Women in the Arab world

These differences can be attributed to local traditions, culture and religion, women's social or legal status, their level of education, health or self-awareness.

However, the status and rights of women have evolved over time and vary greatly across the region due to a combination of cultural, religious, and legal factors.

[5] Other authors have agreed that women's status in pre-Islamic Arabia was poor, citing practices of female infanticide, unlimited polygyny, patrilineal marriage, and others.

[12] It is generally accepted that Islam changed the structure of Arab society and to a large degree unified the people, reforming and standardizing gender roles throughout the region.

(Qur'an 3:195)[16] Islam revolutionized women's role in society unlike any force before, as it uplifted their status in both the public and domestic spheres, and declared them as morally equal in God's view.

Islam provided women with rights that men must fulfill upon them, such as the dowry, inheritance, and financial maintenance in divorce, and condemned the practice of female infanticide and abuse.

"[18] Annemarie Schimmel states that "compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work.

"[23] William Montgomery Watt states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of women's rights and improved things considerably.

[35] The many challenges that Arab women face are restricted access to education which later affects their job opportunities, violence, forced marriages, not enough chances to participate in the public life of their country, and last, but certainly not least - inheritance rights.

Even those Arab countries, which claim to have a more liberal environment for their citizens, hinder womens’ advocacy organizations by denying them access to data, budgets, governmental officials, and so on.

She also pointed to "ideological differences", with conservatives and extremist Islamists opposing female participation in political life and discouraging women from voting for a woman.

[52] In contrast, one of UAE's female MPs, Najla al Awadhi, claimed that "women's advancement is a national issue and we have a leadership that understands that and wants them to have their rights.

[53] The Commission being highest policy-making institute in Jordan, it tackled on women's political, legislative, economic, social, educational, and health rights and issues.

This absence in politics poses many problems, such as loss of gender rights, and could increase the social inequalities and thus weakens the quality of life, which are represented in several factors such as poor health, education, economy, and the environment.

[55] Moreover, this lack of awareness hinders effective female political participation since it limits the ability for women to advocate for their interests and act as a sociopolitical actor.

Yemen has the lowest rate of working women of all, followed by Syria, Jordan, Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Turkey.

This means that citizens don't have to look for ways to make money outside of state patronage, and may just reinforce already existing conservative gender roles where women stay at home.

Secondly, patriarchal state institution systems often means weak, dependent private sectors that do not want to or can not afford to assume the cost of women's reproductive roles.

Countries like Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates achieved almost equal enrollment rates between girls and boys.

However, in 2008 a new law went into effect requiring men who marry non-Saudi women to allow their wife and any children born to her to travel freely in and out of Saudi Arabia.

Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali called the veil sectarian and foreign and has stressed the importance of traditional Tunisian dress as a symbol of national identity.

It is also significant that countless female figures overcame oppression and proved dominant in their field,[citation needed] including Zaha Hadid, Hayat Sindi and Lubna Olayan.

NGOs like Kafa and Abaad have served this feminist obligation, and tried several times to pass adequate laws that give Lebanese women their rights.

The organisation launched some campaigns, such as those to curtail against violence against women, improve the status of migrant shelters, and strengthen the capacities of activists and media professionals.

Voted the third most influential Arab Women's List in the MENA region by Forbes Middle East in 2013,[113] and in 2018,[110] Mona is a member of the board of directors for BMMI and Ebda Bank besides other companies.

[117] She joined ICBA as Director General in 2012 and, prior, held management positions with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

[118] Buthaina Al Ansari, founder and Chairperson of Qatariat T&D Holding Company and Senior Human Resources Director at Ooredoo, delivered a CIRS Monthly Dialogue on the topic of “Sheroes—How Female Leaders are Changing Qatar” on November 17, 2014.

Born as Aicha bint Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, she was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and her father was the founder of the city Chefchaouen.

Sayyida al Hurra gained her title, which means "Lady Sovereign" or "Free Woman", through her marriage to Abu Hassan al-Mandari, the ruler of Tetouan.

Her resilience in the face of Portuguese aggression, her diplomatic endeavors with the Ottomans, and her role in establishing Tetouan as a thriving port accentuate her strength as a ruler.