The Status &Progress of Women

The Status Progress of Women in the Middle& East North Africa &

World Bank Middle East and North Africa Social and Economic Development Group The Status Progress of Women in the Middle& East North Africa & ©2007 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected]

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This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Recon- struction and Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

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Acronyms & Abbreviations 3

Regional Overview in 2000–2005 5 Economic Participation 5 Access to Education 10 Access to Health Care 14 Gender and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa 16 Women’s Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Development 20 Public Participation and Representation 21 Women’s Legal Rights 22

Part I Women’s Status by Sector 27 Education and Training 27 Health 34 Economic Participation 41 Public Participation and Representation 50 Women’s Rights 59

Part II Women’s Status by Country 68 Algeria 68 Bahrain 73 Djibouti 78 Egypt 82 Islamic Republic of Iran 85 Iraq 90 Jordan 94 Lebanon 98 Morocco 102 Saudi Arabia 106 Tunisia 113 West Bank and Gaza 118 Republic of Yemen 124 Part III Summary Gender Profiles by Country 128 Algeria 128 Bahrain 129 Djibouti 130 Egypt 131 Islamic Republic of Iran 132 Iraq 133 Jordan 134 Kuwait 135 Lebanon 136 Libya 137 Morocco 138 Oman 139 Qatar 140 Saudi Arabia 141 Syria 142 Tunisia 143 United Arab Emirates 144 West Bank and Gaza 145 Republic of Yemen 146 Over the years, the Gender group of the Middle East and North Africa Social and Economic De- velopment division has regularly compiled briefs on the status and progress of women in the region for use by senior managers and staff. Based on feedback from readers inside and outside the Bank, we were encouraged to present these gender briefs in a compendium, making the information more accessible to a wider public. The content of this compendium is drawn from existing data banks, records, statistics, and sources found in the public domain. This compendium includes gender briefs for Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Arab Republic of Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Republic of Yemen. The Regional Overview and Country Gender Profiles cover all countries. The data and information are as of September 2006. This compendium was prepared by the Office of the Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank, under the super- vision of Nadereh Chamlou, regional Gender Co- ordinator. The original gender briefs were drafted by Carmen Niethammer and updated by Randa Akeel, Safaa El-Kogali, Talajeh Livani, Fatou Fall, Sahar Nasr, and Bushra Jawabri. Talajeh Livani wrote the regional overview and consolidated the report, supplementing and harmonizing the data and messages. Valuable contributions were made by Krisztina Mazo.

Acronyms & Abbreviations

AFCARE l’Association des Femmes Cadres CAS Country Assistance Strategy CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women CGA Country Gender Assessment FGM Female Genital Mutilation GCC Gulf Cooperation Council HRW Human Rights Watch ILO International Labor Organization JNCW Jordanian National Commission for Women MDG Millennium Development Goals MENA Middle East and North Africa NCLW National Commission for Lebanese Women NCW National Council for Women NGO Non-Governmental Organization PLC Palestinian Legislative Council PPP Purchasing Power Parity PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy paper SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise STI Sexually Transmitted Infections UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDESA United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs UNDP United Nations Development Programme UN/ESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Fund for Children UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNRWA United Nations Relief and Work Agency WDI World Development Indicators WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization WNC Women’s National Committee

Middle East and North Africa Gender Overview

Introduction percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 20053 (figure 1). Although progress on this indicator during 2000– This overview updates the main findings of the 05 was greater than in any other region, MENA Regional Gender Report with respect to the status continues to lag, especially when the high growth of women in the Middle East and North Africa is taken into account. (MENA).1 The regional Report on Gender and De- There are great intraregional disparities in the velopment highlighted several points. On the one extent to which women’s economic activity has hand, MENA’s achievements in health and educa- increased or decreased over the past couple of tion during the 1980s and 1990s compared favorably with those of other regions. On the other 3. World Bank Edstats. hand, women’s labor force participation remained low and women were underrepresented in national parliaments and in other decisionmaking Figure 1. Female Labor Force Participation (% of total labor force)—1990, bodies. 2000, and 2005 This update will examine progress during 2000– 2005 in five areas: economic participation, access 50 to education, access to health care, women’s legal rights, and public participation and representation, as of September, 2006. This overview will also pro- 40 vide information on additional work carried out in the area of gender and poverty, as well as the on-

going research on women’s entrepreneurship. Percent

Economic Participation 28% 26% The Middle East and North Africa grew by an 23% average of 6.0 percent over 2005, up from 5.6 20 1990 2000 2005 percent over 2004, and an average growth of 3.5 percent over the late 1990s.2 Overall, women’s Year share of the total labor force increased from 26 Europe and Central Asia Latin America and Caribbean

1. MENA Development Report Gender and Development in the Middle East Asia and Pacific South Asia East and North Africa: Women in the Public Sphere, The World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East and North Africa 2004. 2. 2006 Economic Developments and Prospects: Financial Markets in a New Age of Oil, The World Bank, 2006. Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006).

Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

years. In countries such as Algeria, Iran, Libya, Similarly, at present women’s participation Oman, Kuwait, and Tunisia, for example, the fe- in the labor market (percent of female popula- male share of the total labor force increased at tion ages 15–64) varies within MENA, as figure 2 least 3 percent in years 2000 to 2005. The oppo- shows. The lowest is in the West Bank and Gaza site occurred in Morocco and Djibouti, where the (11 percent); the highest is in Djibouti (55 per- percentage of women in the total labor force actu- cent). The second highest is in Kuwait (50 per- ally decreased by 1 percent.4 cent) when the large foreign worker population is included, and in Iran (41 percent), which does 4. World Bank Edstats. not have a significant foreign worker population. Unfortunately, there is still a greater disparity between female and male labor force participation in MENA in comparison with other regions, Figure 2. Female Labor Force Participation in Country Groups within MENA, as figure 3 indicates. 2005 (% of female population ages 15–64) Because the rate of female labor force partici-

60 pation is low, the region is forgoing much of the potential return on its investment in women’s

50 education. On the basis of several factors observed across countries, the MENA Gender Re- 40 port stressed that if female labor force participation had reached predicted levels (based on the 30 existing levels of female education, fertility, and

Percent age structure), the per capita GDP growth during 20 the 1990s would have been 2.6 percent per year instead of 1.9 percent. Furthermore, women’s 10 participation in the labor force can significantly improve the level of household income (by 25 0 5 . i percent) and bring many families out of poverty. za a ia Iraq r Iran Egypt nisia emen Libya Qatar Sy Arabia Oman Jordan Tu Y Algeri U.A.E Kuwait Morocco Bahrain Lebanon Djibout As figure 4 demonstrates, investments in female nk and GaSaudi st Ba education are more fully used in East Asia and the We Pacific (EAP). Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Figure 5 reveals that in most MENA countries, Note: The data from Gulf countries such as Bahrain and Kuwait include both nationals the share of women as a percentage of total non- and non-nationals. The data for Iraq are from 2004. agricultural employment has stayed the same or increased only slightly, with the average being less than 20 percent.6 Only two countries have experi- Figure 3. Male and Female Labor Force Participation, World Regions, 2005 enced notable changes; Algeria, with an increase from 12 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2003, Female Male 100 and Egypt, which had a 3 percent increase to 22 90 percent in the same period.7 The slow progress 80 in this indicator shows that women do not have 70 60 equal access to employment opportunities in the 50 formal nonagricultural sector.

Percent 40 30 20 10 0 5. Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, World MENA Latin America South Asia Sub-Saharan Europe and East Asia and Bank, 2004. and the Caribbean Africa Central Asia the Pacific 6. The World Bank, GDF and WDI Central (August 2005). Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). 7. World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

A serious regional concern is the high unem- Figure 4. Female Education and Labor Force Participation in MENA and EAP, ployment rate. As figure 6 shows, the largest dif- 1980–2005 ference between male and female unemployment 80 can be found in Egypt (6 versus 24 percent), Syria 70 (8 versus 24 percent), Bahrain (8 versus 32), and Iran (10 versus 20 percent).8 In some countries, 60 on the other hand, unemployment is a bigger is- 50 sue for men. In Iraq, for example, male unem- 40 ployment is much higher than female unemploy- Percent 30 ment.9 The same applies in the West Bank and Gaza and Yemen. 20 An interesting observation is that higher levels 10 of female education do not necessarily translate 0 into lower female unemployment. Data from sev- 1980 1990 2000 2005 eral countries show that among women who participate in the labor force, unemployment is more Female enrollment in secondary school, MENA concentrated among educated women (figure 7). Female labor force participation, MENA There is also the question of how women ben- Female enrollment in secondary education, EAP efit from new job opportunities. In Iran, for ex- Female labor force participation, EAP ample, the decline in unemployment (from 14 percent in 2000 to 12 percent in 2003) led to a 4 percent decline in unemployment for males Sources: World Bank Central Database (September 2006) and Edstats. Note: 1980 MENA and EAP secondary enrollment data are for 1985. versus a 3 percent increase in unemployment for In East Asia and the Pacific, secondary enrollment data are for 2001 rather than 2000, women. Although part of this increase in female 2005 MENA and EAP secondary enrollment data are for 2004. unemployment is due to higher female labor force participation, women were still not able to benefit

8. The World Bank Central Database (September 2006). 9. International Labour Organization (ILO).

Figure 5. Share of Women Employed in the Nonagricultural Sector, 1990, 2000 and 2003 (% of total nonagricultural employment)

45 1990 2000 2003

40 World 2003

25 Percent 20

0 Algeria Bahrain Egypt Jordan Kuwait Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia U.A.E. Yemen

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

Figure 6. Male and Female Unemployment Rates in MENA Countries, Most Recent Year (in 2000–2005 time period)

35 Female Male 30

25 MENA, female unemployment, 2001

Percent 15

0 Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Morocco Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. West Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Data for Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Yemen, and Tunisia are the most recent from the International Labour Organization and official country sources.

Figure 7. Female Unemployment Rates by Education Level in MENA Countries, Various Years

40 Percent 30

0 Bahrain Kuwait Morocco Saudi Arabia West Bank and Iran Jordan Oman Qatar United Arab 2004 2002 2003 2002 Gaza 2003 1996 1996 1996 1997 Emirates 1995

Primary Secondary Tertiary

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006).

from the new employment opportunities to the example, 51 percent of female youth versus 19 same extent as men. percent of male youth were unemployed in 2001. Generally, female youth (ages 15–24) suffer The same applies in Syria, where female youth more from unemployment than adult women. unemployment is much higher than male youth The data, however, are not as consistent when unemployment. Interestingly, the opposite is ob- comparing female and male youth. In Egypt, for served in Morocco and the West Bank and Gaza, Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

Figure 8. Female Labor Force Participation and Unemployment in MENA and OECD Countries, 2005 or most recent year

Iraq Algeria WBG OECD MENA 25

15 Tunisia Jordan Bahrain Syria

Unemployment rate Iran Yemen Egypt ESP 10 Oman Morocco FRA DEU FIN Lebanon ITA CAN BEL PRT SWE JPN AUT USA 5 Saudi Arabia LUX GBR DNK Qatar AUS NZL NOR IRL NLD U.A.E Kuwait

0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Female labor force participation (% of female population ages 15–64)

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Unemployment data for Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and Yemen are from the ILO and official country sources. Note: Female labor force participation data are for 2005 (Iraq data are for 2004). Unemployment data are for most recent year in the 2000–2005 time period. Note: AUS = Australia, AUT = Austria, BEL = Belgium, CAN = Canada, DEU = Germany, DNK = Denmark, ESP = Spain, FIN = Finland, FRA = France, GBR = Great Britain, IRL = Ireland, ITA = Italy, JPN = Japan, LUX = Luxembourg, NLD = Netherlands, NOR = Norway, NZL = New Zealand, OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, PRT = Portugal, SWE = Sweden, U.A.E. = United Arab Emirates, USA = United States of America, and WBG = West Bank and Gaza.

where male youth unemployment is actually show a somewhat stronger negative correlation. higher than that for female youth. Some of the countries with low female participa- Because of insufficient job opportunities for tion are those with relatively high unemployment both men and women, there is a belief that en- rates. Although this could mean that high unem- couraging women to participate in the labor force ployment may constrain female labor force partic- will inevitably lead to more unemployment for ipation, it could also suggest greater participation men, who are traditionally considered to be the of women in the labor force generates demand for breadwinners of the family. Policy makers in additional goods or services in the economy that MENA countries are also concerned that increased could stimulate the demand for new jobs. Hence, female labor force participation would raise over- although a sudden participation of women in the all unemployment. Data from the Organisation labor force may push up the short-term unem- for Economic Co-operation and Development ployment rate, this is not a common occurrence. (OECD) countries and the MENA region (figure Increased women’s participation occurs only 8) show a negative weak correlation between un- gradually and in the long run and, therefore, fears employment and female participation in the la- of higher unemployment may be unfounded. bor force, whereas the data from MENA countries 10 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

Figure 9. Rising Female and Male Literacy Rates in the MENA Region, Access to Education 1990–2004 The past two decades of investment in female ed- 100 ucation have been very fruitful. Figures 9 and 10 90 90 demonstrate the increase in literacy levels from 81 82 1990 to 2004. 80 Female literacy has increased in all countries

70 65 of the region—although more in some than in 62 others. 60 The positive trend is especially noticeable (figure 50 11) when contrasting the youth population to the Percent 39 40 adult population. In every MENA country, there is a significant difference between the literacy rate of 30 the female youth population (15–24 years of age) 20 and the female adult population (15 years and

10 above). In Saudi Arabia, for example, 94 percent of female youth versus 69 percent of female adults 0 were literate in 2004. In Tunisia, female youth 1990 2004 literacy in 2004 was 92 percent, whereas female adult literacy was only 65 percent. In Algeria, the Female MENA 10 Male MENA percentages were 86 versus 60. Middle-income countries, adult Similarly, the literacy gap between young men and women has diminished over the years (figure Source: World Bank Central Database. 10. World Bank Central Database (September 2006).

Figure 10. Female Literacy Rate (% of females ages 15+), 1990 and 2004

100

Percent 50

0 Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. West Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza 1990 2004

Sources: World Bank Central Database (September 2006) and the Human Development Report. Note: 2004 data for Lebanon, Libya, the U.A.E., and Yemen are for 2003; 2004 data for Djibouti are for 2001. There are no 1990 data for the West Bank and Gaza. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 11

12). Countries that have experienced the greatest there are great differences among the countries progress include Iraq, Yemen, and Oman. and regions within each country. For example, As figure 12 shows, most MENA countries gender disparity in youth literacy is still substan- fall within the 90–100 percent range although tial in Yemen, whereas in countries such as the

Figure 11. Female Youth and Adult Literacy, 2004 or Most Recent Year

120

100

60 Percent

0 Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. West Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza

Female adult literacy (% of females 15+) Female youth literacy (% of ages 15–24)

Sources: UNDP, Population Reference Bureau and Edstats.

Figure 12. Ratio of Young Literate Females to Males (% ages 15–24)

110

100

Percent 50

0 Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. West Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza 1990 2004

Source: World Bank Edstats and Population Reference Bureau (no data for West Bank and Gaza in 1990). 12 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the percentage In addition to literacy, MENA has experienced of young literate women is actually greater than great progress in reducing the male-female dispar- the percentage of young literate men. In addition ity in education. Female enrollment at all levels to differences between countries, the urban-rural of education has increased significantly. In 2000, disparity in female literacy within each country the ratio of girls to boys in primary and second- continues to persist. ary education was 88 percent. This percentage had increased to 92 percent in 2004 and is now almost equal to the world average.11 Some coun- Figure 13. Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary and Secondary Education (%), tries, such as Tunisia and Morocco, experienced MENA and World the greatest progress on this indicator (figures 13 100 and 14). The number of girls who complete primary ed- 92 92 93 ucation has also increased. The primary comple- 90 88 86 tion rate for girls was 85 percent in 2004, whereas 81 the rate for boys was 91 percent in the same 80 year.12 These rates suggest that there is a small but Percent not significant difference between girls and boys 70 in terms of finishing part of their education. Recent data show that women have access to higher education. In most countries of the region, 60 1991 2000 2004 female enrollment exceeds that of males at the

MENA World 11. The World Bank Central Database (September 2006). 12. The World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Source: World Bank Central Database. Note: World 2000 data is for 2001.

Figure 14. Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary and Secondary Education (%), 1991 and 2004

120

100

60 Percent

0 Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. Arabia

1991 2004

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Note: The 2004 Tunisia ratio is for 2003. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 13

tertiary education level and more women than It is important to note that, as with literacy, the men complete this level of education (figures 15 urban-rural disparity in female school enrollment and 16). The increase in female tertiary education within each country continues to persist. Another reveals several underlying social trends. With the issue is that women continue to enroll in the so- rising age of marriage, women have the option called traditional fields of study considered- ap of either entering the labor market or continuing propriate for girls. Or, within fields of study, they their schooling. The lower proportion of men en- may focus on some specializations more than oth- tering universities indicates that men find it easier ers. For instance, in the field of medicine, more to access jobs and economic opportunities. women may choose dentistry or ophthalmology

Figure 15. Ratio of Female to Male Enrollments in Tertiary Education, 2004 (female enrollment as a percentage of male enrollment)

400

350

300

250

200 Percent 150

100

0 Qatar Kuwait Bahrain Saudi Oman Tunisia Lebanon Iran Jordan Algeria West Morocco Djibouti Iraq Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006).

Figure 16. Gross Tertiary Graduation Ratio (first degree)—Most Recent Data in 2000–2006 Time Period

Percent 15

0 Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Lebanon Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Tunisia West Arabia Bank and Gaza Male Female

Source: Edstats. 14 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

rather than brain surgery or orthopedics, predom- women’s reproductive health issues may still be inantly because of greater convenience of balanc- suffering from traditional views and social norms ing work and family. Furthermore, the problem of or taboos. gender stereotyping persists—albeit increasingly MENA still has a higher fertility rate than the in more subtle forms—and is many times sup- world average despite the striking drop in fertil- ported by school curricula. ity during the past two decades; the fertility rate (4.8 in 1990) further decreased from 3.2 births per woman in 2000 to 3.0 births per woman in Access to Health Care 200414 (figure 18). This has been the result of fac- The Regional Gender Report showed that MENA tors such as higher female education (educated made extensive progress in health care during women tend to marry later and are more likely the 1980s and 1990s. This progress has continued to use contraceptives), the availability of family from 2000 to the present. Women’s life expectancy planning policies, and the rising age of marriage. (66 years in 1990) increased further from 70 years The percent of married women ages 15–19 de- in 2000 to 71 years in 2004.13 Biologically, and creased from 22 percent in 1976 to 10 percent in where health conditions are good, women live 2003 in Egypt; from 11 percent in 1975 to 1 per- longer than men. Where female life expectancy cent in 2001 in Tunisia; from 40 percent in 1973 does not exceed that of males, the possibility of to 1 percent in 1995 in Libya; from 38 percent women having less access than men to nutritious in 1970 to 5 percent in 1996 in Kuwait; from 17 food and adequate medical health care may be a percent in 1967 to 14 percent in 2004 in the West factor. The difference between male and female Bank and Gaza; and from 57 percent in 1975 to 8 life expectancy for the MENA region as a whole percent in 1995 in the UAE.15 has increased, but there are intraregional varia-

tions within countries (figure 17). Furthermore, 14. The World Bank Central Database (September 2006). 15. Population Reference Bureau, “Marriage in the Arab World: 13. The World Bank Central Database (September 2006). A Policy Brief.”

Figure 17. Gaps between Female and Male Life Expectancy at Birth in MENA Countries, 1990 and 2004

3 ears Y

0 Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Syria Tunisia U.A.E. West Yemen Arabia Bank and Gaza

1990 2004

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). Note: Iraq 2004 data are for 1997; 1990 West Bank and Gaza data are for 1992. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 15

There are significant intraregional differences decide with her husband when and how many in the use of contraceptives (see figure 19). Con- children she wants to have, she is unlikely to have traception offers women the benefits of healthier much decision-making power in other spheres of spacing of pregnancies and increased ability to her life. plan the number of their children. Contraceptive Several other factors indicate that more girls use may also be an indicator of women’s empow- and women have been able to take advantage of erment at the family level; if a woman cannot the improved health care system. Child mortality

Figure 18. Decline in Total Fertility Rates in MENA Countries—1990, 2000, and 2004

5 MENA 2004 4

Births/woman 3

0 Qatar Kuwait Bahrain Saudi Oman Tunisia Lebanon Iran Jordan Algeria Morocco Djibouti Yemen U.A.E. Libya Egypt Syria Arabia

1990 2000 2004

Source: The World Bank Central Database (September 2006).

