Women in the Middle East and North Africa : Change and Continuity

This book explores the complexity of women's social status in the Middle East and North African region and fills a gap in the existing literature by providing an up-to-date and comprehensive portrait of women's status from a theoretical and socio-demographic perspective. This book explores the complexity of women's social status in the Middle East and North African region and fills a gap in the existing literature by providing an up-to-date and comprehensive portrait of women's status from a theoretical and socio-demographic perspective. The author debunks some common assumptions regarding the economic, cultural and demographic transformations of the MENA region. The book highlights the social forces that have transformed the region over the past several decades. Debunking requires exploring the inter-relationship of multiple factors that influence women's integration into public life, factors such as fertility, education, employment and labor migration. It necessitates examining the impact of sudden oil wealth in the region as well as looking at the complex ways in which patriarchal systems are intertwined and often embedded in religion and then enforced by governments This book explores the complexity of women's social status in the Middle East and North African region and fills a gap in the existing literature by providing an up-to-date and comprehensive portrait of women's status from a theoretical and socio-demographic perspective. The author debunks some common assumptions regarding the economic, cultural, and demographic transformations of the MENA region. The book highlights the social forces that have transformed the region over the past several decades. Debunking requires exploring the inter-relationship of multiple factors that influence women's integration into public life, factors such as fertility, education, employment and labor migration. It necessitates examining the impact of sudden oil wealth in the region as well as looking at the complex ways in which patriarchal systems are intertwined and often embedded in religion and then enforced by governments. -- Book Description Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-24 The Path of Social and Economic Change According to the Modernization Theory....Pages 25-31 Patriarchy, Modernization, and the Global Economy....Pages 33-49 Front Matter....Pages 51-51 Women’s Status: The Question of Access to Resources and Women’s Empowerment....Pages 53-60 Women’s Status and Fertility Patterns....Pages 61-71 Education and Status of Women....Pages 73-92 Work: Definition and Patterns....Pages 93-108 Labor Migration, Oil Revenue, and their Impact on Women’s Employment....Pages 109-122 Front Matter....Pages 123-123 Conclusion....Pages 125-163 Back Matter....Pages 165-216 Introduction The path of social and economic change according to the modernization theory Patriarchy, modernization, and the global economy Women's status : the question of access to resources and women's empowerment Fertility patterns, trends, and women's status Education and status of women Work : definition & patterns Labor migration, oil revenue, and their impact on women's employment Conclusion.