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Chloe Falconer
Williams
English 112
27 March 2015
Womens Rights in the Middle East
Discrimination against women is defined by the United Nations General Assembly in The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as, "...any
distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their
marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field. In recent years, the
advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, or
more commonly known as feminism, has resurfaced as a popular movement globally. One
specific region that is often in the public eye for atrocities against women and against an equal
society is the Middle East. However, the level of inequality faced by women in Middle Eastern
states still vary greatly between specific peoples and communities. Many of the causes for the
inferior status of Middle Eastern women are native to Middle Eastern beliefs and/or religions,
but the West has exacerbated this oppression with their efforts and focuses on curing the situation
that often bring about negative repercussions (AbuKhalil). Yet, the model of gender ideals being
strived for in the Western world enable a measure of progress towards equality as it holds a
universal aspiration that can inspire Middle Eastern societies. Women in the Middle East are
forced to face systematic discrimination in not only law, but also economical, cultural
environment, bringing women to a subordinate status. In the Middle East there are also family

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relations in most of the region that declare the husband power over his wife, leaving women
required to obey her husband and quite powerless.
The legal status of women in the Middle East is currently unstable and problematic.
Customary laws, Islamic laws, imported European laws, and reformed versions of Islamic laws
affect women in varying degrees in different Middle Eastern legal systems, and the status of
women does not seem to have been settled in any of them. The situation where a Westernized
political group imposed legal reforms on societies that were still largely very traditional, may
now be reversed. In Iran, some Middle Eastern governments are seeking to reassign legal status
to women at a time when an expanding segment of their societies has been influenced by the
women's liberation movement in the West. Under these circumstances it seems certain that the
legal status of women in the Middle East will remain a greatly contested issue (Elizabeth).
In the poorest countries, women have little power in the home or community. As a
country develops, women are progressively empowered until they reach the state of their
counterparts in the West, where the gender gap has been eliminated in education, if not in
salaries. Similar descending lines would be apparent if we substituted any of a host of measures
of female disempowerment, ranging from the social acceptance of domestic violence to attitudes
toward women in the workplace. Women's health improves along with economic development,
too. While women everywhere generally live longer than men, this advantage is smaller in poor
countries (Jayachandran). In short, according to most measures, women do better in relative
terms as countries get richer.
In the areas of Syria and Iraq where Islamic State took control, extremists have taken
women as concubines, forced them into marriages, and sold them in makeshift slave markets. In
Islamic states, womens inequality because of the cultural and religious norms must be addressed

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by legislation but also efforts to change public perceptions. Women in Yemen and Libya had
played a pivotal role in uprisings against autocratic and misrule, but they were soon
marginalized, their voices silenced. Women in Saudi Arabia continued to be punished for driving,
and the country maintains the role of the male guardian for almost everything a woman wants to
do. Awareness of their rights is rising among Middle Eastern women of all classes, especially
among the young (Esfandiari).
Women all over the world face prejudices and disadvantages, often at the hands of the opposite
sex. Issues can range from wage gaps, sexist slurs, and objectification to extreme violence and
restrictions on womens lives. Females in the region of the Middle East are especially maltreated.
In the Middle East, women are not able to disobey their husband due to gender roles and
expectations that create an environment of required subordination for women. Women are also
forced to face routine discrimination in their culture which is often made worse by economic
situations. This brings women to be seen as lesser in respect to their social position and leaves
them with almost no autonomy. Cultures also prevent progress towards equality every time a
human rights law related to women is restricted by that nations traditions or conservative
beliefs. The hopeful outcome of many people is that Middle Eastern women will continue to
fight religious extremists and autocrats and in the end, they will prevail, however only time will
show the result.

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Works Cited
AbuKhalil, As'ad. "Women in the Middle East." Islamic Research Foundation International.
N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
Elizabeth, Ann, and Mayer. "Law and Women in the Middle East." Cultural Survival. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Esfandiari, Haleh. "How Will Women in the Middle East Fare in 2015?." Washington Wire.
N.p., 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2015..
Jayachandran, Seema. "Does economic development mean less discrimination against women? If
only it were that simple ..."The Milken Institute Review: A Journal of Economic Policy
Jan. 2015: 35+. Global Issues in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Kelly, Sanja. "Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa." Freedom House. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 Mar. 2015.