Women’s social status in Arab countries
Wang Wei Qi Student ID :S06091
Law School
Research Paper Supervisor : Dr. Sekou Conde
Minzhu University of China
2006-2007 Academic
Abstract : Examine the roles and restricted rights of women in socio-development of the country .
Key words : Islam , freedom , Human rights , equal Rights
Discrimination suffered by women throughout the world can be examined through two principal lenses: nationality and class, especially in Arab countries. The reasons for discrimination against women, the means employed and the manner of oppression vary. At the theoretical level, the fact that women belong to different social classes and to separate national groups makes it difficult to identify shared interests among all. Nonetheless, all women have an interest in advancing a struggle to improve their position on the social ladder, since their present low status is a result of their gender. However, on the practical level, a call for complete and immediate liberation from male authority may leave many women without physical or economic protection[1]. This paper is structured by four themes to illuminate women’s social status in Arab countries.
Part One. The current situation of women’s social status in Arab countries
It should be admitted that progress made by Arab governments to enhance women's well-being and welfare; the impact of globalization on Arab women's economic security; Arab women's social security and their role in the political life of their countries. But there are many problems about Arab women’s social status.
The basic problem facing the Arab women is the imbalance between her responsibilities and her rights. She has no access to conditions and facilities necessary to carry her responsibilities. There are groups of Arab women who experience more disadvantages than others. Those who are privileged should work together with the disadvantages to support the letter and achieve common goals. Women’s issues are not exclusively her own and should be addressed within a wider context by both women and men. Membership of the Alliance is therefore opened to both sexes. The problems of women and children are many times intricate and should be managed within such understanding.
Take Palestinian Arab women for example, Palestinian Arab women and girls account for 572,000 of Israel’s citizens. They are the most disadvantaged sector of the population, facing double discrimination both as Arabs within the Israeli state, and women within Palestinian society. These combine to make Palestinian Arab women in Israel the poorest, least paid, least educated portion of the community who are subject to forms of legal abuse, with inadequate protection by the courts. Their situation is made worse by their lack of political representation and lack of access to decision-making and positions of power. As a consequence, their perspectives and needs are continually neglected.
Incomes & Poverty:
In 1997 28.3% of Arab families were living under the poverty line, while only 16% of Jewish families were. In 1996, average income per capita for Arab household was 44.1% of the average per capita “The Committee notes that no clear plan of action exists which addresses the situation of the most disadvantaged group of women, namely those belonging to the Arab minority. The Committee recommends that targeted measures be considered to accelerate progress towards equality, in particular for Arab women.”
Arab women suffer from a higher proportion of this poverty since they have less of their own sources of income. In 1997, 80% of Arab women of working age did not work (compared to 45.8% nationwide). While the State does not maintain regular statistics for Palestinian women’s employment, it is commonly accepted that they occupy the bottom rung of the employment ladder: the average income for women in Israel is 57% of the average male income; just as the average income of an Arab man is 68% of that of a Jewish man.
Health rights:
Women's health is integrated as a fundamental part of the public health system. Arab women still suffer from diseases and chronic health problems stemming from poor nutrition and health care provision. It is the mainspring of important national programs such as the national prenatal program, the program on 'population and family health', and the national program for the control of maternal mortality. The national programs of STD/AIDS prevention and mental health also target women specifically.
Besides, childcare also should be paid attentions. Currently, 95% of Jewish 3 year olds attend kindergarten, while only 44% of Arab 3 year olds do. The lack of childcare provisions has a serious consequence on Palestinian women’s ability to work. The Compulsory Education (Preschools) Law Amendment extends free education to children from 3 years upwards. Its implementation was delayed until 1999, and initially implemented only in 5 Arab localities. After public pressure, this was increased to 36; however, this still compares unfavorably with the 146 Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories where the law is implemented.[2]
Education Rights:
The deprivation of basic education and knowledge poverty is considered as key determinants of the deplorable social and economic conditions of Arab women. It should also oppose taking religion or culture as reasons to violate women's rights. Women account for half the medical profession, half the teaching profession in primary and secondary education and about a third in higher education, 24% of the magistracy, 22% of lawyers, 30% of pharmacists, 25% of journalists and over 2000 head their own enterprises. Women, particularly in the rural and outlying environments, have taken advantage of the financing of 27% of the projects financed by the Tunisian Solidarity Bank since its establishment in 1997.
Compulsory Education Law made the government responsible for providing free compulsory education to children from age 5. Despite the achievements of Israel’s education system, there are great disparities within it between Arabs and Jews in terms of facilities, funding allocations, number of pupils per class and academic achievements. In particular, there is a failure to implement the Compulsory Education Law within the Arab community. In 1997, 42% of Arab students dropped out of school, compared with 12% of Jewish students. This situation is worse among Arab girls, particularly those living in the unrecognized villages and the Negev (see inset box). According to 1997 statistics, 11.7% of Arab women are illiterate while only 4% of Jewish women are; 22.2% of Arab women completed only elementary school, whereas 9.7% of Jewish women did.
The education system in the Negev is commonly recognized to be the most disadvantaged in the country. Due to traditional concerns, many families do not permit their daughters to learn outside of their village, which has devastating consequences on their education. In 1997, only 45% of the school age girls in the Negev were at school. A 1999 HRA survey of 55 Arab Bedouin women in the Negev, aged 15-65, and from both unrecognized and recognized villages found the following:
43% of the women interviewed were illiterate. Only 16% of the women interviewed had completed high school. Only 4.5% had passed their school matriculation exams. Only 2% had begun some form of further education. When asked what they felt was the most important need for them and their community, 65% responded that their most essential needs were educational: providing schools, kindergartens and also adult education and literacy classes.
Universal and free education has greatly benefited girls and the institution of compulsory education from age 6 to age 16 under the law on the reform of the educational system promulgated in 1991, aims, in particular, to guarantee the maintenance of girls in the school environment. The schooling rate of girls aged 6 increased to 99% in 1997/98, an even rate with that of boys. The percentage of girls in school in 1999/2000 is 47.4% in primary education, 50.6% in secondary education and 50.4% in higher education.
Personal Status Rights:
Ⅰ Status of Religious Courts:
In Israel religious courts have predominant jurisdiction on personal status issues among Moslem and Christian communities. The Arab religious courts are characterized by a lack of funding, staff and unsuitable appointments. The Ministry of Religious Affairs allocates only 2% of its budget to Arab religious communities. For the 900,000 Moslems in Israel there are 7 courts but only 6 judges, none of whom are women. Over 1,500 cases per court per year are dealt with by a staff of one qadi and one secretary. Under Israeli law any married Moslem man can be a qadi, and as a consequence, the majority of appointments are political rather than specialists. In this situation, women are subject to a number of violations of their legal rights:
Marriage Age Law in Arab countries prohibits marriages under the age of 17. According to the National Council of the Child, 33% of Arab women aged 17-18 are married. Accurate data for age groups younger than this is difficult to obtain, since underage marriages are not registered with the Ministry of the Interior. During the years 1990-96, only 16 complaints of underage marriages were registered in all the police departments in Israel. 13 of these cases were closed and only 3 were committed. It is police policy to take no action if the girl is 16, in direct violation of the law.
Ⅱ Political rights:
Arab women have started to play an active role in [...]
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