Women 's Education During The Middle East

One of the major issues the world has been dealing with for years and years is the oppression of women. A lot of women have been mistaken for their rights, and gender stereotypes are hard to break. The oppression of women showcased in many different ways such as jobs and their right to education. Many girls have had their education stripped away from them due to the fact that they are being sold to men.

Saudi Arabia is commonly known for its strict moral values and customs regarding religion and women. Gender discrimination is a global conflict but it is prevalently seen in Saudi Arabia. Gender discrimination is so poignant in Saudi Arabia because there are strict sets of moral guidelines and ideologies that Saudi Arabian culture implements on its people. Although Saudi Arabian men impose restrictions on women for the sake of upholding their cultural beliefs and family’s honor, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabian culture is male dominated and holds misogynistic views on women, but progress is being made.

In the United States in 2016, women were paid 80 percent of what men were paid (Kevin Miller, The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap). Women are still treated as second hand to men to this day, but we have come a far way since the sixteenth century European women. Women can go to school, work, and have lives in the United States. In other countries and cultures, however, women still have a long fight ahead of them. In Saudi Arabia, women were just recently granted the ability to drive (Nicole Gaouette and Elise Labott, CNN). This is a huge stepping stone for women in Saudi Arabia and many more countries. The guardianship rule in Saudi Arabia is still ongoing, stating that women cannot make any decision without a man or young boy telling her yes or no. Women have no freedom for making their own choices, but their chains will soon be loosened through newly imprinted laws. Just like in the home, European women and Native American women vary greatly in societal structure and cultures.

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

From the 1800’s to present day, the Middle East has undergone many changes and continuities causing formation of their national identity, main factors that contributed were social aspects on society, government structure, and the strong religious roots they possess. The majority of changes occurred through the society aspects with the treatment of women and the discovery of oil. In Middle Eastern history women have had limited rights and have always been unequal to men. Women have always remained very conservative; being sheltered from other men not being able to go in public being covered from head to toe. The discovery of oil has also created many opportunities for the Middle East giving them a national identity and increasing economy.

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.

Yet, when one considers the life of a modern woman of an Islamic country like Saudi Arabia, this viewpoint is still an issue in today’s world. Arabian women, just as women were in ancient Greece, are put in strata below that of men. This is illustrated by the fact that Saudi women are not allow to have a driver’s license and, therefore, can’t legally drive (washingtonpost.com). Additionally, each woman is lorded over by their male guardian to whom they must permission for anything outside the domain of the

Women, or the female human being as defined in the dictionary, have been the discussion for so many ages. They have defended their sexuality, rights and had to fight for their equality with men. In the public view, we see that the image of women in the west differ from the east or that is what have been known for years. The image of women in the west is outgoing, free, and equal to men. While in the east, women as published in media, news, etc is dying of poverty, sexual violence, and being overpowered by men.

The largest world supplier oil company is Saudi Aramco. It is the most profitable company on the earth. Since it is the most powerful oil company, it has a great impact on the world economy. As a result, a strong international relationship was built with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the strong developing of international relationship with other industrial countries resulted in massive contributions to the politics, economy, and many different aspects. In 1933, Saudi government bestowed oil concession to California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Chevron). The main factor for this grant was to explore the oil in the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After discovering a huge amount of oil, part of the

Between 500 CE and 1450 CE, elements of women’s roles in the Middle East were changing while others remained the same for over 900 years. The duties women filled in society remained constant through the years. Changing, though, was the decline of social importance of women and a degradation of their rights.

Somehow, I knew I was losing Ms. Basha’ir. I could tell she was not the same person. Her energy in teaching was slowly disappearing. Her dream to one day be freed of limitations was getting smaller each day. And I understood perfectly what she was going through. With all those restrictions I would probably feel the same way.  During my free time when I would step outside from school I saw that gender segregation is common in all areas of public life in Saudi Arabia, from the more obvious places, like swimming pools in public clubs, gyms and resorts to the less obvious, such as restaurants, coffee shops and even in ice cream shops. While you will hardly ever encounter a single Saudi woman on the streets, a woman living in Saudi Arabia who would like to dine out alone in the evening can usually do so in the family area of most restaurants.

Throughout the 19th century Middle Eastern women were viewed by Europeans as well as both Middle Eastern men and women as a means through which to change society. Ideas and standards about how these women should act and be varied across culture, gender, and country. There was no singular answer to “the woman question.” What was universal however was the idea that women would be the answer to the larger questions about Middle Eastern society and how it would evolve.

In the field of comparative education, analysing the ways in which teaching and learning can be gendered is an important topic of discussion. Recent studies surrounding girl’s schooling in the developing world, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa, raise questions about the relevant of gender parity as a means to obtain educational equality. The number of out-of-school children consisted of disproportionately of girls in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, comparativists often use quantitative data to analyse the female-to-male ratios on enrollment, access, and educational achievement. The Millennium Development Goals (2000) also focused on increasing access to primary school (Goal 2), and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary schooling (Goal 3). Yet, such quantitative data does not reveal whether gains in enrollment translate into gains to the social status of women’s livelihood in developing countries.

The omnipresence of the American and European culture in the countries of the Middle East is a universally recognized phenomenon. The culture, thoughts and status quo of the people have been and continually are being changed and challenged due the mass spread of American goods and ideas. The American national culture largely revolves around the wants, needs and goals of the individual. As the one of the greatest superpowers of the time, its influence on the global community towards the focus on the individual is nothing short of inevitable. The movies, clothing and new age mentality of America are sending all people regardless of age, upbringing and locale, into a grand scale social

Growing up I saw two kinds of women in my life: those who were housewives and those who were waiting to become housewives. It was not something that was forced; however, it was not contested either. Women in my world see getting married and having children as an accomplishment. If you have achieved these pillars, then you can say you have succeeded. In my culture, it is a man’s job to be the breadwinner and the woman's job to rear the children. I did not see anything wrong with this, until I understood the culture that I came from. If women had made this choice because it was what they wanted then there would nothing wrong with that choice, but it was a cultural obligation for these women not a choice.