Figure 19. Contraceptive Prevalence (% of women ages 15–49) in MENA Countries, 2004 or Most Recent Year

40 Percent 30

0 Iran Tunisia Morocco Lebanon Bahrain Egypt Algeria Jordan Kuwait Syria Libya Iraq Qatar West Oman U.A.E. Yemen Saudi Bank Arabia and Gaza

Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). 16 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

data, for example, suggest that boys and girls under As in other regions, there is discrepancy in the age of five have equal access to health care16 access to health care between rural and ur- (figure 20). ban women. Rural women generally marry at a Furthermore, maternal mortality data, often younger age and have more children. Maternal used to assess women’s access to health care, mortality rates, for example, are much higher in show that the Middle East and North Africa re- rural than in urban areas. It is essential to bring gion compares favorably to other regions (figure affordable health services closer to rural women 21). The most recent data from 2000 have esti- to ensure that they receive the care to which they mated the maternal mortality rate to be 183 per are entitled. 100,000 live births.17 There are, however, some Another important factor in the maternal mor- significant disparities among the countries in the tality rates is the practice of early marriage in region. Djibouti, Yemen, and Morocco still dem- some of the countries of the region, mostly among onstrate high rates. Egypt, on the other hand, was the poor and the rural populations. This mainly able to reduce its maternal mortality rate from affects already marginalized women. 174 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1992–93 to 84 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000. This was achieved through adop- Gender and Poverty in the 19 tion of the safe motherhood strategy that helped Middle East and North Africa decrease home deliveries and increase the per- Unlike other regions where poverty is a determin- centage of medically assisted deliveries, and the ing factor in the gender debate, in MENA gender utilization of maternal health care and antenatal issues are pertinent to both poor and nonpoor care services.18 19. The information in this section is from the paper “Are Women 16. World Health Organization. Really Worse Off? An Analysis of Poverty and Gender in the MENA Region.” This background paper was written for the 17. The World Bank Central Database 2006. MENA poverty report Sustaining Gains in Poverty Reduction and 18. World Bank Egypt Gender Assessment. Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa.

Figure 20. Child Mortality (under 5) per 1,000 live births, 20004

140

120

100

World, child mortality (both sexes) 80

60 MENA, child mortality (both sexes)

40 Child mortality/1,000 live births

0 Qatar Kuwait Saudi Oman Tunisia Lebanon Iran Jordan Algeria Morocco Djibouti Yemen U.A.E. Libya Egypt Syria Iraq Arabia

Boys Girls

Source: World Health Organization. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 17

women while fully recognizing that poor women Figure 21. Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live births)—2000 are more vulnerable than both poor men and 1000 nonpoor women. Female-headed households are 921 a smaller proportion of the total in MENA than 800 in other regions, ranging from 5 percent in Ku- wait to 17 percent in Morocco. This proportion 600 564 appears to be growing because of rising divorce rates and increasing female life expectancy, which 400 potentially increases the number of women living 183 194 200 20 117 as widows. 58 In MENA, there is varied evidence on the 60 Europe and East Asia Middle East Latin America South Sub-Saharan gender of the household head as a determinant Central Asia and Pacific and North Africa and Carribean Asia Africa of poverty. Studies from Iran show that female- headed households are more likely to suffer from Source: World Bank Central Database (September 2006). chronic poverty than male-headed households (see table 1). In the West Bank and Gaza, there 21 is a clear difference in the poverty status of the Table 1. Iran—Chronic versus transitory poverty household by the gender of the head (although Rural Urban female-headed households represent only 11 Chronic Transitory Chronic Transitory percent of poor households). On the other hand, Male 3.41 3.42 2.78 2.75 evidence of “feminization of poverty” cannot be Female 9.50 4.17 5.59 2.59 found in Morocco or Yemen. Similarly, in Jordan, female-headed households as a group are not poorer compared to male-headed households. In looking at female poverty, it is important to percent of the population living in female-headed note the complexity of determining the preva- households in the rural areas is poor compared lence of female-headed households in traditional to 17.2 percent in the urban areas.) In Egypt, the societies such as those in the MENA region. In highest incidence of poverty can be found in the many cases, a man who is not economically ac- upper rural areas, with poverty rates of 35 percent tive may be identified as the head of a household for male-headed households and 27 percent for in which a woman is the primary breadwinner. female-headed households (see figure 23). This may underestimate the prevalence of fe- A second factor that influences the poverty male-headed households and the level of poverty level of female-headed households is marital sta- among them. tus. In MENA, women who head households are Furthermore, certain subgroups of female- predominantly widows; 81 percent in Iran, 82 per- headed households may be more disadvantaged cent in urban Egypt, and 72 percent in rural Egypt. than others. In MENA, several factors influence In Iran and Jordan, households headed by widows poverty levels in female-headed households. The are less poor than households headed by single or first is region of residence. In Iran, for example, divorced women. This reflects societal attitudes the gender of the household head is a determinant that these women are more deserving in terms of factor for poverty in rural (where poverty among social assistance payments. On the other hand, in female-headed households is 42.1 percent com- Yemen, regardless of gender, poverty is highest for pared to 31.7 percent among male-headed house- households headed by a widowed person. holds) but not in urban areas (see figure 22). Inter- A final factor that influences female-headed estingly, the reverse applies in Tunisia (where 11.8 household poverty level is the number of children

20. Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Women 21. World Bank (2003) Poverty in Iran: Trends and Structure, in the Public Sphere, World Bank, 2004, 69. 1986–1998. Middle East and North Africa Report No. 24414. 18 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

Figure 22. Iran—Poverty rates among male- and female-headed households In Jordan, the gender gap is largest in the low- by region (1998) est income quintile. For example, a slightly higher 45 percentage of girls, at 7.5 percent compared to 40 boys at 6.9 percent, in poor families have never 35 30 been to school, and the school completion gen- 25 der gap is the largest in the lowest income group.

Percent 20 Also, poor Jordanian women have less access 15 10 to health care than nonpoor Jordanian women. 5 Similarly, in Egypt, there is a greater gender gap in 0 poor households. The gender disparity in literacy, Rural Urban school enrollment, school completion rates, and Male Female access to health care is greater in poorer house-

Source: World Bank (2003) Poverty in Iran: Trends and Structure, 1986–1998. holds. For instance, the gender gap in illiteracy for poor children is three times the gap for nonpoor children. Consequently, the low educational Figure 23. Egypt—Percentage of female- and male-headed households in achievement of women in poor households affects poverty (1999/2000) infant and child mortality rates, and the impact dif- 45 fers by gender of the child. For example, in Egypt, 40 postneonatal mortality for girls with less educated 35 30 mothers is almost twice the rate for boys, whereas 25 it is less than boys for children of mothers with 20 Percent more than secondary education. Similarly, in both 15 Egypt and Morocco, poor girls have lower vacci- 10 nation rates than poor boys and the differential is 5 0 larger than among nonpoor children. Metropolitan Lower Urban Lower Rural Upper Urban Upper Rural Other studies from Tunisia, Yemen, and Alge- ria contribute to the study on the intrahousehold Male Female gender bias. An older study from Tunisia found Source: World Bank (2003) Egypt Gender Assessment that the use of contraception was mainly concentrated in middle- and high-income groups and ur- in the household. Female-headed households ban regions. In Yemen, gender disparities exist in with three or more children are particularly vul- school enrollment rates regardless of the poverty nerable to poverty. This could be due to the bur- level of the household. However, these gender den placed on women to care for children in the gaps are much more pronounced in rural areas. absence of effective child care programs, which In Algeria, there is no gender gap in enrollment leaves them little time for other income-generat- rates at the primary level, but the gap is quite glar- ing activities. ing at the secondary level in the poor households In studying women and poverty, it is important (see figure 24). In urban areas 82 percent of girls to look at not only the household head’s gender were enrolled in secondary school compared to but also at intrahousehold gender bias. Studies 76 percent of poor girls. In rural areas, it was 58 from different MENA countries show evidence percent and 51 percent, respectively. of a gender bias in intrahousehold consumption One interesting area of study is that of poor and investment in human capital. Women bear women and their income level and source. When the greater burden of poverty by being the last controlling for other factors, women in female- ones to eat, the first ones to be taken out of school headed households generally participate more in if need be, and the least likely to seek treatment the labor market than women in male-headed for a medical condition in times of financial con- households. For instance, in Morocco they are straints. 37 percent more likely to be economically ac- Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 19

tive than women in male-headed households, 6 percent of total income for poor female-headed percent more likely in Iran, and 1 percent more households, compared with 44 percent of income likely in Djibouti.22 Despite this, the majority of for poor male-headed households. female-headed households in the MENA region One reason for the lower female labor force depend heavily on transfers from friends and fam- participation in MENA is that women are by law ily rather than earned income. Only 36 percent restricted in the type of work they can engage in of female heads of households versus 71 percent and the hours during which they can work, such of male heads of households receive their income as night work. Although these laws are designed from earnings23 (see figure 25). In Jordan, for example, female-headed house- Figure 24. Algeria—Enrollment rates of boys and girls by household holds have a higher dependency on public trans- expenditure fers, private generosity, and worker remittance. In the absence of worker remittance inflows, the 120 number of poor female-headed households could 100 increase by 50 percent. In Yemen, remittances 80 help households to escape poverty. Similarly, in Egypt, remittances are the most important source 60 of income transfers for both poor and nonpoor 40 female-headed households, particularly in rural areas. In this country, wages account for 32 20 0 22. Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Women Primary Primary Secondary Secondary in the Public Sphere, World Bank, 2004, 90. Lowest 20% Total Lowest 20% Total 23. Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Women in the Public Sphere, World Bank, 2004, 69. Urban boys Rural boys Urban girls Rural girls

Figure 25. Sources of Income for Female- and Male-Headed Households in MENA Countries, Various Years

100

50 Percent 40

0 Djibouti Egypt Iran, Islamic Jordan Morocco Yemen Djibouti Egypt Iran, Islamic Jordan Morocco Yemen 1996 1997 Rep. of 2000 1997 1998–99 1999 1996 1997 Rep. of 2000 1997 1998–99 1999

Female headed Male headed

Earned income Transfers Other

Source: World Bank household and labor force surveys of the most recent official data for each country. 20 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

to protect women, they actually put females at have the highest labor force participation rates, a disadvantage in competing with men for jobs. with higher participation in the formal labor The same applies when contrasting the economic force. The lower labor force participation of poor activity of poor women to that of poor men. In women is mainly because of their lower educa- Algeria, for example, the labor force participation tional attainment. Similarly, in Tunisia, women of poor men is seven times and employment rate among the poor in urban areas have the least ac- eight times that of poor women. Furthermore, cess to the labor market. women’s labor force participation varies more by An interesting observation is that the poverty income than it does for men. In Jordan, for in- status of the household and the gender of the head stance, women in the top two income quintiles affect the labor participation of other members in the household. Children in poor families and female-headed households are more likely to work. Figure 26. Women-owned Firms (% of Total) For instance, the share of working children in 30 households with female heads is almost 1.3 times greater than children of male-headed households in 24 25 rural Egypt, and twice that of male-headed house- 20.5 19.5 holds in urban Egypt. In Morocco, child labor has 20 decreased because of increased school enrollment 14.5 15 for rural girls, but this decline is mainly concen-

Percent trated in the nonpoor households. In Yemen, on 10 10 the other hand, child labor is not a characteristic of poor households only (15 percent of the poor 5 3 as opposed to 13 percent of the nonpoor children work). In urban areas, however, the share of work- 0 ECA East Asia LAC MENA Africa South Asia ing children is twice as large in poor households as in nonpoor households. Also, many more girls Source: World Bank Enterprise survey data. than boys work in both rural and urban areas.

Figure 27. Share of Women-owned Firms by Size Women’s Entrepreneurship and 100 Private Sector Development On the other end of the spectrum, the investment 80 in female education and health has resulted in a generation of well-educated women who stand 60 on equal footing with their male counterparts for

Percent entering the labor market. 40 Women’s entrepreneurship is an effective way

20 to help increase female labor force participation and help solve the issue of female unemployment.

0 Studies across countries have shown that female- MENA AFR EA SA ECA LAC owned firms employ a larger share of women than their male counterparts. World Bank data Very large (250–250+) for MENA24 show that 14.5 percent of firms are Large (100–249) owned by women (figure 26). Medium (50–99) Small (10–49) Interestingly, the percentage of large female- Micro (1–9) owned firms is higher in MENA than in any

24. Calculations for MENA based on the following countries: Alge- Source: World Bank Enterprise Survey. ria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 21

other region. In MENA, large firms make up al- Figure 28. Female-owned Firms (% of Total) most a third of female-owned companies. Indeed, 28% women own 44 percent of the large manufactur- 24% ing firms in Egypt, 16 percent in Saudi Arabia, 14 percent in Morocco, and 9 percent in Syria. How- ever, in Algeria, Yemen, and Oman, females are better represented as the owners of medium-sized 12% 10% and small firms (figure 27). 8% 5% There are great intraregional variations in terms 4% of female ownership of firms. For example, 28 percent of firms in Lebanon versus only 4 percent Lebanon Egypt Saudi Arabia Yemen Morocco Syria Oman of firms in Oman are women-owned (figure 28). It is important to note, however, that these data Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys. include firms owned and managed by women, Note: The data are for the manufacturing sector and include only firms with more than 10 as well as those owned by women but managed employees. The data for Lebanon and Oman also include firms in services and construction. by other parties, such as male family members. In MENA, female business owners are less likely Figure 29. Is the Owner also the Manager? than male business owners to be the day-to-day managers of their businesses. For example, 54 per- 100 10 cent of female-owned businesses list the owner as 90 80 manager, whereas 90 percent of male owners are 46 also the managers of their firm (figure 29). 70 60 The distribution of female and male owners 50 90 across sectors does not present any significant dif- 40 ferences, although there is a slight variation from 30 54 country to country. For example, the share of 20 female-owned firms is higher in the food- 10 producing sector in Egypt (35 percent) and Saudi 0 Arabia (17 percent), whereas in the textile indus- Male-Owned Firms Female-Owned Firms tries of Morocco, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, female- Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys. No owned firms make up 10, 8, and 19 percent, Yes respectively.25

of quota laws. In contrast, countries such as Iran Public Participation and Yemen actually saw a decrease in female rep- and Representation resentation in their parliaments. The region has witnessed many encouraging de- In addition to representation in national par- velopments in the area of public participation and liaments, the region has seen the appointment of representation. For example, the percentage of women to cabinets and other high-level positions seats held by women in national parliament in the in the period 2000–2005. Although this changes MENA region increased from 4 percent in 2000 rapidly, the list includes several female ministers to 8 percent in 200526 (table 2). The most notable in Algeria (family and women’s situation, reform changes in 2000–2005 occurred in Iraq, Tunisia, of finances, research, national community abroad, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, and Djibouti,27 mainly and communications and culture/government as a result of appointments and the introduction 27. UN, http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_series_results. asp?rowID=557. (Bahrain percentage was taken from the 25. Investment Climate Assessment, World Bank Group. UNDP background paper “Women Leadership in Politics” for 26. The World Bank Central Database 2006. the “Workshop on Women and the MDGs.”) 22 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

Table 2. Women’s Public Participation and Representation in MENA may be due to political circumstances, social pre- conceptions, or the ability of male candidates to Country Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (%) appeal to broader audiences. In MENA, women 2000 2005 have made more progress in local and municipal Algeria 3 6 elections, where issues are more clearly defined Bahrain 0 7.5* and where they can compete with candidates of Djibouti 0 11 similar sophistication. Egypt 2 3 Iran 5 4 In the past few years, an increasing number Iraq 6 32* of women’s organizations and associations have Jordan 0 6 been formed at both the national and local levels. Kuwait 0 2 These organizations play a fundamental role in Lebanon 2 5 increasing awareness on women’s legal rights and Libya --- 5 Morocco 1 11 other issues that affect women, such as globaliza- Oman --- 2 tion, information technology, the environment, Qatar ------education, and health care. Saudi Arabia --- 0 Syrian Arab Republic 10 12 Tunisia 12 23 Women’s Legal Rights United Arab Emirates 0 0 West Bank and Gaza ------There has been some progress in MENA in the Yemen 1 0 area of women’s legal rights in the past couple of years (table 3). From 2000 to 2006, countries such Source: World Bank Central Database 2006. as Bahrain, Syria, Oman, and the U.A.E. ratified * Bahrain percentage was taken from the UNDP Human Development Report 2005. Six women were appointed the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimina- by the King to the Shoura Council. tion against Women (CEDAW) with reservations * Iraq recently introduced a new quota system. The new constitution requires that 25 percent of parliamentary seats be occupied by women. to certain articles. In Egypt, the nationality law --- not available was amended in 2004 to allow Egyptian women married to foreigners to pass on their national- spokesperson), two female ministers in Bahrain ity to their children. Recently, Bahrain passed a (Minister of Health and Minister of Social Affairs), similar law as did Iran, albeit for children who are two Lebanese female ministers, six women in the born within Iran. previous Iraqi Cabinet, one woman minister in Despite the encouraging changes, challenges Oman (Minister of Higher Education), a minister remain to women’s equality under the law. in Kuwait (Planning), in Jordan (Planning), and Most of the countries in the Middle East and the first woman Vice-President in Syria. Further- North Africa have ratified the CEDAW but with more, in 2002 in Bahrain and 2005 in Kuwait, provisions and reservations that undermine po- women for the first time received the right to vote tential progress. Certain articles of the CEDAW and run for public office. are rejected because they are considered to be Despite these encouraging developments, the incompatible with national legislation and the Middle East and North Africa still lag behind Sharia. These include article 9 (discrimination other regions with respect to women’s public in granting nationality to children) and article participation and representation. There has been 16 (discrimination relating to marriage and almost no change in certain countries, and in family relations). Challenges remain in national some places, previous positive steps have been laws concerning matters of marriage, divorce, reversed. As is also the case in other regions, the child custody, and granting nationality to chil- progress of political representation will be slow if dren. Similarly, the penal code in many MENA not accompanied by quotas. In most parts of the countries does not protect women from crimes world, women political candidates face an uphill committed against them such as honor killings battle in national or parliamentary elections. This and sexual assault. Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 23

Table 3. Equal Constitutional Rights, Freedom of Movement, and Marriage

Country Constitution that Freedom of mobility: Marriage stipulate equal rights for a woman rights and duties to travel or obtain a Minimum legal age Right for women to Right for women for all citizens passport without conclude their own to get a divorce under the law (both husband’s or marriage contract by the courtb men and women) guardian’s permission signaturea

Algeria Yes Yesc F–18; M–21 No Yes Bahrain Yes Yesd None Yes and Noe Yes Djibouti Yes Yes F and M–18 Yes Yes Egypt Yes Yes F–16; M–18 Yes and Nof Yes Iran Yes and Nog No F–-13; M–15 No Yes Iraq Yes Yes and Noh F and M–18 Yes and Noh Yes and Noh Jordan Yes Yes and Noi F and M–18j No Yes Kuwait Yes Yes and Nok F–15; M–17 No Yes Lebanon Yes Yes F–17;M–18l Yes Yesm Libya Yes Yes F and M–20 Yes and Non Yes Morocco Yeso Yes F and M-18 Yes Yes Oman Yes No None Yes and Noe Yes Qatar Yes Yes F–16, M–18 No Yes Saudi Arabia No No None No Yes and Nop Syria Yes and Noq Yes and Nor F–17; M–18 No Yes Tunisia Yes Yes F–17; M–20 Yes Yes United Arab Emirates Yes Yes F–15; M–N/A Nos Yes West Bank and Gaza Yes Yes F–15 & 16; M–16 Yes Yes & 17t Yemen Yes Yes and Nou None No Yes

