Politics of Middle East

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Promotions of women 's rights and empowering women have been central components in the search for democracy in the Arab world . The participation of Arab women in the political and economic arena remains among the lowest in the world . This is evident from the low percentage of women in parliament , cabinet and the workforce . Many times the women have been portrayed as veiled , oppressed , and invisible (Sadiki , 2004 253 . This is true in reality though in most cases it is unconstitutional

Sadiki

argues that women 's participation in political and economic issues in Arab countries is dependent on the socio-economic and political forces in the history of the country (Sadiki , 2004 , 267 . Thus the problem of women 's rights is not reflective of Islamic region rather it can be explained by the patriarchal nature of the society . Men have been the ones predominantly reading and interpreting the Quran . This has led to women not being allowed work or socialize publicly (Sadaki 2004 , 285 . The economic and social position of a family also influence the rights available to a woman for instance in Iraq , a wealthy family is more likely to educate its daughters than a poor family

Islamic religion does not relegate the woman to a position below the man , rather it points out that she is a `twin ' to the man and promotes inclusiveness in all issues , economic , political and social (Sadiki 2005 , 266 . In an interview with Lubabah-ul-Fadh , a Muslim woman activist , Lubahah states that because she is Muslim and Islamist she is free from injustice and despotism . She therefore supports democracy that empowers women economically and politically (Sadiki , 2004 , 284 . She however is of the view that Muslim women 's foremost role is that of being a moral educator for the younger generation to ensure Muslim culture and religion are adhered to . For her , giving up parliamentary positions so women can pursue this goal is worthwhile (Sadiki , 2004 284 . This illustrates the effect of certain Islamist movements in Arab countries . Different alliances among female Islamists has resulted in little consensus on women 's participation in the Islamic Action Front

Western influence has to some degree enhanced authoritarian form of government in Arab countries . The focus on oil in Arab countries has led to sidelining of the issues of women rights as governments try to meet demands for oil and amass wealth for the regime in power . This however has also been used to influence decisions made by Arab country governments for example by placing embargoes on their oil so that conflicts can be resolved (Sadiki 2004 , 283 . Western influence therefore has not been entirely negative . Positive outcomes of western influence include improvement of family status laws resulting from incumbent governments in Arab countries wanting to show their zeal for reform which has been influenced by international pressure

The women in Iraq during Saddam 's military dictatorship experienced more human rights freedoms than during the period of Bush 's Administration Democratic Iraq . The...