A weak breeze of change

[Tonia]

Women in the Middle East

A weak breeze of change
Feb 2nd 2008
From Economist.com

Are matters improving slightly?

MUST try a lot harder. That is the message of a UN report on the
elimination of discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, published
on Friday February 1st. The authors spent three weeks reviewing
restrictions on women's life in the kingdom, and in seven other
countries in the region. Although the picture remains bleak in many
places, there is some evidence that the position of Saudi women is
getting a little better, just as it is for women in most Arab
countries.

The UN found plenty to condemn in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has its
own understanding of sex equality as women having "similar" (meaning
fewer) rights rather than equal rights with men. The practice of male
guardianship continues, whereby male relatives are able to decide on
many aspects of women's daily life, from whether they may travel to
deciding on whether marriage is permitted. Although tentative steps
have been taken towards democracy, with municipal elections
implemented, women are unable to vote or to stand for office. The
legal situation is particularly grim: laws do not exist, for example,
specifically forbidding violence against women. Last year a Saudi
court sentenced the victim of a gang rape, who had violated laws on
segregation of the sexes, to six months in prison and 200 lashes--King
Abdullah eventually pardoned her after tumultuous international
criticism.

But there are signs that things may be getting a little better for the
kingdom's women. Laws forbidding violence against women are now being
drafted. Women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied. The
government has given initial approval for the establishment of the
first Saudi women's rights body. And the first women's football match
was played in the eastern province earlier this month, with men
excluded from the stadium entirely. There are even suggestions that an
infamous ban on women drivers may be lifted later this year. Such
improvements are slight, but welcome. And they reflect marginal
improvements elsewhere in the Middle East.

In education, especially, women are taking large strides. Over half of
Saudi Arabia's university students are female. In Kuwait and Qatar the
share is even higher. Although Arab girls still only receive on
average three-quarters of the schooling that boys get, female
education is improving fast in Arab countries.

Women are now allowed to vote, at least in some sort of poll, in all
Arab countries except Saudi Arabia. Quotas for female representatives
in parliament have helped to lift their numbers throughout the region.
And although still rare, there are a few women in significant
ministerial positions in some countries, such as Sheikha Lubna al-
Qasimi, the economy minister in the United Arab Emirates.

What explains these improvements? Pressure from Western governments
and from institutions such as the UN probably helps. Local and
international women's groups are also pushing governments to respond,
taking advantage of the fact that some rulers are eager to project a
more progressive image to the West. The presence of powerful
businesswomen--still a rare breed--in some of these groups helps get
them heard.

Businesswomen are often from privileged backgrounds and rise through
family businesses. But their emergence reflects a broader trend of
growing participation by women in the formal economy over the past 15
years. It is clear why that makes sense. At a conference in Dubai, in
December, on the role of Arab women in the economy, a representative
from PepsiCo pointed out that developing the role of women "is not
just a moral position, it is a smart business proposition." In a
region desperately short of well-educated native talent, tapping the
other half of the local population is evidently a smart thing to do.

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10632747&fsrc=RSS