Sources: Woodrow Wilson Center Report: “Best Practices: Progres- c The constitution allows for the freedom of movement of all sive Family Laws in Muslim Countries”; Freedom House Report: citizens. However, Article 39 of the family code stipulates, “The “Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship duty of the wife is to obey her husband,” therefore providing the and Justice”; World Bank Report: “Gender and Development in husband with full authority over his wife in law and in practice. the Middle East and North Africa.” (All data for Djibouti; column Most Algerian policemen and court officials consider it standard 3 for Egypt and West Bank and Gaza; column 4 for Bahrain and social practice for a husband to forbid his wife to travel without Saudi Arabia; column 5 for Oman and West Bank and Gaza; and his permission. column 6 for Oman.) Palestine Report 2004 (column 4 for West d While there are no direct legal restrictions on women’s freedom Bank and Gaza); Foreign Affairs article: “Women, Islam, and the of movement, women’s rights may be limited by socially im- New Iraq” (all but column 4 for Iraq, which was taken from Am- posed restrictions, such as requiring a woman to request permis- nesty International), and Interpol (Qatar—minimum legal age for sion from the head of the household in order to travel abroad. marriage for men.) e Two legal systems are followed and are based on two Islamic a In most MENA countries where women legally have freedom schools: Maliki (women must have their male guardian rep- of movement, this is rarely the case in practice. There are social resent them in marriage and no woman can execute her own restrictions, and many times, husbands can restrict women from contract), and Jafari (any adult man or woman of sane mental leaving the country by withholding their passports or giving capacity can execute his or her own marriage contract). their names to the immigration authorities. f Procedure for judicial recourse exists under some conditions. For b In all MENA countries, women have the right to be granted a di- example, a judge may authorize marriage if Wali refuses. vorce under special circumstances, such as if the husband is im- g In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 20th amendment to the con- prisoned, if he is unjustifiably absent, or if he unjustifiably fails stitution gives men and women equal protection under the law to pay maintenance. However, in certain cases (nonpayment of and the enjoyment of rights “in conformity with Islamic criteria.” maintenance or physical and mental abuse), the burden of proof is entirely on the woman and, in practice, it is very difficult to h Article 2 of the final version of the Iraqi constitution makes get the court to approve the divorce. All countries allow women Islam the official religion of the state, cites it as a basic source of to be granted divorce through Khulu, whereby a woman, for any legislation, and says that no law can be passed that contradicts its reason she deems justifiable, can be granted a divorce as long “undisputed” rulings. Interpreting this provision will fall to the as she pays back the dowry to the husband and renounces any Supreme Court. Furthermore, Article 39 deems Iraqis “free in marital financial rights. Many women report that even obtain- their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs, or ing Khulu is a frustrating and long procedure. Some countries choices,” but leaves it up to subsequent legislation, such as the require the husband’s signature even in a Khulu divorce. Sharia, to define what this means. 24 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

i The current Provisional Passport Law does not require women to Article 8 of the constitution provides for equality of citizens seek permission from their male guardians or husbands in order “before the law,” rather than “in law.” to renew or obtain a passport. Nevertheless, in several recent p A woman may obtain a divorce only if her husband granted her cases mothers reportedly could not depart abroad with their the right of divorce at the time of the signing of their marriage children because authorities complied with requests from fathers contract. The majority of women in Saudi Arabia lack this provi- to prevent their children from leaving the country. sion in their marriage contracts, in which case a Muslim wife j The royal decree raising the minimum marriage age to 18 has can only obtain a legal divorce by proving in court desertion or not yet been written into law. If the provisional law is rejected impotence on the part of the husband. Women can also obtain by the parliament, minimum legal age for marriage will be 15 for divorce whereby they renounce any financial marital claims. girls and 16 for boys. However, any divorce proceedings filed by the woman has to be k Under Article 15 of the Passport Law 11/1962, a married Kuwaiti signed by the husband to be effective. woman cannot apply for a passport without the written approval q Although the constitution guarantees “full rights and oppor- of her husband, but an unmarried woman over 21 years of age tunity” for all citizens, exceptions exist in the nationality code, can directly obtain her passport. the personal status code, and the penal code that do not afford l In the Druze personal status codes, the minimum age for mar- women full and equal status as citizens. riage is 18 for males and 17 for females (with the absolute r A woman no longer needs the permission of her husband to minimum of 16 for males and 15 for females accepted only by obtain a passport. However, Syrian law gives a husband the right an official statement from the court). In the Eastern Catholic to prevent his wife from leaving the country by submitting her personal status codes, Law 75 indicates that the minimum age name to the Ministry of Interior. Unmarried women over the age for marriage is 16 for males and 14 for females. The minimum of 18 may travel domestically and abroad without the permission marriage age for Shi’a is puberty, or with judicial permission, 9 of male guardians. for girls and 15 for boys. s A woman may go to a court of law as early as at age 15, the legal m The wife may apply for divorce on many grounds, including dis- age for marriage, to defend her right to marry a Muslim citizen cord. A reconciliation attempt is mandatory. Religious minorities of her choice if her male guardian forbids her marriage. may follow different rules. t In the West Bank, the Jordanian example is followed, whereby n Officially, a guardian may not force a ward of either sex into the minimum age of marriage for girls is 15 and boys 16, while marriage or prevent a ward from marrying. However, according in Gaza, Egyptian law is followed, and the ages are 16 and 17 for to tradition, women cannot marry without the consent of their girls and boys, respectively. father or male guardian. u Women are not legally permitted a passport without the ap- o While Article 8 of the constitution of 1996 guarantees women proval of their guardians (Wali), but women with passports are equal political rights with men, the constitution does not provide legally allowed to travel without their guardian’s permission. women with the equal enjoyment of civil rights. Furthermore, Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview 25

Table 4. Status of Ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Does the Country have reservations? Date of Ratification Article 2 on non- Article 7 on and Accession discrimination political and Article 9 on Article 15 on Article 29 on Article 16 Country to CEDAW measures public life nationality law marriage and family life on arbitration

Algeria May 1996 Yes No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yes Yes Bahrain June 2002 Yes No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yesa Yes, para 1 Djibouti December 1998 No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation Egypt September 1981 Yes No reservation Yes, para. 2 No reservation Yes Yes, para 2 Iran ------Iraq August 1986 Yes, points f & g No reservation Yes, para 1&2 No reservation Yes Yes, para 1 Jordan July 1992 No reservation No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yes, points c, d, No Reservation and g Kuwait September 1994 No reservation Yes, point a Yes, para. 2 No reservation Yes, point f Yes, para. 1 Lebanon April 1997 No reservation No reservation Yes, para. 2 No reservation Yes, points c, d, f, Yes, para. 2 and g Libya May 1989 No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation Yes, points c and d No reservation Morocco June 1993 Yes No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yes Yes Oman February 2006 No reservation No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para 4 Yes, points a, c, Yes, para 1 and f Qatar ------Saudi Arabiab September 2000 No reservation No reservation Yes, para. 2 No reservation No reservation Yes, para 1 Syria March 2003 Yes No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yes Yes, para. 1 Tunisia September 1985 No reservation No reservation Yes, para. 2 Yes, para. 4 Yes, points c, d, f, Yes, para 1 g, and h United Arab October 2004 Yes, point f No reservation Yes Yes, para. 2 Yes Yes, para 1 Emirates West Bank ------and Gaza Yemen May 1984 No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation No reservation Yes, para.1

--- Denotes that the country has not ratified or acceded to the convention. • Article 7. Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in Source: CEDAW. particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right Notes: The following are excerpted from CEDAW: (a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election • Article 2. Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, to all publicly elected bodies. agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of elimi- • Article 9. nating discrimination against women, and, to this end, undertake: Paragraph 2. Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to (a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their the nationality of their children. national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated • Article 15. therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practi- Paragraph 4. Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with cal realization of this principle; regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to (b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions choose their residence and domicile. where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women; • Article 16. (c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis Paragraph 1. Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimi- with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other nation against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of dis- and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, crimination; (c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolu- (d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against tion; women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in (d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their mari- conformity with this obligation; tal status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the (e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against children shall be paramount; women by any person, organization, or enterprise; (f ) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship, ward- (f ) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or ship, trusteeship, and adoption of children, or similar institutions where abolish existing laws, regulations, customs, and practices which constitute these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the interests of the discrimination against women; children shall be paramount; (g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination (g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to against women. choose a family name, a profession, and an occupation; 26 Middle East and North Africa: Gender Overview

(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisi- Paragraph 2. Each State Party may at the time of signature or ratification of tion, management, administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property, this Convention or accession thereto declare that it does not consider itself whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration. bound by paragraph 1 of this article. The other States Parties shall not be • Article 29. bound by that paragraph with respect to any State Party which has made Paragraph 1. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the such a reservation. interpretation or application of the present Convention which is not settled a. Insofar as it is incompatible with Islamic Shari’a. by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitra- b. Saudi Arabia has an overall reservation that “In case of contradiction tion. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration the between any term of the convention and the norms of Islamic law, the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of Kingdom is not under obligation to observe the contradictory terms of the those parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by convention.” request in conformity with the Statute of the Court. Education and Training

ALGERIA

By 2015, Algeria will have met the targets of education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In 2004, the total number of students at all levels of education represented 27 percent of the total population. Since 1990, the government has been investing about 5.8 percent of its GDP in education.1 As a result, the levels of education are comparable to those in developed countries. In 2003/2004, 95.3 percent of girls completed primary school2 whereas the number of girls enrolled in secondary school was slightly higher than boys3. Similarly, 61 percent of total graduates in tertiary education are women.4

The investment in education resulted in a decrease in illiteracy rates for women between 1990 and 2002, declining from 59 percent to 40 percent.5 Significant progress can also be seen in women’s youth literacy which increased from 68 percent in 1990 to 86 percent in 2004.6

Since 2000, specific measures have been adopted to integrate students who are facing educational difficulties including those who have not attended schools or not completed their education. The programs (job placement and practical training) implemented by the Ministries of Professional Training and National Education target young adults aged 16 and older, focusing specifically on disadvantaged groups.

In addition to universities, a number of state institutes provide specialized technical, agricultural, vocational, and teacher training. Some function under the direct jurisdiction of appropriate ministries and provide one to five years of technical training and job experience for trainees. The Ministry of Energy and Petrochemical Industries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing each have a number of institutes. Algeria in the early 1990s had more than thirty institutes of higher learning, including technical studies, teacher-training colleges, and Islamic institutes. Women represent 53 percent of those enrolled in universities. They tend to be concentrated in traditional fields such as education, but they seem to be breaking through in some non-traditional areas such as medicine.

The challenge faced by the Government as stated in the national report is to improve the quality and content of the education system and professional training programs with the purpose of promoting gender equality.

BAHRAIN

The first girl’s primary school in Bahrain was established in 1892. Free and compulsory primary education applies to both boys and girls, and includes free school necessities and transportation to and from school. Though primary education is compulsory, this is not enforced.

1 World Bank Education Statistics 2 Algeria, national report on MDGs, 2005 3 IBID. The data is disaggregated in two echelons for the secondary. In the first cycle, the girl/boy parity ratio was 0.95 in 2003 whereas in the second cycle, the parity ratio reached 1.34. 4 IBID 5 Algeria, Country Brief, The World Bank, 2005 6 World Bank Central Database 2006

27 Female adult illiteracy rates (15 years and above) decreased from 41 percent in 1980 to 16 percent in 2002. By 2004, female adult literacy rate among those aged 15 and above was 84 percent, compared to 89 percent for males.7 In 2004, female youth literacy (ages 15-24) was equal to male youth literacy at 97 percent.8

Women account for about 70 percent of Bahrain's university students. Women in higher education are enrolled largely in ‘traditional faculties’ (education, arts/humanities, and more recently business administration). However, one-third of students in the Engineering Faculty are female.

In vocational education, women account for 30 percent of all trainees enrolled in courses provided by the Bahrain Training Institute, including accounting, information technology, business, retailing, garment technology and goldsmith craft. Female civil servants constitute around one third of those trained by Civil Service Bureau. Women have also benefited from training courses offered by the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance.

A proportion of private sector companies’ contribution to training is being allocated to needy families; some 49 percent of beneficiaries of this scheme have been women.

DJIBOUTI

Primary school enrollment rates (gross), though improving, remain exceptionally low (35 percent for girls compared to 44 percent for boys). Though primary and secondary school enrollment rates did not increase substantially, there were slight improvements in the literacy level despite the persistence of large rural-urban differences. The ratio of enrolled girls to boys is about 0.77 in urban areas compared to only 0.50 in rural areas.

Nearly 61 percent of girls either repeat grades and/or drop out of school altogether. Girls’ low school enrollment rates are correlated with levels of poverty. School dropout rates for girls at age 8-9 are also related to practice of FGM, after which many girls do not return to school after longer periods of sick leave. Most schools do not provide appropriate sanitary arrangements for girls and boys, contributing to girls’ high dropout rates at ages 10-11.

Out of every 100 boys and 100 girls entering grade 1, 90 boys and 85 girls reach grade 6 (the end of primary cycle9), 23 boys and 26 girls reach grade 10, and only 7 boys and 11 girls are able to reach the final year of secondary cycle.10

Regarding post-secondary education (in absence of a fully-developed university program), it should be noted that women comprise 45 percent of the student body in technical schools (Ali- Sabieh Professional High School and the Industrial and Business School). They concentrate mainly on commercial studies. The United Nations reported that the girls to boys ratio at the tertiary level was 0.8011.

7 World Bank Central Database 2006 8 World Bank Central Database 2006 9 Summary gender profile 10 World Bank, Djibouti Public Expenditure Review, 2004. 11 Millennium Development Goals

28 EGYPT

Although gender-gaps in literacy persist, nevertheless women have made substantial gains (from 34% in 1990 to 59% in 2004).12 Rural-urban discrepancies remain high.

Gender inequalities in educational enrollment (where a slight gap between boys and girls persists) are affected largely by socio-economic status.

At the university level, the female share of students enrolled in almost all universities increased (at the undergraduate level from 35.4% in 1991/2 to 43.9% in 1998/9).

IRAN

Female enrollment rates have improved dramatically. At the primary level, girls’ enrollment rate reached 108 percent (gross) in 2004 versus 98 percent for boys.13 At the university level, women comprise around 65 percent of university entrants.14

Gender stereotyping in textbooks poses a problem as does the explicit or implicit guiding of women towards “feminine” specializations – even within fields. For instance, in the sciences, a woman may be directed toward studying chemistry, suitable for teaching, while her male counterpart may be directed into chemical engineering. At the same time, the number of women enrolling in engineering, sciences and medical fields has been rising. Also, women have recently started joining traditionally male-dominated fields such as the police force and the fire services.

IRAQ

Iraq’s Interim Constitution guarantees the right to education and access to health for all and protects individuals specifically women and children from illiteracy. However, access to education and health facilities is significantly impaired due to the current security situation. It has also impacted women’s development more than men which is evident in the significant male/female gaps in social indicators.

Low education and illiteracy are highly linked to poverty. Most recent data (2004) shows adult female literacy at 56 percent compared to male literacy of 74 percent.15 However, the ratio of young literate females to males (15 -24 years) looks promising reaching 91 percent in 2004, better than the MENA average of 89 percent. In addition, reports by the Ministry of Education indicate that female secondary school enrollment has increased in the past two years.

Literacy is a significant problem for rural women where illiteracy rates are 50 percent compared to 30 percent for urban women. Fourteen percent of girls have never attended school compared to 6 percent of boys. According to the UN/World Bank Joint Iraq Needs Assessment, approximately half of all girls in rural areas were not going to school.

12 World Bank Edstats 13 World Bank Central Database 2006. 14 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4787190.stm 15 National Statistic/UNDP Household survey, 2005

29 At the technical and vocational education level, women make up less than 20 percent of student enrollments16.

JORDAN

Jordan has made significant progress in extending universal access to education. Primary school completion rates are 100 percent. Female enrollment accounts for 68 percent of community college enrollments and 47 percent of university undergraduate enrollments17. However, female tertiary completion rate is 31 percent of the male completion rate and is the lowest in the MENA region18.

Ongoing efforts to improve the image of women and to eliminate the associated stereotypes in textbooks need to be strengthened further and the government is making an effort to address this issue in its ERfKE19 project.

LEBANON

Recent accurate data on education is lacking. But according to 2002 World Bank data, girls’ enrollment rates have increased over the past thirty years, with female enrollment rates exceeding that of males’ in higher education, likely due to boys leaving school at an earlier age to enter the labor market. The gross primary female enrollment rate reached 102 percent compared to 105 percent for males. In addition gross secondary school enrollment was 83 percent for females and 76 percent for males, while enrollment in tertiary education was 48 percent for females and 40 percent for males (gross)20.

Adult literacy was 84 percent for females and 92.8 percent for males in 200021. Youth literacy rates (ages 15 -24) were 93 percent and 97 percent respectively22.

Enrollment rates of females in vocational education reached 40 percent in 2000.23 There is also a sense that higher education for women is regarded as a means to obtain a “personal education” meaning that getting a university degree paves the way for marriage rather than preparing women for a professional career.24 Nevertheless, there is no university program or field of specialization that does not have female students in it.

16 World Bank, UN/World Bank Joint Iraq Needs Assessment, October 2003. 17 Public universities and public community colleges. 18 Ibid. 19 Educational Reform for the Knowledge Economy project (ERfKE) 20 World Bank, Development Data Platform Central Databases, Global Development Finance & World Development Indicators August 2005. 21 Ibid. 22 Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org – datafinder. 23 UN/ESCWA, Summary Report on the Status of Women in Arab Countries for the Arab Regional Conference: 10 Years After Beijing, July 2004. 24 UNDP, Program on Governance in the Arab Region.

30 MOROCCO

With school enrollments improving, female illiteracy rates declined from 75 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2004.25 However, the gender gap remains high whereby illiteracy among women is 1.5 times more than among men. Moreover, about 40% of female youth are illiterate compared to 20% of male youth. However, the gender gap has narrowed significantly during the past decade 26

Significant progress was made in girls’ schooling. The gross enrollment rate for girls in primary school almost doubled between 1990 and 2004 increasing from 52 percent to 100 percent. For boys, the gross primary enrollment rate increased from 76 percent to 111 percent during the same period. Enrollments for girls also increased in secondary education from a gross secondary school enrollment rate of 29 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2004 (41 percent and 51 percent for boys, respectively). In tertiary education, girls gross enrollment ratio increased from 8 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 2004. While the gender gap in tertiary enrollments declined significantly during this period from 5.6 percent to 1.5 percent, it was mainly due to a decline in boys gross enrollment rates (from 13 percent in 1990 to 11 percent in 2004) rather than a rapid increase in girls enrollments. While the gender gap declined significantly, the ratio of girls to boys in school enrollment at all levels of education in Morocco remains the lowest among middle-income countries in the region.

School programs and textbook content have been subject to critique from women’s rights activists over the last decade. However, despite the Ministry of National Education’s purported engagement and the preparatory work done with the Ministry of Human Rights, few changes have taken place. This is problematic given progress in enrollment, which - if not accompanied by a change in the culture of inequality - will continue to propagate and reinforce gender stereotypes and biases.

SAUDI ARABIA

Since the 1960s, Saudi Arabia has made substantial gains in the education of women. The Kingdom is well on its way to completely eliminating gender disparities in all levels of education: the girls to boys ratio in net enrollment had in 2004 reached 1, 1, and 2 at the primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels, respectively.27

Girls’ enrollment across all educational levels grew at an average annual rate of 8.3 percent, compared to 4.2 percent for boys over the 1975-2000 period.28 However, women are still restricted from taking some subjects, such as engineering, journalism, and architecture.

Female literacy rates have reached 94 percent for those between 15 and 24 years of age, and 69 percent for those ages 15 and above (2004).29 According to the World Bank, the ratio of literate females to males, ages 15-24, decreased from 86 percent in 1990 to 96 percent in 2004.30 It is estimated that between 2004 and 2020, there will be twice as many female college graduates as male graduates.31 According to 2003 statistics, at 52 percent, women form more than half of all college graduates in the Kingdom.

25 World Bank, Edstats, 2006 26 World Bank, SIMA, 2003 database. 27 World Bank Central Database 28 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 29 World Bank Central Database 30 World Bank Central Database

There are thousands of female professors throughout the Kingdom, reflecting the high general level of female education in the country. Saudi Arabia funds one of the world’s largest scholarship programs for women, and thousands of women have earned doctorates from Western universities.32

TUNISIA

Tunisia has made a lot of progress in terms of reducing female illiteracy rates. Yet, the female illiteracy rate is still higher than that for men. Illiteracy rates of older women in rural areas remain problematic: one of two women was illiterate (compared to one in four in urban areas) in 1999.

Over the last decade, female school enrollment rates have progressed significantly to attain equality at primary and secondary school by 2002, and a 0.96 ratio at the tertiary level. In the 2000/01 academic year, slightly more than half of all university students were women. School performance of girls is also higher than that of boys. This is in sharp contrast to the mid-1950s, when women were practically excluded from the education system.

Despite these results, there are still some regional disparities. A number of specific measures were set up to offset these shortcomings, such as the program for priority education areas and the national adult education program which in particular targets the young, women, and rural areas33.

At both secondary and tertiary levels, women continue to be enrolled in traditional fields of study and are less visible in the scientific and technical fields (for example, in mathematics, female students represent less than 20 percent).

Women are under-represented in school administration bodies despite gender parity among teachers at the primary and secondary school levels. This reinforces the perception that higher- level positions are reserved for men.

WEST BANK and GAZA

Hamas has previously highlighted the importance of women’s education. Now that they are the ruling party, hopes are that they will continue to promote education for women.

