Middle-East Women's Rights

Women’s rights in Iran or the Middle East has always been an arguable issue. Although there rights have been changed throughout the centuries they were never really compared equal to men or noone really accepted them. Specially for women in Iran, they barely had any rights in culture, marriage or other aspects of their lives. In the following essay you will read about the everday lives of Middle Eastern women.

Accustomed to stereotypical depictions, Westerners are told that Middle Eastern women are passive, weak, and always veiled. It is often assumed that the severe conditions in Saudi Arabia—where women are not even allowed to drive cars—represent the norm for women throughout the Middle East and in the larger Muslim world. In reality, Saudi Arabia’s versions of both Islam and sexism are rather unique in their severities, although the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan is now emulating the sexist Saudi model. Women enjoy political and social rights in many Muslim countries, and Egypt has recently granted women the right to divorce their husbands. In Tunisia, abortion is legal, and polygamy is prohibited. Women have served as ministers in the Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Tunisian governments, and as Vice President in Iran.

Throughout centuries of human existence, women have been deemed as inferior to men in multiple different cultures and religions. Men have developed a norm to be the individual who carries out duties to help maintain a stable life for himself and the family in which he is providing for. Because of this fundamentalist approach towards how society should be, women’s rights have been suppressed throughout political, social, and cultural actions. The Islamic religion in particular, is fond of abusing the rights of women and empowering the rights of men in such a way that it has created a permanent existence of conflict within countries who follow Islam. In fact, in the Quran it states that women must have lesser authority than men, therefore their

“Life is full of unhappiness and most of it caused by women (Harik and Marston 11)”. For women in the Middle East life is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and that of patriarchy. From their daily actions at home to their physical appearance, Middle Eastern women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the middle do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied a voice in their rights. Living in a society dominated by men life is not, but regardless women in the Middle East, predominantly Muslims, continue to fight for

In middle eastern society Many may claim that the women in the middle east are being oppressed but the same may be said about women living in the west. Until quite recently in time women here in the United States received an equal status to men. Whereas these traditions and

Men and women in the US have equal rights in terms of driving and taking cases to court. As for education, in the US, colleges have a higher enrollment of females than males, this is far from Saudi Arabia where many women remain with minimal levels of education as result of their male dominated society. The one area where the two countries have a slight similarity is in the work force. Women in Saudi Arabia are limited to positions that are suitable to their nature. In the United States women and men generally pursue undergraduate degrees in different fields which results in the majority of men a women commonly working in different professions and fields. This is one of the explanations for the supposed “wage gap” in the United States. Another example gender stratification in the US workforce comes from the “CEO Power Gap” and the “glass ceiling”. Both of these concepts indicate that women have historically had difficulties obtaining the highest levels of management within the corporate world. In spite of all of this, it is clear the conditions for women in the United States are significantly better than those for women in Saudi Arabia. The concept of femininity in Saudi Arabia is one of independence and inferiority to the superior and dominant idea of masculinity within the nation. This is simply not the case, especially to that degree, in the United

In the Middle East there are many restrictions against women. However there are people who are fighting to support women or others who just do care about the women well beings. We might not see that there are many injustices committed every day and every time, because we just do not hear about it or we do not take the time to realize what is really surrounding us. People had various reactions against the government. For example we saw many who had solidarity for women, and others who decided to only complain about why women should be treated as second class. I believe that we actually need to take the time to learn about what is really happening in the world. Personally, I say this because I also had no idea what was injustices

Women’s rights in the Middle East have always been a controversial issue. Although the rights of women have changed over the years, they have never really been equal to the rights of a man. This poses a threat on Iran because women have very limited options when it comes to labor, marriage and other aspects of their culture. I believe that equal treatment for women and men is a fundamental principal of international human rights standards. Yet, in some places like Iran, discriminatory practices against women are not only prevalent, but in some cases, required by law. In this essay I will explain to you the every day life of an every day Islamic woman living in Iran. You will be astonished by what these women

When we look back through history you will find a timeline of events showing exactly when women gained certain rights and for what. Most of these events occurred in the late 1800’s and all throughout the 1900’s. Since 2000 the women of Saudi Arabia have gained 9 new rights even being as small as being able to have an ID.Ever since the rule of King Fahd the rights of women in Saudi Arabia have been growing, although some of the rights might seem little but

Have you ever wondered how people around the world live? If so, then at some point in time in your life you thought like a Cultural Anthropologist. But have you ever thought about how the way people in the Middle East live? Probably not right? Islam and Middle Eastern culture, might be the most misunderstood culture from around the world. It is especially difficult to understand by those in western societies. People who live in western societies tend to have this stigma towards people from the Middle East that they’re bad people and they’re all terrorist when in fact they’re not. They are a regular society, deeply rooted in tradition and culture. Westerners sometimes don’t understand that because it’s western ideology to be civilized and conform to what those with social power say what’s right. For many years, the people of the Middle East have been targeted by western imperialism to try and change who they are and what they believe in, but most countries put up a fight. The role of women in the Middle East has been especially difficult to understand by those outside of the culture. Contrary to what many people might believe, women play a major role in their society and are not as oppressed as many people may think. They contribute highly to education, the economy, and other social and cultural factors such as religion, family, and the social status of women in the Middle East.

If you were to go to the Middle Eastern North African region (MENA), you most likely won’t see females with education or equality. According to the MENA-OECD, the literacy

Many women suffer around the world and have trouble gaining equal rights. Countries such as: Iran (where women have to cover their face and legs), Saudi Arabia (where women can not be in public without their face covered), and France (where you can not cover your face in public), have strict rules about what clothing women can wear (Bruce-Lockhart) (Kim). Women have been suffering and fighting for rights around the world for centuries. Some of the many major issues that they fought for or are still fighting for now are the right to vote, the political and economical power the women are limited to, and the right to and education.

The rise and expansion of Islam has had a significant impact on the role and rights of women throughout history. Since its origin in the seventh century until modern times, the Muslim faith has somewhat broadened, but has mostly restricted women’s rights in numerous Islamic communities. The history of Muslim women is complex, as it involves many advances and declines in numerous locations, such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iran, concerning several subjects, including both civil and social rights. Thus, in general, the rights of Islamic women did not improve significantly over time, instead, conditions remained the same or became worse for women as Islam evolved and spread as a world religion.

"Those who are free cannot fathom the value of small victories for those who live on a tether" (Sasson 116). In contrast to the rights provided to the people of the United States of America, women in Saudi Arabia have little to no freedoms and are treated as property. Saudi women are just as entitled to basic human rights as other men and women around the world, which leads to the question of what restrictions are placed upon them, and how these affect their lives. The second class status of women in Saudi Arabia has a significant negative impact on their lives and results in the desperate actions they take. The second class status of women in Saudi Arabia has a significant negative impact on their lives and results in their desperate actions.

The diversities within North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (cultural, religious, political, etc.) play a crucial part in the status of women and the key features of gender roles in these particular geographic regions. The Middle East and North Africa share commonalities through Arabic and Islamic culture. Establishing equalities for women amongst the current social and political changes of Middle Eastern and North African societies stands as a difficult obstacle to overcome, but in spite of this, women’s rights efforts are still being made. While Islamic culture is dominant in Southeast Asia, the culture of Southeast Asian nations is diverse. Islam and gender in Southeast Asia have contributed to the continuing debate over Islam, feminism, and gender rights in the region. The cultures of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are male dominated, but this cultural dominance might not sustain in the future. This essay will compare and contrast the current status of women and the key features of gender roles in North Africa and the Middle East with those of Southwest Asia. Examples will also be provided to justify any arguments that are made.