: in the Southeast, 20% girls marry before age 15 (highly uncommon in the rest of Turkey)
Diversity in Dress: The headscarf
Veiling and exclusion from work NOT synonymous
Full-body covering not specifically required in the Quran
Traditionally veiling was a primarily an upper-class luxury
Village women in southeast Turkey.
Reasons for veiling:
Local custom
Assertion of women’s rights
“Post-modern” reaction
Peer pressure
State/family requirement
Reasons for Veiling: Islam
"Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands..." (Qur'an 24:30-31)
Types of head and body cover
Hijab: Head scarf
Chador: Full body coverDrawings from the Seattle
Times
Types of body covering cont.
Burka
Hindu woman covering face with sari or other covering.
More head/body coverings…
Niqab: the face veil
Head and body fashion, images
Palestinian woman in Gaza
American Muslim woman showing difference between the Niqab (left) and the Hijab (right)
Hijab Fashion
Abayas from Al-Iman Fashion
Hijabs from Al-Iman Fashion
Hijab & Abaya from alKaram fashion