The gender gap at the primary education level is almost non-existent, but increases at the secondary level, between grades 9 and 11, where female enrolment is 63 percent compared to that of male at 67.4 percent. The gender gap increases at the secondary level, mainly because of early marriage. According to the 1996 Palestinian Beijing Platform of Action document, about 40 percent of female teenagers, mostly in rural areas, become wives and mothers before they complete their education or learn an occupation. The legal age of marriage for girls is 16 in the West Bank and 9 in Gaza. This compares to the male legal ages of marriage, which are 16 and 12 respectively.34 In the West Bank and Gaza, according to a 1992 study quoted by the

31 Arab News, 3 June 2004. 32 Nawaf Obaid, “Saudi women must get the vote in 2009,” Financial Times, 13 October 2004. 33 Tunisia, National report on MDGs 34 Women’s Learning Partnership.

32 Parliamentary Research Unit, the ratio of girls marrying between 12 and 17 was about 35 percent.35

Vocational training of girls is still limited and traditional. Girls constitute only 13 percent of students enrolled in vocational schools.36 The 1995/96 school year statistics show that girls in the vocational secondary schools continue to select traditional occupations like commerce and nursing.

The National Strategy points out that one shortcoming of the current generation of job schemes are that they mainly benefit unskilled adult males. This can be modified through a greater mix of construction with non-construction schemes and by designing projects that cater specifically to the young, the skilled, and women.

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

Yemen has one of the lowest literacy rates for women in the region at 29 percent it is almost half the MENA average female literacy rate at 54.8 percent. The gender gap is also one of the highest where men’s literacy rate is more than double that of women’s. The gender gap in literacy among younger age cohorts, though still wide, is closing. However, a large urban-rural illiteracy discrepancy still exists, especially among women.

Gender disparities are also wide in primary enrollments. The net enrolment rate among girls (6-14 years) was 44.7% in 2003 in comparison with 72.2% for boys. The disparity is higher between rural and urban areas. The primary enrolment rate among urban girls is 73.2%, as opposed to 29.5% in rural areas.

The lack of female teachers, especially in rural areas constitutes a barrier to female education. In urban areas, the percentage of female teachers is only 52 percent of male teachers, while in urban areas, it is as low as 8.6 percent.37 Fortunately, the percentage of females becoming trained teachers has been increasing dramatically between 1990 and 2000, rising from 25 to 45.8 percent.

In absence of a minimum legal age of marriage, girls' secondary school enrollment rates are also negatively affected - especially in the rural areas.38 The gender gap in vocational training has not changed significantly over the last decade. In all vocational training programs following primary school, women made up 4.6 percent of all vocational trainees in 2000. Most female trainees specialized in health, education and administration programs, while few enrolled in technical programs. Of the students who graduated from universities in 2000, 27 percent were female. In 2001, 44 percent of female students enrolled in the faculty of medicine, followed by 41 percent in the faculty of sciences.

35 Nadia Hijab and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, “Laws, Regulations, and Practices Impeding Women’s Economic Participation in the MNA Region,” World Bank, March 2003. 36 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Palestine document. 37 “MDG Draft Needs Assessment Report,” Women’s National Committee, January 2005. 38 According to the Women’s National Committee’s MDG Draft Needs Assessment Report, 46% of the population above ten years of age is married. Of those in the 10-19 married age group, 75% are women, and 25% are men, suggesting that a much larger proportion of women are married off early. Moreover, the 1999 Poverty Phenomenon Survey in the Yemeni Society indicates that one of the major reasons for girls dropping out of school at the primary level (both poor and non-poor families) is marriage.

33 Health

ALGERIA

Notable progress was accomplished in access to reproductive and health services with 96 percent of births attended by skilled health staff in 200239. The average fertility rate among Algerian women dropped significantly in twenty years to 2 children/woman in 2004.40

Maternal mortality remains a notable phenomenon with large disparities between different areas. A Child and Mother’s Health survey conducted nationally reported 215 deaths per 100.000 live births41 in 1992 and a rate of 117 in 1999. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, maternal mortality rates were cut in half in ten years. The maternal mortality ratio of 75.5 deaths per 100.000 live births in 1995 had decreased to 37 deaths per 100.000 live births in 200442.

Despite continuous efforts undertaken by the State to improve health services (through massive training and construction of health infrastructures), the government has underlined several areas in which the following action is necessary:

- Provide greater emergency obstetrical services and equip health structures with adequate equipment and necessary products to make deliveries safer, particularly in the regions of the south and the high Plateaux. - Invest additional resources to improve the delivery quality of specific services in the areas of reproductive health, family planning, cancer tests, HIV and AIDS tests and treatment, as well as violence against women. - Reinforce the statistical database in terms of production and dissemination of data on reproductive health.

BAHRAIN

In 2000, the maternal mortality rate was 28 per 100,000 live births.43 About 98 percent of pregnant women receive prenatal care but 40 percent of pregnant women ages 15-49 are reported to suffer from anemia.44

The fertility rate decreased from 6 children per woman in 1975 to 2 in 2004.45 Contraceptive prevalence, according to a 1995 Family Health Study, is reported at 62 percent among women in the 15- 49 year old group.

39 World Bank Central Database 2006 40 World Bank Central Database 2006 41 Hospital statistics reported 78 deaths per 100.000 live births for the same period (Algeria, national report on MDGs, 2005) 42 The national report on the MDGs conveys different data for 1999 (117 deaths per 100.000 live births) based on a Child and Mother’s Health survey conducted nationally. World Bank data for 2000 is 140 deaths per 100 000 live births. 43 World Bank Central Database 2006 44 Bahraini Health Study on Pregnant Women’s Diet Situation, 1995. 45 World Bank Central Database 2006

34 DJIBOUTI

Health indicators in Djibouti are not remarkable. High fertility rates (5.2 children per woman), lack of women’s health services, persistent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), malnutrition and anemia are the main factors for high maternal mortality rates46. In 2003, only 61% of the births were recorded to be assisted by skilled health practitioners.

Child mortality rates remain high with a rate of 138 for the under five years old group and 97 per one thousand for infants (thus double the rate of the MENA region).

FGM affects more than 95 percent of young girls between 6 and 9 years of age, although the practice has been illegal since 1995 and is punishable with five years of prison and a one million Francs fee. FGM is mainly administered by grandmothers and mothers and is deeply rooted in the cultural tradition. According to a recent survey, 50 percent of men are against the practice of FGM.

HIV/AIDS is one of the main public health problems, yet little information on the situation in Djibouti is available. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is estimated at 2.9 percent (6 percent for the age group 15-35), and 95 percent of the infected cases are transmitted heterosexually. Women’s prevalence rate was estimated to be slightly higher (3.1 percent) than that of men. Since 1995, prostitution has been illegal, yet it remains a major issue due to the adverse economic situation. It is all the more concerning given the recent increase in foreign military presence in the country.

Violence against women is not well studied in Djibouti, but it is believed that men’s consumption of qat (which consumes more than 30 percent of household expenditure) contributes to domestic violence.47 Female vendors of qat are also exposed to aggression from their mainly male customers.

EGYPT

DHS (2000) estimates that 11.2% of currently married women have unmet family planning needs (as high as 18.7% in rural Upper Egypt). Egypt has one of the largest populations in the regions, with a growth rate of 2.3% per year (2000-2004) and a respective fertility rate of 3.4 births per woman. Despite a significant decrease in fertility rates, short spacing of births is still prevalent putting women at increased health risks.

Reductions in maternal mortality rates in Egypt have been impressive, and government-led campaigns have paid off. Maternal mortality rate (2000-2004) was 165 per 100,000 live births. With the exception of HIV/AIDS, knowledge of sexual transmitted infections (STIs) is low among youth, with girls particularly being ignorant.

46 World Bank data note 740 deaths per 100.000 in 2003 births whereasthe government data state 546. 47 Chewing of qat leaves is a traditional practice in Djibouti. Qat is a natural stimulant with the qualities of a mild amphetamine.

35 IRAN

Life expectancy increased from 66 years in 1990 to 72 in 200448 and the maternal mortality rate declined from 91 per 100,000 live births in 1989 to 76 in 2000.49 Iran, the most populous country in the region, has one of the highest contraceptive use rates (74 percent in 2000).50 This has helped reduce fertility rates from 6.7 births per woman in 1980 to 2 in 2004,51 curbing population growth and contributing to women’s increasing participation in the economy and public life.

One critical area for women’s health and education remains the legal minimum age of marriage, which in 2003 was raised from 9 to 13 years for girls and from 14 to 15 years for boys. Though few marriages occur during that age, those that do fall into this group are likely to be among the most marginal, poorer and less educated social groups.

A scientific study conducted by two independent experts found that 71 percent of teenagers in Iran suffer from depression. Teenage girls in Iran are twice as likely as boys to suffer from depression. A separate study conducted by the Psychological Welfare Unit of the Ministry of Health found that more than 15 percent of housewives in Iran suffer from psychological disorders. 52

According to a social welfare official, referring to a national survey, two thirds of Iranian women have suffered domestic violence and a quarter are unhappy with their gender. In February 2005, the UN's top official on women's rights, Yakin Erturk, chastised Iran over what she said were abuses and discrimination built into the Islamic republic's laws. Iran's laws "do not provide protection for victims of domestic violence and make it difficult to escape violence through divorce", she said, adding that suffering wives also faced "time-consuming judicial procedures and stigmatization".53

IRAQ

Health indicators have worsened over the past several decades. Child mortality rates have increased from 50 in 1990 to 125 in 2003.

Forty percent of women in Iraq were married before the age of 18 which has led to a high incidence of anemia due to early pregnancy (about 50 -70 percent of pregnant women are estimated to be anemic).

Maternal mortality increased from 117 deaths for every 100,000 births before 1990, to 294 in 200054. Fertility rates were at 6 births per woman in 1990 and are now at 5.55

Health clinics and medication need to be made more accessible to women who find it difficult to seek medical care alone. According to Human Rights Watch, there remain incidents of hospital personnel turning away victims of sexual attack, saying it is not their responsibility.

48 World Bank Central Database 2006. 49 World Bank Central Database 2006. 50 World Bank Central Database 2006. 51 World Bank Central Database 2006 52 http://www.irandokht.com/news/readnews.php?newsID=13200&catalog=Iran%20Women 53 http://www.irandokht.com/news/readnews.php?newsID=14477&catalog=Iran%20Women 54 World Bank, WDI, 2003. 55 National Statistic/UNDP Household survey, 2005

JORDAN

Fertility is 3.4 births per woman (bpw) compared to 3 bpw for the MENA region (2004). Data for 2002 show that women with no education had the highest fertility rates - 6.9 bpw. Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births were 41 in 2000.

Six percent of women compared to two percent of males have been married between the ages of 15 and 1956. Jordan’s minimum legal age of marriage is fifteen for girls and sixteen for boys.

LEBANON

Data on health indicators is equally weak with most of what is available refers to the nineties. Most recent 2003 World Bank data indicate that the overall fertility rate for women declined to 2.2 births per woman, down from 3.2 in 1990.57 Life expectancy reached 75 years for women and 70 for men in 2004 and maternal mortality rate is estimated at 150 for every 100,000 live births in 200558.

According to the 1994-97 Lebanon Maternal and Child Health Survey, fertility rates among women decreased with increasing educational level, with an average of 5.7 babies for illiterate women, 3.5 for those with elementary education, and an average of 2.2 babies for women with secondary education or more. Fertility rates also differed by region, being as high as 3.4 children per woman in the North district and as low as 1.7 children per woman in Beirut. The survey also shows that 99.4 percent of the women surveyed knew about a method of family planning. According to the 1997 “Survey on Living Conditions,” 61 percent of married women use contraceptives. About 88 percent of deliveries took place in public or private health institutions.

MOROCCO

There has been some progress in women’s health and the fertility rate has declined. But this progress is not sufficient. The fertility rate among Moroccan women decreased from 4.1 births per woman in 1991 to 2.5 in 2004. Maternal mortality decreased from a rate of 332 per 100,000 live births in 1991 to 227 in 2003. However, there are large discrepancies between urban and rural areas whereby the maternal mortality rate in rural areas is at 267 per 100,000 live births as opposed to 187 in urban areas in 2003. This is still one of the highest rates in the region. The rate of prenatal consultations is 68 percent (48 percent in rural areas).

Available statistics on STDs are alarming as they are also an indication of HIV/AIDS prevalence rates and women’s vulnerability to the HIV virus. According to the last CEDAW Shadow report, 78 percent of STD cases were women. Measures related to the prevention of illegal abortions, improving medical care for sterility as well as for menopause - as outlined in the National Plan of Action to integrate women in development - have yet to be implemented.

56 PRB World’s Youth 2006 Data – Note: data refers to year prior to 1997 or earlier than the year listed. 57 World Bank, Development Data Platform Central Databases, Global Development Finance & World Development Indicators August 2005. 58 Population Reference Bureau, 2005 Women of our World.

37 SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia’s population growth rate remains among the highest in the world at 3 percent in 2003 (surpassing national economic growth rates). Fertility rates have decreased from 6 births/woman in 1990 but remained relatively high at 4 births per woman in 2004,59 corresponding to low contraceptive prevalence rates, which are just above 30 percent (1995- 2002).60

Despite Saudi Arabia having a high level of public spending on health (4.2 percent of GDP), it has not been able to reduce its child mortality rates to numbers below those in upper-middle- income countries. Child mortality rates remain the highest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).61 And while Saudi Arabia, like all other GCC countries, has achieved lower male mortality rates than average male mortality in upper-middle-income countries, its female mortality rates remain above those in upper-middle-income countries.62

Improved access to general health services and specialized maternal health services has helped to reduce the incidence of maternal mortality considerably (to 23 per 100,000 live births in 2000). The percentage of births attended by skilled health professionals was 91 percent in 2000 – a significant increase from 78 percent in 1985.63

Female life expectancy increased from 70 years in 1990 to 74 in 2004. Life expectancy for males was 70 years in 2004. 64

TUNISIA

Tunisia has allocated considerable resources to the health sector and to improving the health of the population. A women-oriented policy was aimed at women of child-bearing age in particular and took into account the economic and social changes which were taking place as well as the new requirements in the sphere of women’s health. This policy was initially based on the concept of family planning, then evolved towards the concept of mother-and-child health care, and finally, included the aspect of reproductive health based on the promotion, prevention and management of women’s health, in particular the health of the mother.

Tunisia has witnessed considerable progress on health and family planning indicators. The ratio of midwives per 10,000 women at reproductive age has increased from one in 1964 to 14.5 in 2000. But only 71 percent of pregnant women received prenatal care in 2001. In 2003, 90 percent of pregnancies and deliveries were attended by health care staff.65

59 World Bank Central Database- April 2006 60 UNDP, Human Development Report: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World, 2004. 61 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2003. 62 Ibid. 63 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 64 World Bank Central Database 65 World Bank Data , 2003 66 IBID

38 The rate of maternal mortality was estimated at 120 per 100,000 births in 2000.67 At this rate, however, it will not be possible to attain the goal which is to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015.

Infant mortality dropped from 30.5 per thousand in 1995 to 19 per thousand in 2003 and child mortality decreased fourfold between 1970 and 2003 reaching a rate of 24 per thousand. Disparities continue to persist between rural and urban areas.

WEST BANK and GAZA

Eighty percent of hospitals and clinics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are state-run. If the International community does not deliver Aid to the Palestinians, the government will not be able to pay the salaries of doctors, nurses and other civil servants. This could present a major hindrance to the provision of health services.

Moreover, checkpoints and curfews have resulted in food insecurity. It has affected the quality and quantity of food delivered to the Palestinian Territories. An ILO report stated that 52.5 per cent of households referred to the closure measures, 53.6 percent cited military checkpoints and 16 per cent of households cited the wall/fence as impediments to accessing health services.68

Because of delays at checkpoints, pregnant women deliver their babies while waiting in the streets. This has led to maternal and infant deaths. Other women are not able to reach medical facilities for pre- and post-natal care, and thus, are unable to benefit from health services.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, states that "refugee camps are among the most vulnerable of all".69 A survey conducted by the Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva demonstrated that the percentage of refugees depending on food assistance was threefold the percentage of non-refugees.70 Not having any land or work to depend on, refugee women are severely malnourished.

Palestinian women suffer massively from malnutrition, especially when pregnant and nursing. During a Home visit program in 2003-2004, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) states that “69.7 per cent of 1,768 expectant women, within one month of delivery, were found to be anemic."71

Furthermore, a study by the GAZA Community Mental Health on the prevalence of post trauma stress disorder (PTSD) among children found that 57.9 per cent of girls and 42.1 per cent of boys developed the symptoms of this disorder.72

67 World Bank Central Database 2006 68 International Labour Organization, "Report of the Director-General on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories" (Geneva, 2005) para. 31 69 UNRWA, Emergency Appeal, March-May 2001, Second Emergency Appeal to Provide Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to Palestine Refugees in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank 70 Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva (IEUD), The Role of International and Local Aid During the Second Intifada, Report VII, An Analysis of Palestinian Public Opinion in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on their Living Conditions, August 2003 February 2004, p. 247. 71 Kofi Annan's report to the Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 72 UNRWA, Annual Report of the Department of Health 2003, p.5

39 In 1999, the fertility rate was 5.6 per 1,000 in the West Bank, 6.7 per 1,000 in Gaza, and 6.1 per 1,000 in the Palestinian territories.73 Fertility rates decreased to 5 births per woman in 2004, indicating increased awareness of family planning and provision of related services. Ninety-eight percent of women are aware of contraceptive methods which are actually applied by 66.7 percent (71 percent in the West Bank and 39 percent in Gaza). Forty-five percent of married women use contraceptives. Modern methods are used by 52.5 percent of the women who use contraceptives.

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

Female life expectancy increased significantly from 55 in 1990 to 63 in 2004 (54 to 60 for men). This falls well below the average of 63 years for developing countries and the MENA average of 71.74

One major factor contributing to the recent rapid rise in women’s life expectancy is improvement in maternal health. Yemen has by far the highest maternal mortality rate in MENA and one of the highest in the world. It is estimated that about 87 percent of rural women deliver at home, with only 27 percent of women nationwide receiving trained assistance during delivery. At the same time, maternal mortality rates have significantly dropped from 1,400 per 100,000 live births in 1990 by more than half to 570 per 100,000 live births in 200175.76

Infant mortality is higher among boys than girls, particularly in the neonatal period, keeping with the biologically expected pattern. The pattern reverses itself, however, during the ages one to five years, when the mortality rate for girls at 47 percent is 12 percent higher than that for boys.

Yemen has the lowest rate of modern contraceptive use in all of MENA and is well below the world average. According to 2004 estimates, only 23 percent of women in Yemen used modern contraceptives. Total fertility rate in Yemen is the highest in the region, although it has decreased from 7.9 live births per woman in 1980 to 5.9 in 2004.

73 Follow-up Report to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1999. 74 Moreover, biological advantages suggest that under ideal circumstances women will live five years longer than men. When this difference is smaller than five years, as it is in Yemen, it suggests inadequate maternal health care and that women may generally have less access to medical care and nutritious food than men. 75 Various sources cite different figures: 351 per 100,000 live births in 1997 according to the 2003 Yemen National MDG report, 350 in 2003 according to the 2005 Human Development Report and an estimate of 370 between 1990- 2004 according to the 2006 World Development Indicators 76 World Bank Central Database.

40 Economic participation

ALGERIA

The unemployment rate in Algeria decreased from 28 percent in 1995 to 27 percent in 2004.77 Female activity rates progressed slowly due to a limited social acceptance of female labor outside the realm of the household. Nonetheless, the younger generation experiences less of these social constraints. In 2000, 45 percent of active females were under the age of 30. Between 1997 and 2004, female labor force participation increased annually by over 5 percent in contrast to half this rate for males. In 2004, 30 percent of the labor force consisted of women.78 Women are mainly concentrated in the tertiary sector (small trade, services and administration). Agriculture and industries occupy 22 percent and 27 percent respectively.

While 60 percent of women are employed in the private sector, only half have a salaried status, the other half being independent workers and 13.5 percent being family helpers.79 In other words, the majority of women do not benefit from employment stability. Public administration remains the main employer of women. By the end of 2001, 26.8 percent of government employees were women with half of them in the education sector.80

Social Government programs were implemented in the 1990s to integrate recent university graduates into the labor force. The first six years of the “Pre emploi” contract program witnessed majority female candidates (61 percent).81

BAHRAIN

The percentage of women in the labor force increased from 17 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2004.82 The female economic activity rate increased more drastically in certain age groups. For example, the female economic activity rate of those ages 20-24 increased from 10.1 percent in 1970 to 44.7 percent in 2000 and the rate for the 25-44 year old age group increased from 4.5 percent in 1970 to 47.1 percent in 2000.

