veiled4allah: some positive indications for women in Qatar

While women in Qatar form only 13 per cent of the workforce, this was the only country in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, apart from the UAE, where illiteracy was higher among men. According to a Policy Brief released yesterday by the Washington DC-based Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 20 per cent of men above 15 years of age in Qatar were illiterate in 2000 as compared with 17 per cent of women in that age group. The female illiteracy rate was lower (16 per cent) only in Jordan and Palestine. [that is, Qatar has one of the lowest illiteracy rates, and highest literacy rates, for women in the region - Ed.]

The brief covers female education in the Mena region with focus on empowering women for the development of the society. It quotes a recent survey of 19 developing countries in the region, including Qatar, which concluded that a country's long-term economic growth increases by 3.7 per cent for every year the adult population's average level of schooling rises.

The brief states that Mena countries generally have lower levels of women's education and labour force participation than other regions with similar income levels.

The interaction between the region's economic structure and its conservative culture, in which traditional gender roles are strongly enforced, is largely responsible. Men in the Mena region are more likely to have direct access to wage employment and control over wealth, while women are largely economically dependent upon male family members, it said...

...The policy brief, however, added, that the situation in the region was slowly changing. "Women activists, who generally come from the educated segments of society, are challenging the status quo; demanding equality in the family and society; and calling for women's economic, political, and social empowerment.

The trend's intensity varies by country but is visible even in relatively conservative nations. In addition to facing political pressure for reform, countries are dealing with economic changes that are creating an impetus for women to become more active outside the home. As the region's cost of living rises rapidly, families are increasingly forced to depend on the additional income that female family members can provide."