Female economic activity in services has slightly decreased from 96 percent in 1970 to 93 percent in 1990. The rate in the industrial sector has increased from 4 percent in 1970 to 6.9 percent in 1990, and remains unchanged in agriculture at 0.2 percent.

By 1998, women in the public sector made up 36 percent of all employees. These women worked mainly in the Ministries of Education and Health. In 1998, 20 percent of employees in the private sector were women, up from 18 percent in 1997. The highest rate of private sector female employment is in the finance and business sectors (31 percent).

In spite of the ‘Bahrainization’ policy – which aims to gradually replace expatriate workers with local people - unemployment rates for women are twice that of men (11 percent female versus 5

77 World Bank Central Database 2006 78 World Bank Central Database 2006 79 Algeria, National report on MDGs, 2005 80 IBID 81 IBID 82 World Bank Central Database 2006

41 percent male). According to UN/ESCWA, since the May 2001 launch of the ‘Program for Training and Employment’, the percentage of women registered as unemployed has risen from 24 percent to 66 percent.

Bahrain did not ratify ILO Convention C100 on equal pay, and the Labor laws do not explicitly mention equal pay for work of equal value. Men and women employees generally receive the same pay for the same grade, though in various cases women are paid less than men. Estimated earned income of women in 2000 was PPP US$ 7,010 compared with PPP US$ 21,059 for men.

The Bahraini Labor Law states that no employer is permitted to terminate a woman’s services upon marriage, although the labor ministry can specify occupations that can be offered as an alternative upon marriage. There are prohibitions on night work for women, but exceptions are made for certain occupations.

The legal minimum age for entry to the labor market is 14 years, although the age for completing basic education is 15 years. The minimum age does not apply to family enterprises, but there are special provisions regulating employment of juveniles between ages 14-16 years.

DJIBOUTI

Women’s labor force participation is one of the highest in the MENA region, estimated at 39 percent of the total labor force in 2004.83 Of those women who are working, 18.8 percent work in the public sector (compared to 54.4 percent of men) and 12.6% work in the private sector.84 In the public sector, women work mostly in the health and education sectors where they mainly occupy lower paid positions.

Most working women are either self-employed (27.8 percent) or work in the informal sector (31.7 percent). While the importance of the informal sector is undeniable (especially as a source of income for the poor), a lack of statistics makes it difficult to assert the informal sector’s full economic potential. At the same time, it should be noted that almost 40 percent of the economically active women are illiterate and that 49 percent attended primary school without any professional training. Those with a secondary school degree represent only 4 percent of working women.

The female unemployment rate is 66.3 percent whereas male unemployment is 52.5 percent. Unemployment especially affects young women (26.9 percent for the 15-19 age group and 51.3 percent for the 20-39 age group) regardless of their socio-economic background. It should also be noted that 33.7 percent of married men and 60.1 percent of married women are unemployed. The unequal access to formal employment can be explained by limited employment opportunities, a high national unemployment rate.

83 World bank Central database 2006 84 National report on MDGs

42 EGYPT

Total female labor participation rate has increased from 22% in 2004 to 24% in 2005. Women’s unemployment rate continue to increase, reaching as high at 24% in 2005 compared to 6% for men, the highest being among young and educated women in rural areas, despite the fact that women’s participation in the labor force grew five times faster than that of men.

Women constitute a large share in the informal sector, accounting for 67% in 2005 of the informal sector, suffering from lack of social security coverage.

Women’s share in the managerial and decision making position has significantly increased from 23% in 2003 to 35% in 2005.

Women are also largely employed by the public sector, accounting for almost one-third of Government employees (35%), and in the private sector, making up one-sixth (18%) of employees as of 2005, which indicates the need to consider the gender impact of any reforms, including privatization. Women entrepreneurs’ access to credit has increased from 25% in 2004 to 32% in 2005.

IRAN

Women’s labor force participation out of the total labor force was 33 percent in 2004.85 This rate is higher than the regional average of 27 percent but still low considering that 65 percent of university entrants are women. Two main factors contribute to this low rate. First, the belief that men are the primary breadwinners of the family and should be hired first reduces the demand for women. Second, the availability of services to support women’s work outside the home significantly affects the supply of women to the labor force. For instance, female participation rates in rural and smaller towns, where women can depend on extended family, are higher than in metropolitan areas.

The combination of lower demand, and shortage of support systems, which increases the cost of working outside the home, is more binding for women in urban areas.86 The higher participation rate in non-urban areas can also be explained by women’s prevalence in traditional sectors – in fact there is a feminization of agriculture in Iran. Also, entire industries, such as the rug weaving industry, are supported by women, but these women work outside the formal labor market. Eighty percent of employed women (in 1996)87 were in the public sector, though this number has been decreasing as emerging numbers of women set up their own businesses.

One issue is that married women need their husbands’ permission to work outside the home.88

85 World Bank Central Database 2006. 86 World Bank, Gender and Development in the MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2004. 87 Iran Daily, “Challenges Facing Working Women,” 10 October 2004. 88http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/August/middleeast_August203.xml&se ction=middleeast&col=

43 IRAQ

The Constitution stipulates the rights of all citizens to work and labor laws are generally supportive of working women. However, female headed households (FHH) are increasing, poverty is high, and women’s paid employment is very low. Women’s share of the total labor force (between the ages 25-45) was only 20 percent in 200489. Labor force participation for women with more than secondary education is the highest (42 percent)90.

The agricultural sector has the largest amount of female labor, 90 percent, double that of men, followed by education (68 percent of all teachers are females) and public administration. Since it is considered as part of their domestic chores, the majority of rural women, 98 percent, work for no wages versus 47 percent for rural men91.

Laws and practices that require women to get official permission from a male guardian to travel, work, or continue their education, will severely constrict women’s economic advancement, particularly widows, divorcees, and those with estranged husbands. It also provides a mechanism for males who want to pressure or threaten their female kin. The lack of security is a significant barrier preventing most women from working, seeking medical care or continuing their education.

JORDAN

Estimates of women’s labor force participation in Jordan vary widely, from 12 to 28 percent. Around 6 percent of women work in agriculture92. Forty five percent of the female labor force is employed in the public sector93.

Males and females with post secondary and vocational education are the most likely to be employed. However, while unemployment for males decreases with subsequent levels of education, it remains consistently high for females. In the private sector, women constitute only 4 percent of employees in the highest paid managerial jobs94.

Underemployment for women is also high. World Bank estimates show that the average female wage earner in Jordan is likely to have 12.3 years of education, compared to 9.3 years for a man doing similar work.

Income levels of female-headed households (FHH) in Jordan based on earnings are among the lowest in the MNA region, at a little over 10 percent of total household income. They rely heavily on transfers and family help.

89 UNDP, Study by Khalid M. Khalid, 2004. 90 Ibid. 91 Ibid 92 UNIFEM, “Evaluating the Status of Jordanian Women in Light of the Beijing Platform for Action”, 2003. 93 The Ministries of Health, Education, Planning, Social Development, and Post and Telecommunications employ the largest proportions of women in their civil service, totaling 45,829, or approximately around 86 percent of all female civil service employees. 94 International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). http://iwraw.igc.org/publications/countries

44 LEBANON

In addition to other social impacts lower female education will also impact the structure of female employment. This is due to the fact that education tends to be a prerequisite for women entering the labor force in Lebanon more so than for men. This is especially the case in higher paying positions where women are more highly educated than their male counterparts in similar jobs95.

The female labor force participation rate of 32.3 percent in 200096 is much lower than in comparable upper-middle-income countries. Women are paid less than men for doing similar work; however, this trend was changing in some sectors such as commerce and industry.

Unemployment in year 2000 reached 9.9 percent, 8 percent for females and 15.2 percent for males97.

Women have found opportunities in government, medicine, law, academia, business, and the arts. Unfortunately, few women have achieved senior positions in their fields. In 2000, women constituted 63.3 percent of paid employees in health and social services, 62.2 percent in education, 35.5 percent in services, 17 percent in trade, 16.6 percent in agriculture, 16.1 percent in industry, and 8.5 percent in public enterprises. More than 50 percent of those working in charitable organizations are women98.

MOROCCO

Despite slow and volatile economic growth, and a conservative social and cultural environment, Moroccan women have made major strides in labor force participation in Morocco, in comparison both to men in Morocco and to women in neighboring countries. Women’s participation rate has risen considerably, from 21.1 percent in 1980 and peaked at 30.4 percent in 1999. However, in the past five years, female labor force participation declined reaching 28.4 percent in 2004.

Patterns of employment differ significantly along gender lines, with women mainly engaged in unpaid work and men in paid work. Of the employed women, 56 percent are unpaid family helpers, 31 percent are wage workers, and 11.7 percent are self-employed.

Though jobs for women increased in the service sector, a decline in women’s employment in industry led to an overall drop in women’s employment in Morocco between 1999 and 2004. The decline in industrial activity was mainly due to the decline in the textile and garment industries, associated with the phasing out of the Multi-fiber Arrangement.

In Morocco, the feminization of the labor force is associated with the feminization of unemployment rather than employment. Between 1999 and 2004 the share of women in unemployment increased in both urban and rural areas, constituting 29 percent in 2004. Despite their relatively lower shares in labor force participation and employment, at 11.4 percent, women’s unemployment rate is higher than the rate for men (10.6 percent).

95 UNDP, Program on Governance in the Arab Region. 96 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, Statistical Appendix, 2003. 97 UN/ESCWA, Arab Regional Conference 10 Years After Beijing - Report submitted by Lebanon, July 2004. 98 ibid.

45 Morocco has formulated policies and established programs for job rehabilitation and training targeting unemployed youth. However, inadequate attention is given to gender specific issues.

A comprehensive new labor law went into effect on June 8, 2004. As amended, the labor law stipulates for the penalization of gender-based discrimination and for equal pay for equal work. However, certain gender-specific mandates appeared to result in additional costs and restrictions to employers which can constrain women's employment opportunities.

SAUDI ARABIA

Women’s participation in total employment was estimated at 15 percent in 2004.99 Out of the total number of employed women, an estimated 30 percent are nationals, while the rest are expatriate female workers.100 Currently, many expatriate men and women are employed in jobs that Saudi women could perform. These expatriates are remitting millions of riyals outside the country.101

The female labor force participation rate does not reflect the actual employment status of women as it does not include women’s traditional work such as herding and farming.102

Women in the workforce are mainly concentrated in the education and health sectors. Saudi women account for 82.7 percent of the total female workforce in the education sector, and 7.5 percent in the health and social sectors. 103

Female participation in the labor force is highest in the 25-34 age group, followed by those of all ages with tertiary education. Female participation rates are directly affected by educational attainment and marital status.104 In Saudi Arabia, there are incentives for married women to quit their jobs. For example, a woman who resigns because of marriage receives a benefit equal to 11 percent of her average annual salary over the years she has served.

The Kingdom has taken the issue of women’s labor force participation and business activity seriously in the past couple of years. A new labor law has been drafted based on recommendations from the Shoura Council that aims to enhance women’s economic and employment opportunities. However, barriers that can impact women’s economic activity still exist.

Strict segregation laws and requirements attached to women employees can make it very costly for employers to hire females especially in the private sector. For example, employers have to provide separate premises for female employees, they sometimes have to provide transportation, and the new labor law now requires employers to subsidize childcare by requiring firms with fifty or more female employees to have childcare facilities.

Under the new labor law opportunities have been opened for women to be employed in retail outlets selling exclusive female intimate clothing and make-up. Shops and businesses have yet to

99 World Bank Central Database 100 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 101 Arab News, 3 June 2004. 102 Saudi Arabia Human Development Report 2003 103 Saudi Arabia Human Development Report 2003 104 Ibid.

46 comply with the stated requirements to ensure the strict code of segregation. Many complain that closing off their shops and blacking out display windows will hurt business.

The new retirement age for women has been reduced to age 55 years from 60 years (which was the same as the male retirement age). This will reduce women’s benefits and retirement compensation.

In Saudi Arabia, it is prohibited - under any circumstances--to integrate women with men in places of work or facilities attached to those sites. This prohibition effectively bars women from most sectors and from attaining higher levels of management other than in female units.

Women may own businesses, but until recently, they were only allowed to run them through an appointed male agent.105 According to Amnesty International, approximately 16,390 businesses are owned by women and women own 40 percent of the nation’s private wealth.106 Aggregate investments made by women in Saudi Arabia in 2002 included US$ 1 million in industrial projects and US$ 1.77 million in service projects107. Nevertheless, most women allow male relatives to control their economic interests rather than accept public responsibilities.108

In November 2002, Saudi women's bank accounts contained an estimated $26.6 billion in idle funds as a result of laws that prohibit women from opening businesses of their own.109 In fact, Saudi Arabia has large numbers of women business owners who have inherited family-owned businesses. Many of these are among the country's largest enterprises. The report blames the flight of at least SR 21 billion to foreign countries on regulations that prevent women from conducting business.110

However, the number of women registered in local chambers of commerce and industry is on the increase. The Jeddah chamber, for example, has more than 2000 women members out of a total membership of 50,000. In Riyadh, the figure is over 2,400 out of a total of 35,000 members. This represents a fourfold increase in just ten years. Businesswomen registered with the Eastern Province chamber number more than 1,000 out of a total of 14,000.111

Banks estimate that 30 percent of new accounts are opened by women, and investment managers say that 60 percent of new investors in the stock market are women. Furthermore, experts say that 35 percent to 40 percent of investors in real estate are women. Despite this, women face difficulty in accessing information concerning investment opportunities and in consultations concerning the options available, especially in the stock market.112

105 The country's Labor Minister announced in May 2004 that women may carry out business activities without the need for a wakil (representative). The impact of this announcement is, however, not yet clear. 106 There are 40,320 commercial registrations by Saudi women in Saudi Arabia. These businesses focus on wholesaling, retailing and services, and are typically of small size and low technology use. There are 3,193 businesses in Riyadh that are owned by women. In 2003, there were 2,500 businesswomen members of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2002, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Agency licensed 27 projects by female investors (representing 2.1 percent of total licenses). 107 Nadereh Chamlou and Reem Kettaneh Yared, “Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa: Building on Solid Beginning,” Annual Joint Seminar of the Arab Fund on Arab Women and Economic Development, 2003. 108 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 109 Al-Madinah, “Saudi Women's Bank Accounts Waiting to Be Tapped,” 19 November 2003. 110 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2003. 111 Samar Fatany, “The Status of Women in Saudi Arabia,” Arab View, 2003. 112 Arab News, 9 February 2005.

47 According to a survey conducted by a London-based research firm (Synovate), 32 percent of wives in Saudi Arabia keep their assets or part of their earnings as well as their assets secret from their husbands. Their assets are in bank accounts, stocks and shares, or property other than real estate.113

TUNISIA

The different strategies adopted by Tunisia in the sphere of employment aimed to create the maximum number of jobs with no gender distinction between job applicants. However, the increased number of educated females and the progress made in acceding to their reproductive rights have not translated into an equally massive participation of women in the labor force which progressed slowly to reach 27 percent of the total labor force in 2004 against 25 percent in 2000114.

Unlike male economic activity rates, women’s economic participation rates vary largely between governorates. While they represent 50 percent of the labor force in Mahdia, they compose only 12 percent in Tataouine. In Tunis, the Northeastern governorate and the Central-Eastern governorate, female economic participation rates tend to be above average.

There has been a feminization of the textile industry. Since 1975, women have been mainly employed in the industrial sector. The service sector has since become increasingly more favorable. Women are also more active in agriculture than men. This has been reinforced by men’s rural-urban migration. Seasonal employment affects one in five women, as compared to one in four men.

WEST BANK and GAZA

Participation of Palestinian women in the labor force remains low. Only 1 in 10 women of working age is employed. ILO has stated that the situation requires urgent attention. They noted that women need significant assistance in business development, employment orientation, and vocational training. Furthermore, the percentage of women working in part-time jobs is higher than that of men.

As a result of military closures and curfews, the average income of Palestinian homes has declined. Blockades and stringent restriction of movement have increased unemployment for women. In addition, Palestinian women who work in agriculture and other work places have been hindered from gaining access to their land and workplaces and have therefore lost their jobs.

Palestinian women still face impediments emanating from cultural conservatism and old traditions. Such traditions prevent women from taking an active part of the work force, as, for example, it is considered bad for women’s reputation to work at night, or travel alone.

However, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of participation of women in the workforce. The share of women citing “home duties” as a reason to stay outside the labor force has declined from 52 percent in 2002 to 50.8 percent in 2003. The decline in women

113 Arab News, 8 February 2005. 114 World Bank Central Database 2006

48 reporting “home duties” added some 28,000 women to the labor force – equivalent to a 30 percent increase.115

The Palestinian labor law provides for protection of women as regards hazardous, underground and night work. In the Palestinian Labor law, the Council of Ministers has the responsibility to set the night work limitations. Article 103 of the new labor law provides for maternity leave of 10 paid weeks after 180 days of services, and breast-feeding breaks of 1 hour per day for one year. The new Civil Service Law (article 107), which had already been in effect before the ratification of the new Labor law, was thus amended, adjusting the maternity leave from 3 months to 10 paid weeks.

According to the World Bank, "the Palestinian recession is among the worst in modern history. Average personal incomes have declined by more than a third since September 2000".116 62 per cent of Palestinians live below the poverty line. The daily suffering is felt most severely by Palestinian women within the household, because of the death, imprisonment, or unemployment of male members. Because of such circumstances, Palestinian women carry the burden of responsibility in the household. To substitute for the loss of male income, women work overnights, while women who cannot work face severe poverty.

A May 2004 Report by the ILO suggests that development strategies for the Palestinian economy should "aim to realize the full productive capacity of women, given their high educational qualifications" and recommends the establishment of an inter-ministerial working group to develop a national women's employment strategy that would be integrated into the overall employment strategy of the Palestinian Authority. 117

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

Yemen’s female labor force participation rate is one of the highest in MENA, which has been explained by the large rural population. Women’s percentage of total labor force rose from 27 percent in 1994 to 28 in 2004, reflecting an overall increase in employment and income for women.118 Depending on sector, women’s employment growth from 1994 to 1999 was more than four times higher than that of men (8.9 percent compared to 2.1 percent respectively). In 2003, the ratio of female to male labor force participation stood at 0.39 with an annual growth rate of 64 percent. At the same time, the share of women in the agricultural sector compared to the nonagricultural sector remained almost constant, indicating overall constraints for women to access employment in the non-agricultural sector.

115 World Bank, Four Years: Intifada, Closures, and Palestinian Economic Crisis – An Assessment, October 2004. 116 "Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements", World Bank, 23 October 2004, p. 4. 117 ILO, The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories, May 2004. 118 Labor Survey 1999, 1994 Population Census, World Bank Central Database 2006

49 Public participation and representation

ALGERIA

Legal texts and the constitution guarantees equality of access to political positions and employment within the government. Notwithstanding their equality by law, Algerian women are underrepresented in the political arena.

There are four woman ministers in Algeria, one overseeing the culture department and three being ministerial delegates (two in social issues, education and family and women’s affairs and one overseeing the expatriates). In addition to the Cabinet, women are present in other governmental positions. They include two ambassadors, one general secretary of a ministry, three Walis, and three general secretaries of Wilayas (geographical departments)119.

During the 2002 local and legislative elections, the participation of women progressed noticeably, multiplying by three times in comparison to the 1997 elections (3679 in contrast to 1281 for the communal assemblies and 2684 candidates in contrast to 905 in 1997). The number of parliament candidates doubled between the two elections. The number of elected women was however insignificant - 1.09 percent in the communal assembly and 6.2 percent in the parliament. On the other hand, Algerian women are increasingly active in the Judiciary system composing about one third of instruction judges and magistrates. Six are ‘section’ presidents at the Supreme Court.

BAHRAIN

The October 2002 parliamentary elections was a landmark election not only for Bahrain, but the entire Gulf region, where women have been denied suffrage. For the first time in Bahrain’s history, women were allowed to run for national office and vote in a parliamentary race.120 Although several Bahraini women had announced their nomination for the 2002 parliamentary elections, no woman was elected to the 40- member lower house. The 40-member Upper House (the Shoura Council) which is appointed by the King, however, includes 6 women.

More than 30 women ran for seats in the civic election in May 2002 and made up 10 percent of the contestants. However, not a single woman won despite the fact that women represented over 50 percent of all voters. These municipal elections were the first time women appeared on the ballot and the first elections in Bahrain in which women were formally allowed to vote.121

Six of the forty-six members of the Committee that drafted the National Charter of Action (which established Bahrain as a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature) were female. Women turned out to vote in the referendum on the National Charter in February 2001 in almost the same numbers as men: 49 percent of the voters in the referendum were women.

119 IBID 120 In elections for the previous parliament disbanded in 1975, only men had the franchise. 121 Feminist Daily News Wire, April 2002.

50 health ministry. In 2005, Fatima Al-Baloushi was appointed Minister for Social Affairs. The head of Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (established in October 2001 with a mandate to improve gender equality and with an independent budget) has a rank equivalent to minister without portfolio.

Despite the improvements in women’s public representation, some women’s associations and activists have suggested that a quota system be introduced to ensure a number of seats for women in the next Parliament. The next parliamentary elections will be held in October 2006.

Over the last two years, several new women's associations have been formed. 122 The Union of Bahraini Women was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization to coordinate the activities of existing women's and families' groups. In October 2001, the Bahraini Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected its first women board members and also established a special businesswomen committee within the Chamber. The Bahrain Women's Society is a campaigning body that aims to increase awareness of women's legal rights and other issues that affect women such as globalization, information technology, the environment, healthcare, culture, the family, and living in a multicultural society. The Bahrain Businesswomen Society, established in 2000, supports businesswomen’s roles and aims to raise their professional status. It also launched the new business portal entitled “Women Gateway” in 2003. The Bahrain Young Ladies Association has worked to educate women on their roles both as candidates and voters in their country.

Recently, Bahrain's first female diplomat Haya Rashed al-Khalifa was elected president of the UN General Assembly. Also, in June 2006, Mona Jassem Al Kawari was appointed as Bahrain’s and the Gulf region’s first female judge.

DJIBOUTI

Adopted by the National Assembly as law in 2002, 10 percent of all elected and administrative positions are to be occupied by women. The quota law stipulates that every party has to present at least 10 percent women among candidates. Thus, the results of the 2003 elections saw the unprecedented arrival of 7 women in Parliament, accounting 11 percent of the newly elected parliamentarians.

There are two female minister delegates, respectively in charge of women’s affairs and international cooperation. Three women are technical advisors to ministers in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Youth Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affaires. There are no female diplomats.

EGYPT

Women’s political participation is still very low in Egypt. The parliamentary quota of 30 seats for women was cancelled in 1986. Currently, there are 7 elected and 4 appointed women in parliament. This downward trend of women’s representation can also be observed at the local council election level, which is as low as 1.2%. In general, there is a lack of commitment among

122 Over 4,000 women are said to be members of non-government organizations and many have taken leading roles.

51 political parties to support women candidates for legislative and local councils. In the Shura Council, the upper house, female membership is 1.9% in 2004.

In terms of decision making positions, there are two women in the 35-member Cabinet: (i) Minister of Insurance & Social Affairs, and (ii) Minister of International Cooperation. Women’s participation in syndicates constitutes 17% (accounting to around one sixth of male participation). Women’s representation in trade unions is also low (accounting for 3%) were elected to trade union committees in all governorates, while one woman succeeded in being elected to the General Federation of Trade Unions in the last elections. Even in NGOs, where women’s membership is close to 35%, women’s participation on boards remains in the range of 15 to 18 percent (with a high of 42% in family planning associations, and a low of 8% in scientific and religious associations). The first Egyptian woman judge was appointed by a Presidential Decree in early 2003.

IRAN

During Mr. Khatami’s presidency, a growing proportion of women were elected in parliamentary elections, reflecting women’s increased participation in legislative and decision-making bodies. Women were also gaining some ground at local and municipal levels. During this time, Iran saw its first female vice-president Masoumeh Ebtekar. Yet, the number of women authorized to run in the Parliamentary elections of 2003 were limited and mostly from the conservative side.

Women could not run in the 2005 presidential elections. There is no female representation in Iran’s most powerful political body, the 12-member Council of Guardians. The Council of Guardians approves parliamentary candidates and has the power to veto any bill passed by the Parliament. Furthermore, it approves the Assembly of Experts, which is in turn in charge of appointing the country’s Supreme Leader and has the sole power to dismiss him. Constitutionally, the assembly is open to anyone, including women, as long as they have achieved the required level of learning in Islamic jurisprudence and social and political issues. Women’s activists point out that women have not been able to run for president or serve as judges.123

It is yet too early to analyze issues concerning women under the new government. Some women’s rights advocates are concerned about President Ahmadinejad’s conservative approach. Under his government, for example, the Centre for Women's Participation has been renamed the Centre for Women and Family Affairs in order “to pay more attention to the institution of family.”124 Furthermore, in 2006, there was a crackdown on the peaceful International Women’s Day gathering and on the June 12 women’s rights gathering in Tehran. The participants of both these gatherings had demanded freedom and equal rights under the law.

However, some positive developments have occurred as well. Under the current President, Fatemeh Javadi was appointed Vice-President and Head of Department of the Environment. Replacing Masoumeh Ebtekar, Javadi is one of two women in the Iranian cabinet. The other woman is Nasrin Soltankhah, Presidential Advisor on Women’s Affairs and Head of the Center for Women and Family Affairs.

123 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4787190.stm 124 Embassy of Iran in Denmark (http://www.iran-embassy.dk/fa/culteral/women%20en.pdf)

52 IRAQ

Iraq’s Constitution is specific in guaranteeing women the right to public participation, voting and running for public office. The interim constitution guarantees (under transitional guidelines) a minimum of 25 percent parliamentary seats to women.

More recently, one-third of the 140 winning candidates on the Shiite parliamentary list were women. Thirty two percent of Iraq’s newly elected 275 parliamentarians are women.

In April 2005, six new Cabinet Ministers approved by the National Assembly were women, out of a total of 36, heading the ministries of: Migration and Displacement; Communications; Municipalities and Public Works; Environment; Women’s Affairs; and Science and Technology. The new Cabinet put in place by the new government in 2006 includes 4 women heading the ministries of, Environment, Housing and Construction, Human Rights and Ministry of State for Women’s Affairs.

Currently, women make up only one percent of judges (6 out of 744 total judge positions), and they are located only in Baghdad (smaller cities and towns still find the concept of a female judge unacceptable).

JORDAN

In 2003, the Jordanian electoral law was amended to reserve 6 seats in the Lower House of Parliament (the Majlis) for women. Although 54 women had registered to run in the last elections, compared to 750 male candidates, none of them was elected to the parliament. Given the quota, 6 female parliamentarians were appointed and have made up 5.5 percent of the 110- seat Majlis since August 2003. In the same year, King Abdullah dissolved the Upper House of Parliament and appointed seven women to a new 55-member body.125 This brought the number of female members in both houses of Parliament to 13.126

Today, female voice and representation in decision-making remains low (around 6%) by world standards (around 16%). Government reshuffling of the Cabinet in November 2005 reduced the number of Women Ministers from 3 to 1.

LEBANON

Lebanese women received the right to vote and run for public office in 1953 but it took close to four decades for a woman to be elected to parliament in her own right. From 1953 to 1972, nine women ran for parliamentary elections, but none of them succeeded. The first Lebanese woman to become a Member of Parliament was in 1963. She was appointed to complete the term of her father who had died in a tragic accident. Similarly, in 1991, Nayla Mouawad was appointed to Parliament after her husband died during his term. Only in 1992, 1996, and 2000 respectively, did three women finally get elected on their own merit.

125 Previously, it included three women. 126 Three female senators are serving for the first time: former Minister Rowaida Maaitah, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Forum for Women, Mai Abul Samen, and President of the Jordanian Business Women Forum, Wijdan Saket.

53 In October 2004, for the first time, women were appointed to the Lebanese Cabinet. Layla Solh, daughter of former Prime Minister Riad Solh, was named Minister of Industry. Wafaa Hamza was appointed Minister of State. Since the August 2000 parliamentary elections, there have been three women in the 128 member Parliament (2.3 percent of Parliament). Out of 108 heads of municipalities, only 3 are women. In the South, female representation is relatively weaker than in the North127.

Men dominate the leadership of all political parties128 and the introduction of a parliamentary quota system for women continues to be discussed. Only 4 out of the 53 ambassadors representing the Lebanese government abroad are women and at the director-general level, there are 3 women out of a total of 22 director-general positions.

Women's entry into the professional field has grown rapidly, with the most remarkable advances being in the legal profession: 50 percent of lawyers and 27.5 percent of judges are now women. The last graduating class of judges had more women than men. Data for 2004 show that 124 out of 434 judges are women at Judicial Courts, while 19.5 percent are judges at the State Consultative Council.129

MOROCCO

Since September 2002, 35 female parliamentarians have made up 11 percent of Parliament. Successful advocacy by activists and civil society resulted in an implicit 20 percent quota system applied voluntarily by political parties at the last parliamentary elections.

Some political parties also supported a 'charter of honor' at the local elections in September 2003 announcing that 20 percent of their candidates to the local elections would be women. Despite these efforts, only 127 of 6024 female candidates were elected, representing 0.55 percent of all elected local representatives. It needs to be noted that the number of female candidates running for elections more than tripled since the last local elections in 1997, in which 83 women succeeded.

There is only one woman among the 270 members in the upper chamber, Majlis al- Mustacharin, which has 270 members who are appointed for 9 years.

Since November 2002, the Cabinet includes two women, but not at the ministerial level. One is a Minister delegate and one is State Secretary (to the Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity and is in charge of family, children and the disabled).

Morocco’s judiciary remains a difficult area for women to penetrate. While there have been female judges for a long time in Morocco, women judges are not yet permitted to serve in courts applying the Shari’a Law. Women represent 18% of the 3082 judges in Morocco.130

Women’s membership in trade unions is weak. However, it is not uncommon to see professional associations headed by women.

127 UN/ESCWA, Arab Regional Conference 10 Years After Beijing - Report submitted by Lebanon, July 2004. 128Ibid 129 UN/ESCWA, Summary Report on the Status of Women in Arab Countries for the Arab Regional Conference: 10 Years After Beijing, July 2004. 130 Ministry of Justice, Morocco: http://ejustice.justice.gov.ma/justice/console/Uploads/Doc/FicheStat.pdf

54 SAUDI ARABIA

There are no women members of the Majlis Al-Shoura, a 120-member national consultative council appointed by the King.131 However, female academics and thinkers have in the past been consulted by the Shoura Council on issues relating to women. Despite a lively public discussion on the subject matter, Shoura Council President Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid in February 2005 ruled out the appointment of women to the consultative body during the upcoming Shoura reshuffle, when the number of its members increased from 120 to 150.132

While the electoral law published in August 2004 did not explicitly banish women from participating in the 2005 municipal elections, municipal bylaws did not encourage women either. In January 2005, however, the Interior Minister announced that women would not be allowed to vote in the municipal elections. Saudi election officials were quoted as having given administrative reasons for this decision, such as there not being enough female electoral staff to run women-only voter registration entrees and that only a fraction of women in Saudi Arabia has photo identity cards. The announcement put an end to plans by some professional women to stand as candidates. However, high officials have publicly announced that they endorse women’s participation in the next elections scheduled for 2009.

While no female has yet occupied a ministerial or legislative post in Saudi Arabia, many women hold sub-cabinet and senior government positions, mainly in the education, health or social service sector. Furthermore, a number of Saudi women hold executive positions in private sector firms, businesses, and international organizations (for example, Thoraya Obaid, UNFPA’s Executive Director).133 The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry - after having established a women’s wing in March 2004 –has also recently allowed women members to vote. This only occurred after numerous debates.

In a landmark achievement in 2005, two women were elected to the Board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Two additional women were subsequently appointed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

In 2003, women were appointed to the newly formed National Human Rights Commission134 and the Journalists' Syndicate (where women also have voting power). Women also took part in a series of national dialogues on challenges facing the nation. The discussions were at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s reform program.135

In the summer of 2000, Princess Al-Jawhara Fahad bin Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman al-Saud was appointed Assistant Undersecretary for Education Affairs—the highest position ever held

131 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 132 Arab News, 10 February 2005. 133 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 134 This is a nongovernmental organization, which aims to promote women’s rights and contribute to social justice. 135 “Citizens’ civil rights in addition to the right of men and women to participate in public affairs were among the recommendations made by the First National Dialogue Forum held in Makkah in December 2003. At the second dialogue, participants adopted recommendations combating extremism, calling for public involvement in the decision- making process and establishing civic institutions. The third dialogue held in Madinah in June gathered 70 male and female thinkers and researchers to discuss women’s rights and duties in the Kingdom. The meeting lifted a virtual ban or taboo that has existed for years about discussing women’s issues. It initiated a social dialogue and triggered and renewed interest in women’s rights and women’s roles in the future of Saudi Arabia. The dialogue reflected the Saudi leadership’s opinion that women are an integral part of the reform process. It conveyed the message very clearly that both men and women are partners in reform.” Arab View by Samar Fatany, 2003.

55 by a woman in the Saudi government.136 Businesswoman Lubna Al-Oyalan was recently elected to the board of directors of a major Saudi Bank (Saudi Hollandi Bank), making her the first female in the kingdom to occupy such a position.

In the media, Saudi women journalists and writers have been prominent in voicing their opinions concerning incorrect attitudes, traditions and ideas that are not based in Islam but which are responsible for many problems women face in Saudi Arabia. The media has also been instrumental in promoting and projecting a positive image of today’s professional women.137

TUNISIA

Women’s advancement in the public and political sphere has been reinforced over the past decade. Women won an unprecedented 22.7 percent of the seats in the Tunisian Chamber of Deputies in the 2004 elections accounting for 43 representatives out of the 189 newly-elected members. This achievement was facilitated by a decision of President Ben Ali earmarking 25 percent of the slots on the governing party's legislative slates to women.

The percentage of women in the new Tunisian legislature is the highest since the country's independence and one of the highest in the world. According to the most recent figures put out by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, it is above the 15 percent average for women in parliaments around the world and higher than the averages in all regions of the world with the exception of the Nordic countries.

At the local government level, women are more active than at the national level. Here, they composed 20.6 percent of local government representatives in 2000, a significant increase from 1.7 percent in 1972. In 2000, only four women occupied the position of Local Council President (conseil municipal). In other spheres, they constitute 27 percent of judges, 31 percent of lawyers, 40 percent of higher education teachers and 34.4 percent of journalists.

Women’s low national and local representation reflects their low representation in political parties. In 1992, the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique created the position of Permanent Secretary for Women’s Affairs as part of an effort to promote women within the Party. The central committee of the party (which did not comprise more than 3 percent women in 1957) included 21 percent women in 1998.

Whereas the previous government was composed of two female ministers and three state secretaries, the current one is comprised of seven female members (two ministers and five state secretaries) equally in charge of social issues and technical departments. The Ministry of Women’s and Family Affairs became a full-fledged ministry in 1993 (out of the State Secretariat of Women’s and Family Affairs, which was established in 1992). Since 1999, a woman has held the position of Ombudsman (médiateur administratif).

136 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 137 Samar Fatany, “The Status of Women in Saudi Arabia,” Arab View, 2003.

56 Development Plans and their monitoring constitutes a place for reflection and for the orientation of policies. CREDIF is furthermore a scientific body responsible for developing studies and research work on women.

Women constitute about 37 percent of the civil service (especially in the fields of health, education, and social affairs). Tunisian women have also been fairly well represented at the international level, including a Tunisian representative to CEDAW for a third consecutive term, high-ranking representatives in the Economic Commission for Africa, and the position of Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for the Family.

Women’s representation in unions remains very low, and unions such as the Union General des Travailleurs are male dominated. While the quality and independence of NGOs is difficult to judge, it should be noted that the number of women’s associations has increased from one in 1956 to 21 in 2001.

WEST BANK and GAZA

Palestinian women were granted voting rights in 1945. Women in the West Bank and Gaza have always played an active role politically being involved in campaigning, organizing rallies, demonstrations etc.

Women played a crucial role in the recent elections held on January 25th, 2006. Hamas used women as grass-roots campaign workers. Interestingly, studies on the municipal elections show that women support the group in higher numbers than men. This is mainly because Hamas's social programs have attracted the loyalty of women.

Women hold sixteen parliamentarian seats. Six of which are part of Hamas - granting women who are part of Hamas an unaccustomed public role.

In November 2003, the Women's Department was upgraded to the Ministry for Women Affairs which is headed by Zuhaira Kamal. Hence, the Palestinian Cabinet for the second time includes two female ministers.138 Intisar al-Wazir has held the position of Minister of Social Affairs since the 1995 Beijing Conference.139 The ministry of women’s affairs has taken measures to increase the economic, social, and political empowerment of women, through establishing good relations with other ministries, and helping to add the gender dimension to various departments.

There were eight Palestinian women, nominated for the Noble Peace Prize as part of the Project 1000 Women for the Noble Peace Prize 2005. Among these women were Zuhaira Kamal, minister of women’s affairs, and Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, former minister of higher education and an elected-member to the new parliament.

Six female judges have been appointed in addition to a number of female district attorneys. One female judge was appointed in the High Court, another in the Supreme Court. However, with the establishment of the new government, the judiciary system may change.

138 Dr. Hanan Mikail-Ashrawi served as Minister of Higher Education from 1996-98. 139 Al-Wazir is one of the most prominent women in Palestine. She is known as “Umm Jihad” (her husband Abu Jihad was the PLO’s second-in-command when murdered in 1988).

57 According to the 1999 Report on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, women in the Palestine National Authority (PNA) have been appointed to leading positions at grades which enable them to share the various levels of decision making in 13 ministries. However, women’s participation in decision-making positions in the PNA institutions is still limited at 10 percent.140 All heads of public structures and authorities are men. Women do not hold leadership positions in certain ministries such as Ministries of Agriculture, Industry and Public works.

There have been three female ambassadors, and three women also participated in the negotiations of the Peace Process. In 1999, 65 (or 8.7 percent) of the elected members of the Palestinian National Council (the Parliament “in-exile”) were women. Three appointed women of the 100-member Palestinian Central Council were also women.

The General Union of Palestinian Women, together with an Inter-ministerial Committee, works at the national level to improve the status of women. In addition, a committee of nongovernmental organizations has been formed through the General Union of Palestinian Women, in which women’s centers, organizations, and notable personalities participate to promote the status of Palestinian women.

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

The number of women in parliament declined from 11 in 1990 [in the parliament of former South Yemen], to a single woman in the current 301-seat assembly in 2004, reducing the proportion of women in parliament from 4 percent in 1990 to 0.3 percent in 2004.

In March 2005, the Cabinet passed a quota system calling for 30 percent women representation in Parliament, the Shura Council, and government decision-making positions. The quota system needs to be approved by the Parliament.141 This is an important breakthrough for women’s political participation.

A parliament statement reported that 93.7 percent of applicants, including three women, are running as independent candidates in the presidential ballot slated also for September 2006. However, most candidates face a major obstacle where their candidature must have the endorsement of at least 5 percent of the members of parliament and Consultative Council. Currently, there are only two women in the cabinet, with one heading the ministry of human rights and the other fronting the ministry of Social Development and Work Affairs.

Women are also not able to find their way into important positions in the judiciary, such as the Supreme Court. In 2001, there were 25 female judges (who tend to be from the south of Yemen) of a total of 1037 (or 2.5 percent). This is a significant decrease from 13.5 percent in 1995. The Shura Council (a 101-member consultative council appointed by the President), formed in 1990, did not include any women until 2001, when the President appointed two women. Women only make up 0.6 percent of the 6,035 members in the local council.

140 UNIFEM, Evaluating the Status of Palestinian Women in Light of the Beijing Platform for Action, 2002. 141 The Speaker of Parliament, Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar expressed the Parliament’s reservations on the implementation of the quota system, regardless of the Cabinet’s approval. Yemen Times, “Women quota system is imposed on Yemen, and women involved in election management,” 14 June 2005.

58 Women’s Rights

ALGERIA

Algeria signed the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1996, albeit with reservations to provisions on ending discrimination against women within marriage and the family. While Algeria respects Article 9 (1) of CEDAW, which protects women's right to their own nationality, it does not provide equal rights with regard to passing nationality on to children in case of marriage to a foreigner, or to the foreign spouse himself.142

There is a schism between the personal status law, which is grounded in interpretations of Islamic law, and other laws such as the commercial codes, which draw on secular premises. Algeria’s Family Code provisions are contested by human rights associations on issues such as the legal recognition of polygamy and the daughter's obligation to seek permission for her first marriage.

The Code has been under review by a national commission responsible for la refonte et la codification des codes civils et des procédures civiles. The commission proposed 52 amendments, which were recently adopted by the Council of Ministers. According to the revisions, the age of marriage for both women and men is fixed at 19 years; the couple to be married is obliged to have a notarized marriage contract and present a medical certificate; parental responsibilities are to be shared; and the necessity of a male relative’s consent to the marriage of a woman has been removed. The bill subjects polygamy to the authorization of either of the spouses and with the permission of the Court. With regard to divorce, the bill introduces the principle of custody for both parents.

One of the most serious issues regarding the labor law is that it does not provide sufficient protection for areas of work in which women are heavily engaged, particularly seasonal agricultural work, domestic service, and work without pay in family firms. Generally, Algerian women are not sufficiently aware of their rights.

BAHRAIN

Bahrain signed CEDAW in June 2002, though with reservations to provisions dealing with change in national law and nationality of children.

In spite of pertinent articles in the Constitution and National Charter, in practice Shari’a Law governs legal rights of Bahraini women and specific rights may vary according to Shi’a or Sunni interpretation. There is no codified personal status law, but there are two de facto legal systems based on traditional Shari’a. Sunnis follow the Maliki School and Shi’as follow the Ja’afari School.143

142 Nationality can be acquired by the child of a national mother and a foreign father who was himself born in Algeria. 143 Nadia Hijab and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, “Laws, Regulations, and Practices Impeding Women’s Economic Participation in the MNA Region,” World Bank, March 2003.

59 alliance with other women’s rights activists, began a campaign for change. Their demand for a unified law has been resisted by Al Wefaq, the leading Shia Islamist party.

In terms of freedom of movement, women can obtain their passport and travel without a male guardian’s permission. However, a Bahraini woman must live in her husband’s house or lose the right to maintenance. There is no legal minimum age of marriage.

Divorced women, whether Sunni or Shi’a, gain custody of daughters until age nine and sons until seven, when they come under the father’s custody. Regardless of custody, fathers retain the sole right to decide on legal matters for their children until they reach the legal age. A non-Bahraini woman automatically loses custody of her children when divorcing a Bahraini husband.

Children of Bahraini women legally married to non-Bahrainis do not have the right to Bahraini nationality. While foreign wives can acquire Bahraini nationality, foreign husbands of Bahraini women are not entitled to Bahraini nationality.

Polygamy is legal and each co-wife has the right to a separate dwelling of equal quality. According to Ja’afari interpretation, co-wives from different levels of society receive different levels of maintenance. Similarly, in the Maliki interpretation, the standard of living of each co- wife affects the amount to which she is entitled.

There is no law prohibiting women from driving. Since the 1950s, Bahraini women have been free to drive without male escort.

DJIBOUTI

Djibouti ratified CEDAW without reservations in December 1998. However, Djibouti has yet to submit to the United Nations a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures that they have adopted to implement the Convention. This was supposed to have been submitted within a year after its entry into force.

In January 2002, the Family Code replaced a 1995 law that governed matters of marriage and divorce according to Islamic Law. The new law grants better protection for women and children. However, women’s rights are not the same as those of men either during or after marriage.

Although the new law did not abolish polygamy, the practice now requires the agreement of the first wife, an assessment of the husband’s economic position, and an authorization by a judge.

Child custody is decided by a tribunal. Children of a foreign parent can receive Djiboutian nationality regardless of whether the father or the mother is a foreign national.

The Labor Code has been under revision. The draft of October 2003 includes many improvements, such as allowing women to work at night and enabling the father of a newborn child to take time off to be with his family.

EGYPT

On personal status law, there has been some issues of discrimination in terms of divorce, custody, alimony, however, the new divorce law issued on January 2000, enables Egyptian

60 women for the first time to initiate divorce “khula” but they must renounce all financial claims and return money given at the time of marriage.

The Government has been very active in supporting girls and women in obtaining birth certificates and ID cards for women as it gives them access to various services and rights.

A Nationality Law was issued in 2004 that gives the mother the right to give her children from a non-Egyptian father the Egyptian nationality.

The Family Court Law was issued in early 2005, allowing for specialized courts for custody, divorce and all family related cases, as well as, providing trained judges that are qualified for such cases. Accordingly, a Family Fund was established in order to financially support divorced women until the court rules.

IRAN

The Iranian constitution does not explicitly provide for equality of rights between men and women, as does CEDAW. Rather, Article 20 of the constitution says that men and women "enjoy equal protection of the law...in conformity with Islamic criteria" while Article 21 stipulates that "the government must ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria." Most of the personal status laws that discriminate against women in marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody derive their legitimacy from the clause effectively subordinating women's rights to the state's interpretation of Islamic law. 144

In October 2003, Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Having become Iran’s first female judge in 1969, she was removed from office after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Since then, she has been active as a human rights advocate providing legal representation for victims of political persecution and has fought for the rights of women and children in Iran. Ebadi played a major role in the fight for Iranian ratification of CEDAW, a battle which was lost due to opposition from the Guardian Council and various religious leaders.

In early August 2003, the reformist-dominated Parliament ratified a bill proposing that the Islamic Republic of Iran join CEDAW. Dozens of clerics held rallies in the holy city of Qom to protest against the Parliament's decision, and the Guardian Council, which vets all legislation in accordance with Islamic Shari’a law, defied Parliament and rejected the United Nations treaty.

Similarly, the Guardian Council rejected a bill approved by Parliament that would have allowed abortion during the first four months of pregnancy if the fetus was proved to be mentally or physically handicapped.

Discrimination in such areas as marriage, child custody, divorce, right to work, right to travel, inheritance, bearing legal witness, etc., are among the many legal issues facing women.145 There is also marked discrimination in the Penal Code as girls legally come of age at age 9 while the age for boys is 15.

144 http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-290357 145 Some aspects can be corrected by stipulating the aforementioned in the marriage contract.

61 The issue of “blood money” is much debated in the country. The Penal Code, based on Islamic law, dictates that if a man kills a woman, he faces the death penalty only if the victim’s family pays the difference between the value of his life and that of his victim. As a woman’s life is valued as half that of a man (about US$11,000 versus US$22,000), victims’ families are faced with huge bills before sentences can be carried out. This regulation is much more important when it concerns compensation due to loss and dismemberment, workers’ compensation, and impunities that are calculated on the basis of blood money. In practice, there are cases where the government has compensated families in order to carry out social justice.

Some women’s rights advocates say that they have not seen the rollback of women's rights they expected under President Ahmadinejad but they do not either foresee radical change for the better under his Presidency.146 There were some debates in spring 2006 about tighter enforcement of the Islamic dress code. Reports indicated that the police of greater Tehran would crack down on women who don't observe what the Islamic Republic considers proper Islamic clothing. The President, however, responded with a statement supporting women's right to wear clothing of their choosing.147

IRAQ

Iraq has made social investments in women, and its legislation gives them equal rights to education, and employment. Iraq’s constitution and labor law guaranteed the right of work of every citizen regardless of sex. Iraq ratified the ILO Convention C100 on equal pay and its labor laws explicitly mention equal pay for work of equal value.

In 1986, Iraq signed CEDAW, though with reservations to Articles 2, 9, 29, which deal with change in national law, nationality of children, and arbitration.

The Iraqi new Constitution accords equal status to men and women, including equal rights to education, literacy, and employment and ensures women’s right to vote and run for public office. It specifies that no discrimination can be based on sex. The interim Constitution also guarantees the physical protection of women and forbids violence within the family. However, reports of honor killings and forced marriages exist.

JORDAN

Jordan became a signatory to CEDAW in 1980 and ratified it in 1992, but it has registered reservations to articles 9, 15 and 16, regarding nationality rights of children, mobility, parents’ equal rights, and personal rights to choose family name, and professional occupation.

The Jordanian Constitution embodies the principle of equality before the law although it does not specify protection against gender discrimination.

The penal law incorporates leniency provisions to men who commit violence or crimes against their female relatives whom they suspect of dubious behavior.

146 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006 147 http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2334.cfm

62 Jordanian women have limited rights to divorce. Unlike men, and consistent with Shari’a laws, women must specifically request a special clause in their marriage contract to obtain the right to divorce. The majority of women do not include this request for fear of losing prospective grooms and men who accept this clause are looked down upon by society. The law requires men to pay support to divorced wives for only one year. A guardian is required to administer a bride’s marriage contract.

According to Jordanian Nationality Law No. 6 of 1986, “Jordanian women married to non- Jordanians have the right to keep their Jordanian nationality.” However, the child of a Jordanian woman married to a non-Jordanian is not automatically considered a citizen of Jordan. A Jordanian mother cannot transfer her nationality to her child except if he or she is born in Jordan to a mother with Jordanian citizenship and a father of unknown foreign nationality or whose paternity has not been legally established.

Under law No. 2 of 1969 a woman is required to seek permission from her male guardian or husband in order to renew or obtain a passport. In several recent cases mothers reportedly could not depart abroad with their children because authorities complied with requests from fathers to prevent their children (without a court order) from leaving the country. Social norms continue to play a major role in maintaining restrictive measures on women's freedom of movement.

Women’s advocates and NGOs worked collectively to push amendments to many laws that would provide more empowerment to women. These amendments were approved by the Cabinet and became provisional laws in 2001. However, Jordan has made little progress in making these amendments permanent. In a highly publicized session Parliament voted against two of them: 1) giving women the right to Divorce (Khul'a); and 2) removing sanctions in the penal law that allowed leniency to perpetrators of honor crimes. All other provisional laws remain in temporary status until Parliament agrees to vote on them.

LEBANON

Lebanon’s sectarian system undermines the advancement of women’s national rights especially in the areas pertaining to marriage, divorce and inheritance. Lebanon recognizes 19 different groups that are each accorded their own religious law and these laws apply different personal status to men and women. This is in contradiction to the Constitution which stipulates equality for all citizens. The introduction of an optional civil marriage in lieu of a religious marriage was proposed in 1998 by President Elias Hraoui. This proposal was sharply resisted by religious leaders (both Christian and Muslim), and the Parliament has blocked it from consideration.

Some areas of women’s rights in Lebanon are dictated by common civil code such as those that guarantee women the right to own businesses and accord their testimony in court equal weight as that of men. A report by the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) in 2000 stated that the Penal Code continues to discriminate against women in terms of honor killings, adultery, and rape. The report also indicated that several labor laws and regulations discriminate against female employees.

Lebanese women cannot give Lebanese citizenship to a non-Lebanese husband or to their children born from a non-Lebanese father, whereas, Lebanese men can give citizenship to their foreign spouse and children.

63 MOROCCO

In an unprecedented move, King Mohammed VI announced in October 2003 a landmark reform, granting women new rights in marriage and divorce. According to the new legislation, which passed Parliament in January 2004, the family is placed under the joint responsibility of husband and wife. The new law no longer stipulates women’s submission to the guardianship of a male family member and calls for equality with respect to rights and obligations.

Protecting the wife against possible misuse by the husband of his right to divorce, the new legislation protects the woman’s rights by making repudiation conditional upon the court’s prior authorization. It further enhances the chances for reconciliation, both through the family and the judge. It requires that all monies owed to the wife and children be paid in full by the husband before divorce can be duly restricted. Verbal repudiation by the husband is no longer valid as divorce is subject to a court ruling.

While Morocco protects women's right to their own nationality, it does not provide equal rights with regard to passing nationality to a foreign spouse or common children. A proposal to grant Moroccan nationality to children born to a Moroccan mother and foreign father does not seem to be confronting any political problems, but still has not passed in Parliament.

In terms of child custody, initially, a woman could not be the legal guardian of her own children except in case of the father’s death or loss of his legal capacity. The new legislation makes (for the first time in Moroccan history) reference to the International Agreements on Children’s Rights and gives the woman the possibility to retain custody of her child under certain conditions, even upon remarrying or moving out of the area where her husband lives.

Inheritance is also governed by Islamic law, which defines the shares that go to each family member. The proposed new law provides grandchildren on the daughter’s side the ability to inherit from their grandfather just as the grandchildren on the son’s side do.

Despite notable reforms of the Family Code, the legal system continues to have major weaknesses related to the code of contract obligations, the civil procedures code, the labor code, penal legislation, and the nationality code.

SAUDI ARABIA

The exclusion of women in the 2005 municipal elections goes against Saudi Arabia’s ratification of the CEDAW, which took place in October 2000, without reservations to Article 7 on political participation.148

According to an independent survey of more than 15,000 Saudi men and women conducted over six months across Saudi Arabia, more than 90 percent of the population wants to grant women more rights.149

Islam gives a woman the right to economic independence and prohibits men from illegally exploiting their wealth. However, in practice, local banks handling public offerings often refuse to sell women shares unless they produce a written consent from their husbands. In practice,

148 Amnesty International, “News Amnesty,” 17 November 2004. 149 Financial Times, 13 October 2004.

64 husbands are also able to buy shares in the name of their wives without their wives’ prior knowledge.150

Recently, women have been able to obtain identity cards, but only 6 percent of Saudi women requested them.151 However, IDs cannot be obtained without the approval of a male guardian. The lifting of such a requirement would be the first step towards women’s legal independence by giving them an identity distinct from that of their husbands or fathers. This could then serve as the basis for granting passports, offering bank loans, and other means of increasing a woman’s autonomy.

Legal matters pertaining to women are usually the purview of Islamic courts that use religious law as the basis for decisions. The Council of Senior Ulama makes the final interpretation of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia with the consent of the king. A man’s testimony is equal to that of two women in court. A man may receive a divorce simply upon request, while a woman must win a legal decision (and written approval by the husband) to separate. Even when granted a divorce by the judge a women still requires the husband to sign the divorce papers.

Discrimination against women includes limitations on freedom of movement, allowing for effective imprisonment within the home, and preventing recourse to protection or redress from human rights abuses. Additionally, women are required to remain segregated from all males who are not members of their household. Women cannot receive driver’s licenses or drive.152 In addition, a woman must obtain the written consent of a male family member to travel outside the country, and even to receive medical treatment.153

Equal educational and vocational opportunities continue to be denied to girls and women. Physical education is banned in girls’ schools. Women abused by private individuals such as husbands or employers continue to be denied access to adequate protection or redress by the government. However, there has been significant reporting and highlighting of domestic abuse cases in the local media and the Human Rights Association and other NGOs have begun helping victims and raising awareness on this issue. Female domestic workers remain at particular risk of human rights abuses, including physical abuse.

The practice of forced marriage was recently banned, as the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, denounced the practice as un-Islamic.

TUNISIA

Tunisia ratified CEDAW in 1985, but reserved the provisions that contradict the Tunisian Constitution, the Personal Status Code, or the Tunisian Nationality Code.

Tunisia is most notable in the region for its women’s legal status. The first accomplishment after Tunisia's independence was the 1956 adoption of the Personal Status Code, which laid the foundations for a new organization of the family, based on legal equality of men and women. Under the leadership of the former socialist president, Habib Bourguiba, polygamy and divorce

150 Arab News, December 2004. 151 BBC News, 10 February 2005. 152 Women used to be able to obtain international drivers-licenses in Saudi Arabia. 153 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region.

65 by renunciation were outlawed. Bourguiba also placed limits on the tradition of arranging marriages, setting a minimum nuptial age of 17 for girls.

In 1992, the Personal Status Code was amended with a goal to further advance women’s rights in the family. A Tunisian woman may now transmit her nationality to her children. In addition, the government recently introduced a new law that would make it possible for a Tunisian mother to register her child as a citizen in the presence of a foreign father. Some legal discrimination against women continues to exist especially in the property and inheritance law governed by Shari’a. Property acquired during the marriage, regardless of who actually previously owned or obtained it, is in the name of the husband.

However, women’s legal literacy remains problematic. According to International Women’s Rights Action Watch, as of 1991 some 70 percent of illiterate women did not know that the provisions of the Personal Status Code granted them rights.

The wearing of hijab was outlawed under Bourguiba in 1986. When Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali became president in 1987, he lifted the ban on the wearing of hijab for two years. Currently, the wearing of hijab is forbidden in government offices, although it is more tolerated in general.

In an attempt to fight discrimination in employment, the government has made equal opportunity a mandatory part of investigation within audits of governmental institutions and state-owned enterprises. However, these standards have only limited impact as these requirements do not apply to the private sector.

Tunisia’s current abortion law dates to 1973 when the new Penal Code was enacted. Article 214 of the Penal Code authorizes the performance of abortions on request during the first three months of pregnancy. The Government subsidizes abortion and those entitled to receive free health care can obtain an abortion free of charge in public hospitals.

WEST BANK and GAZA

Since the Palestinian Authority does not have state status, it is not eligible to ratify CEDAW, but both governmental and non-governmental organizations have taken the initiative of reporting to the United Nations CEDAW Committee that monitors implementation of the Convention. A commitment to the advancement of the role of women is explicit in the Declaration of Palestinian Independence in which women’s entitlement to equal rights is stated.

On January 18, 2006, the Palestine Women’s Research and Document Center (PWRDC) was inaugurated under the support of the former Prime Minister, Ahmed Qureia’ (Abu ‘Ala), and Zahira Kamal, minister of Women’s Affairs. This center is the first of its kind in an Arab country, outside North Africa. It will serve as both a documentation and resource center and as an observatory, giving a voice to Palestinian women at the regional and international levels.

Some of the elected women on the Hamas ticket plan to challenge gender discrimination. They argue that discrimination against women is derived from cultural tradition, and is not based on Islam. Huda Naeem, a social worker and newly-elected member of the Palestinian Parliament stated, “A lot of things need to change. Women in Gaza and the West Bank should be given complete rights. Some women and girls are made to marry someone they don't want to marry. This is not in our religion, it's our tradition. In our religion, a woman has a right to choose."

Palestinian women, unlike women in most Arab countries, are able to give their nationality to their husbands and children. Regarding mobility, passports can be obtained without the permission of a guardian.

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

One of the first serious acknowledgements of the need to address gender inequality in Yemen occurred when the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen signed CEDAW, with reservations, in 1984. The Constitution of the unified Republic of Yemen contains a number of important articles related to women's rights.154

Various Yemeni laws issued after unification are in direct conflict with the CEDAW Convention and the Constitution. In particular, the personal status laws often conflict with these two documents. For example, it gives men the right to consent to the wife’s work outside the home, which has consequences for women’s ability to participate in the economy independently. Concerning the right of movement, Yemeni men have the right to restrict their dependents' movements, including their wives and adult unmarried daughters.

The absence of a minimum legal age of marriage in Yemen remains an issue, as this translates to young women getting married earlier, having more children, and potentially discontinuing their education. This phenomenon affects urban areas more than rural areas, despite the fact that the age of marriage is higher in urban areas (16.9 years on average, compared to 15.9 years in rural areas).

Yemen’s Minister of Human Rights, Amat al-Aleem al-Suswah, recently attacked opposition parties for their bias against women. The minister blamed the weak political improvement in their work on their superficial representation of women in the parties and suggested that the presence of women is crucial to any growing nation.

154 Article 19 guarantees the right of equality of opportunity to all citizens in the political, economic, social and cultural domains. Article 27 states that there should be no discrimination on the basis of sex. Article 38 states that Yemenis are free to move around the country without restrictions. In addition, Article 42 of the Labor law states that women have equal rights vis-à-vis employment, wages, training, rehabilitation and social insurance.

ALGERIA

1. Background and Key Issues Figure 1: Social Indicators 1990-2004 1990 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:41, M:64 General 120 100 80 60 School Enrollment, Algeria signed the Convention on the Labor Force (% of total 40 Primary (% gross)* F:88, labor force) F:23, M:77 Elimination of Discrimination Against Women 20 M:103 (CEDAW) in 1996, albeit with reservations to 0 provisions regarding marriage and family matters. School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary (% gross)* F:53, (Years) F:69, M:66 Algeria made notable progress in gender M:67 equality in education and health outcomes. In 2003/2004, 95.3 percent of girls completed primary Female Male school155. The number of girls enrolled in 156 secondary school was higher than boys and 61 * 1990 School enrollment data is from 1991 percent of total graduates in tertiary education were women.157 The average fertility rate among Algerian women dropped significantly in twenty 2004 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 158 15+) F:60, M:80 years to 2 children per woman in 2004 . 120 100 80 60 School Enrollment, Despite advancement in women’s labor force Labor Force (% of total 40 Primary (% gross) F:107, labor force) F:30, M:70 and political participation much remains to be 20 M:116 done. Female labor force participation has been 0 increasing at 5 percent per year over the past decade. School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth However, in 2004, women constituted only 30% of Secondary (% gross) (Years) F:73, M:70 the labor force. Women’s political participation also F:84, M:78 increased progressively with 25 women in Female Male parliament and five women in senior government posts as well as increased representation in political parties. However, greater representation is Sources: World Bank Central Database 2006 and World Bank Edstats necessary to achieve gender equality. Figure 2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equa & women’s empowerment The legal status of Algerian women remains an issue. Despite the parliament’s approval in 120 Algeria 100 9 98 92 99 2005 of a presidential decree to amend the 1984 9 90 89 Family Law, the amendments do not give equal 80

rights to women in all aspects. The family law % 60 4 MENA treats women as minors under the legal 40 30 27 20 16 guardianship of a husband or male relative and 68 polygamy remains legally recognized. Divorce is 0 Ratio of girls Ratio of Female % of Proportion of Lower difficult to obtain while women suffer from to boys in young literate total labor seats held by Middle primary & females to force (2004) women in Income discrimination in inheritance claims. secondary males (2004) parliament Countries education (2005)

Source: World Bank Database 2006. School enrollment data is for 2004 (LMI for 2003) 155 Algeria, national report on MDGs, 2005 156 IBID. The data is disaggregated in two echelons for the secondary. In the first cycle, the girl/boy parity ratio was 0.95 in 2003 whereas in the second cycle, the parity ratio reached 1.34. 157 IBID 158 World Bank Central Database 2006 68

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

By 2015, Algeria will have met the targets of education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In 2004, the total number of students at all levels of education represented 27 percent of the total population. Since 1990, the government has been investing about 5.8 percent of its GDP in education.159 As a result, the levels of education are comparable to those in developed countries. In 2003/2004, 95.3 percent of girls completed primary school160 whereas the number of girls enrolled in secondary school was slightly higher than boys161. Similarly, 61 percent of total graduates in tertiary education are women.162

The investment in education resulted in a decrease in illiteracy rates for women between 1990 and 2002, declining from 59 percent to 40 percent.163 Significant progress can also be seen in women’s youth literacy which increased from 68 percent in 1990 to 86 percent in 2004.164

Health

Notable progress was accomplished in access to reproductive and health services with 96 percent of births attended by skilled health staff in 2002165. The average fertility rate among Algerian women dropped significantly in twenty years to 2 children/woman in 2004.166

159 World Bank Education Statistics 160 Algeria, national report on MDGs, 2005 161 IBID. The data is disaggregated in two echelons for the secondary. In the first cycle, the girl/boy parity ratio was 0.95 in 2003 whereas in the second cycle, the parity ratio reached 1.34. 162 IBID 163 Algeria, Country Brief, The World Bank, 2005 164 World Bank Central Database 2006 165 World Bank Central Database 2006 166 World Bank Central Database 2006 69

Maternal mortality remains a notable phenomenon with large disparities between different areas. A Child and Mother’s Health survey conducted nationally reported 215 deaths per 100.000 live births167 in 1992 and a rate of 117 in 1999. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, maternal mortality rates were cut in half in ten years. The maternal mortality ratio of 75.5 deaths per 100.000 live births in 1995 had decreased to 37 deaths per 100.000 live births in 2004168.

Economic participation

The unemployment rate in Algeria decreased from 28 percent in 1995 to 27 percent in 2004.169 Female activity rates progressed slowly due to a limited social acceptance of female labor outside the realm of the household. Nonetheless, the younger generation experiences less of these social constraints. In 2000, 45 percent of active females were under the age of 30. Between 1997 and 2004, female labor force participation increased annually by over 5 percent in contrast to half this rate for males. In 2004, 30 percent of the labor force consisted of women.170 Women are mainly concentrated in the tertiary sector (small trade, services and administration). Agriculture and industries occupy 22 percent and 27 percent respectively.

While 60 percent of women are employed in the private sector, only half have a salaried status, the other half being independent workers and 13.5 percent being family helpers.171 In other words, the majority of women do not benefit from employment stability. Public administration remains the main employer of women. By the end of 2001, 26.8 percent of government employees were women with half of them in the education sector.172

167 Hospital statistics reported 78 deaths per 100.000 live births for the same period (Algeria, national report on MDGs, 2005) 168 The national report on the MDGs conveys different data for 1999 (117 deaths per 100.000 live births) based on a Child and Mother’s Health survey conducted nationally. World Bank data for 2000 is 140 deaths per 100 000 live births. 169 World Bank Central Database 2006 170 World Bank Central Database 2006 171 Algeria, National report on MDGs, 2005 172 IBID 173 IBID 70

Public Participation and Representation

Women’s Rights

One of the most serious issues regarding the labor law is that it does not provide sufficient protection for areas of work in which women are heavily engaged, particularly seasonal

174 IBID 175 Nationality can be acquired by the child of a national mother and a foreign father who was himself born in Algeria. 71

agricultural work, domestic service, and work without pay in family firms. Generally, Algerian women are not sufficiently aware of their rights.

BAHRAIN

1. Background and Key Issues Figure 1: Social Indicators 1990-2004

1990 General Literacy Rate, adult (% age 15+) F:75, M:87 100 The 2002 Parliamentary elections was a landmark Labor Force (% of total labor 50 School Enrollment, Primary force) F:17, M:83 (% gross) F:110, M:110 election for Bahraini women. For the first time in 0 Bahrain’s history, women were allowed to run for School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth national office and to vote in a parliamentary race. Secondary (% gross) (Years) F:74, M:69 Unfortunately, no women were elected in these F:102, M:98 elections.

King Hamad appointed six women to the Upper House Female Male of Parliament, the Shoura Council. In 2004 and 2005, 1990 School enrollment data is from 1991

two women were appointed Minister of Health and 2004

Minister for Social Affairs. Literacy Rate, adult (% age 15+) F:84, M:89 Despite the great improvement in women’s public 100

participation, some women’s associations Labor Force (% of total labor 50 School Enrollment, Primary and activists argue that a quota system would better force) F:19, M:81 (% gross) F:104, M:104 0 ensure women’s representation in the next Parliament.

Life Expectancy at Birth School Enrollment, Secondary Women’s share of the total labor force increased from (Years) F:76, M:73 (% gross) F:102, M:96 17 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2004. This rate is still low considering that women account for about 70 Female Male percent of Bahrain’s university students. Source: World Bank Central Database 2006.

Another issue confronting many women is the 120 103 lack of a clear and unified personal status law. In 101 100 100 Bahrain 2005, the Supreme Council for Women together 90 89 with other women’s rights activists began a 80 campaign for change. Their demands have been ME NA

% 60 strongly resisted by the leading Shia Islamist 44 40 Party. 27 22 High 20 19 7.5 8 In c o m e Countries 0 Ratio of girls to boys in Ratio of young literate Female % of total labor Proportion of seats primary & secondary females to force (2004) held by women in education males(2004) parliament (2005)

Sources: World Bank Central Database 2006, World Bank Edstats, and the 2005 Development Report. School enrollment data is for 2004 (HIC for 2003) No data for youth literacy in high income countries There are different data for women in parliament. Currently, there are six women in the upper house and no women in the lower house of parliament

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Female adult illiteracy rates (15 years and above) decreased from 41 percent in 1980 to 16 percent in 2002. By 2004, female adult literacy rate among those aged 15 and above was 84 percent, compared to 89 percent for males.176 In 2004, female youth literacy (ages 15-24) was equal to male youth literacy at 97 percent.177

A proportion of private sector companies’ contribution to training is being allocated to needy families; some 49 percent of beneficiaries of this scheme have been women.

Health

In 2000, the maternal mortality rate was 28 per 100,000 live births.178 About 98 percent of pregnant women receive prenatal care but 40 percent of pregnant women ages 15-49 are reported to suffer from anemia.179

The fertility rate decreased from 6 children per woman in 1975 to 2 in 2004.180 Contraceptive prevalence, according to a 1995 Family Health Study, is reported at 62 percent among women in the 15- 49 year old group.

Economic Participation

The percentage of women in the labor force increased from 17 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2004.181 The female economic activity rate increased more drastically in certain age groups. For example, the female economic activity rate of those ages 20-24 increased from 10.1 percent in 1970 to 44.7 percent in 2000 and the rate for the 25-44 year old age group increased from 4.5 percent in 1970 to 47.1 percent in 2000.

176 World Bank Central Database 2006 177 World Bank Central Database 2006 178 World Bank Central Database 2006 179 Bahraini Health Study on Pregnant Women’s Diet Situation, 1995. 180 World Bank Central Database 2006 181 World Bank Central Database 2006 74

In spite of the ‘Bahrainization’ policy – which aims to gradually replace expatriate workers with local people - unemployment rates for women are twice that of men (11 percent female versus 5 percent male). According to UN/ESCWA, since the May 2001 launch of the ‘Program for Training and Employment’, the percentage of women registered as unemployed has risen from 24 percent to 66 percent.

Public Participation and Representation

The October 2002 parliamentary elections was a landmark election not only for Bahrain, but the entire Gulf region, where women have been denied suffrage. For the first time in Bahrain’s history, women were allowed to run for national office and vote in a parliamentary race.182 Although several Bahraini women had announced their nomination for the 2002 parliamentary elections, no woman was elected to the 40- member lower house. The 40-member Upper House (the Shoura Council) which is appointed by the King, however, includes 6 women.

182 In elections for the previous parliament disbanded in 1975, only men had the franchise. 183 Feminist Daily News Wire, April 2002. 75

In April 2004, Nada Haffadh, a doctor and a member of Bahrain's Upper House of Parliament, was appointed Minister of Health on the orders of King Hamad. This makes her the first woman in Bahrain to join a government’s Executive, and the first woman in the Arab world to head a health ministry. In 2005, Fatima Al-Baloushi was appointed Minister for Social Affairs. The head of Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (established in October 2001 with a mandate to improve gender equality and with an independent budget) has a rank equivalent to minister without portfolio.

Over the last two years, several new women's associations have been formed. 184 The Union of Bahraini Women was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization to coordinate the activities of existing women's and families' groups. In October 2001, the Bahraini Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected its first women board members and also established a special businesswomen committee within the Chamber. The Bahrain Women's Society is a campaigning body that aims to increase awareness of women's legal rights and other issues that affect women such as globalization, information technology, the environment, healthcare, culture, the family, and living in a multicultural society. The Bahrain Businesswomen Society, established in 2000, supports businesswomen’s roles and aims to raise their professional status. It also launched the new business portal entitled “Women Gateway” in 2003. The Bahrain Young Ladies Association has worked to educate women on their roles both as candidates and voters in their country.

Women's Rights

Bahrain signed CEDAW in June 2002, though with reservations to provisions dealing with change in national law and nationality of children.

The lack of a unified personal status law is a serious issue for many Bahraini women because it leaves important decisions to the discretion of Sharia judges who have been criticized for basing sentences on personal interpretations. In November 2005, the Supreme Council for Women, in alliance with other women’s rights activists, began a campaign for change. Their demand for a unified law has been resisted by Al Wefaq, the leading Shia Islamist party.

184 Over 4,000 women are said to be members of non-government organizations and many have taken leading roles. 185 Nadia Hijab and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, “Laws, Regulations, and Practices Impeding Women’s Economic Participation in the MNA Region,” World Bank, March 2003. 76

There is no law prohibiting women from driving. Since the 1950s, Bahraini women have been free to drive without male escort.

DJIBOUTI

Little progress in social indicators and slow 1. Background and Key Issues economic and political empowerment for women Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 - 2004 General 1990

Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:40, M:67 Poverty reduction remains Djibouti’s most 80 compelling development challenge. Despite its 60 40 relatively high average income per person of Labor Force (% of total labor force) School Enrollment, Primary (% F:41, M:59 20 gross)* F:29, M:40 $970 (compared to an average of $510 for Sub- 0 Saharan Africa), approximately 75 percent of the population is poor, and 42 percent is extremely Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) School Enrollment, Secondary (% poor. F:52, M:49 gross)* F:9, M:13

Despite minor improvements in the 1990s, Female Male Djibouti shows poor social indicators. Life expectancy (at birth) is one of the lowest in the School enrollment data for 1990 is from 1991 region. A high number of mothers still die while giving birth (730 per 100,000 live births). 2004 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F: no data, M: no data As of 2004, gross primary school enrollment 80 60 stood at 39 percent, less than half the average 40 186 Labor Force (% of total labor School Enrollment, Primary for Sub-Saharan Africa (93%). In 2004, only force) F:39, M:61 20 gross) F:35, M:44 35% (gross) of school-aged girls compared to 44 0 % of boys enrolled in primary school, illustrating that access to equal education Life Expectancy at Birth School Enrollment, Secondary remains a momentous challenge. Contrary to (Years) F:54, M:52 (% gross) F:18, M:25 countries of similar income, male and female illiteracy rates dropped respectively from 33 Female Male percent to 24 percent and from 60 percent to 45 Source: World Bank Central Database 2006 percent. Consequently, in 2001, 35 percent of No literacy data for 2004 the adult population was still illiterate among Figure: 2 MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality 187 which 44 percent were women . & women’s empowerment

120 98 Unemployment in 2001 was officially 99 Djibouti 100 90 90 estimated at about 60 percent and has a high 89 incidence among the poor (66 percent) and the 80 75 extremely poor (72 percent). In addition, income 60 ME NA % distribution in Djibouti is highly skewed, with 39 42 40 the lower 80 percent of the population earning 27 188 16 20 less than one-third of income . 11 8 Lower Middle 0 In c o m e Ratio of girls to boys Ratio of young Female % of total Proportion of seats Countries in primary & literate females to labor force (2004) held by women in secondary education males (2004) parliament (2005) Sources: World Bank Central Database 2006, World Bank Edstats, 186 World Bank Edstats The Population Reference Bureau 187 The government reports higher figures. 56.3 % of School enrollment data is for 2004 (LMI for 2003) Youth literacy data for Djibouti is for 2000-2004 women are considered illiterate in contrast to 91% in rural areas 188 World Bank 78

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Out of every 100 boys and 100 girls entering grade 1, 90 boys and 85 girls reach grade 6 (the end of primary cycle189), 23 boys and 26 girls reach grade 10, and only 7 boys and 11 girls are able to reach the final year of secondary cycle.190

Health

Health indicators in Djibouti are not remarkable. High fertility rates (5.2 children per woman), lack of women’s health services, persistent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), malnutrition and anemia are the main factors for high maternal mortality rates192. In 2003, only 61% of the births were recorded to be assisted by skilled health practitioners.

Child mortality rates remain high with a rate of 138 for the under five years old group and 97 per one thousand for infants (thus double the rate of the MENA region).

189 Summary gender profile 190 World Bank, Djibouti Public Expenditure Review, 2004. 191 Millennium Development Goals 192 World Bank data note 740 deaths per 100.000 in 2003 births whereas the government data state 546. 79

prostitution has been illegal, yet it remains a major issue due to the adverse economic situation. It is all the more concerning given the recent increase in foreign military presence in the country.

Violence against women is not well studied in Djibouti, but it is believed that men’s consumption of qat (which consumes more than 30 percent of household expenditure) contributes to domestic violence.193 Female vendors of qat are also exposed to aggression from their mainly male customers.

Economic Participation

Women’s labor force participation is one of the highest in the MENA region, estimated at 39 percent of the total labor force in 2004.194 Of those women who are working, 18.8 percent work in the public sector (compared to 54.4 percent of men) and 12.6% work in the private sector.195 In the public sector, women work mostly in the health and education sectors where they mainly occupy lower paid positions.

Public Participation and Representation

193 Chewing of qat leaves is a traditional practice in Djibouti. Qat is a natural stimulant with the qualities of a mild amphetamine. 194 World bank Central database 2006 195 National report on MDGs 80

Women’s Rights

Although the new law did not abolish polygamy, the practice now requires the agreement of the first wife, an assessment of the husband’s economic position, and an authorization by a judge.

Child custody is decided by a tribunal. Children of a foreign parent can receive Djiboutian nationality regardless of whether the father or the mother is a foreign national.

EGYPT

Significant progress in social indicators 1. Background and Key Issues but slow economic and political empowerment for women General Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004 The Egyptian Government is at an important • 1990 junction regarding the inclusion of Gender Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:34, M:60 issues in its policies. The Government is 100 80 reviewing and reforming a host of laws, 60 School Enrollment, Labor Force (% of total regulations and institutions to ensure gender 40 Primary (% gross)* F:83, labor force) F:26, M:74 20 M:100 mainstreaming. It has taken an important step to 0 include Gender across its social and economic policies. To this end, the following areas are School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary(% gross)* important: (Years) F:64, M:61 F:62, M:79

Female Male • Illiteracy among young women (15-24 years of age) in 2004 was 21%.196 On the * 1990 School enrollment data is from 1991 curricula side, textbook content needs to be 2004 Literacy Rate, adult updated and improved to ensure timeliness, and (%age 15+) F:59, M:83 relevance, as well as to remove educational 100 School Enrollment, Labor Force (% of total 50 gender disparities. Primary (% gross)* F:98, labor force) F:22, M:78 M:103 0 • Total female labor participation rate School Enrollment, remains low, and women’s unemployment Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary(% gross)* (Years) F:72, M:68 rate is much higher than that for men. This is F:84, M:90 especially striking for the young and educated women in rural areas. Female Male

Source: World Bank Central database 2006 and World Bank • Although the legal age of marriage for girls Edstats. * 2004 school enrollment data is from 2003 is 16, the phenomena of early marriage Figure: 2 MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality persevere, as does the practice of female genital & women’s empowerment mutilation, which attracts much international attention. Enforcement of the existing law is, 120 Egypt 94 98 99 100 however, rather difficult for girls without birth 90 88 89 certificates. Early marriage and in turn early 80 MENA pregnancy remain important factors affecting % 60 42 women’s health conditions, and maternal 40 27 22 16 mortality, especially among rural uneducated 20 8 Lower 3 women. 0 Middle Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of Proportion of Income boys in primary literate females total labor seats held by Countries & secondary to males(2004) force(2004) w omen in • Limited availability of gender education parliament disaggregated data remains a generic problem. (2005) Source: World Bank Central database 2006, World Bank Edstats. School enrollment data are for 2003 (MENA for 2004

196 World Bank Edstats 82

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Although gender-gaps in literacy persist, nevertheless women have made substantial gains (from 34% in 1990 to 59% in 2004).197 Rural-urban discrepancies remain high.

Gender inequalities in educational enrollment (where a slight gap between boys and girls persists) are affected largely by socio-economic status.

At the university level, the female share of students enrolled in almost all universities increased (at the undergraduate level from 35.4% in 1991/2 to 43.9% in 1998/9).

Health

Economic Participation

Women constitute a large share in the informal sector, accounting for 67% in 2005 of the informal sector, suffering from lack of social security coverage.

Women’s share in the managerial and decision making position has significantly increased from 23% in 2003 to 35% in 2005.

197 World Bank Edstats

including privatization. Women entrepreneurs’ access to credit has increased from 25% in 2004 to 32% in 2005.

Public Participation and Representation

Women’s Rights

On personal status law, there has been some issues of discrimination in terms of divorce, custody, alimony, however, the new divorce law issued on January 2000, enables Egyptian women for the first time to initiate divorce “khula” but they must renounce all financial claims and return money given at the time of marriage.

The Government has been very active in supporting girls and women in obtaining birth certificates and ID cards for women as it gives them access to various services and rights.

A Nationality Law was issued in 2004 that gives the mother the right to give her children from a non-Egyptian father the Egyptian nationality.

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

1. Background and Key Issues Progress in Human Development General Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004 • Gender issues in Iran are at a visibly critical 1990

stage and impact the political, social and Literacy Rate, adult economic development of the country. (%age 15+) F:54, M:72 150

• Gender equality and empowerment of women 100 School Enrollment, Labor Force (% of total took a step back after the Islamic Revolution in 50 Primary (% gross)* labor force) F:20, M:80 F:104, M:115 1979. In general, laws that ensured women’s 0 increased rights in the public and private spheres School Enrollment, were reversed to comply with the post Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary (% gross)* (Years) F:66, M:64 revolutionary interpretation of the Sharia. F:49, M:65 • Despite the reversal in laws and social attitudes, the progress of the Islamic Republic on gender- Female Male based social indicators has been remarkable. * School Enrollment Data for 1990 is from 1991 Iran has one of the fastest progress on health and 2004 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:70, education indicators in the region. This is not M:84 only in terms of quantity but also quality. 150 100 • The progress on the social front has resulted in Labor Force (% of School Enrollment, women’s capability to assume a role in all total labor force) 50 Primary (% gross) F:33, M:67 F:108, M:98 spheres of life, even in male-dominated fields, 0 despite social norms and other legally based barriers. Life Expectancy at School Enrollment, Birth (Years) F:72, Secondary(% gross) • Nonetheless, the existing barriers are a major M:69 F:79, M:84 impediment in utilizing the significant investment that has been made. Iran’s human Female Male capital endowment today is nearly equally Source: World Bank Central Database 2006 distributed between its men and women. Hence,

this low utilization has a substantial economic The gender gap slowly closing cost and significant social repercussions.

• During Mr. Khatami’s presidency, there was a Figure 2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender marked expansion in women’s social freedoms equality & women’s empowerment

and a slow reversal of some of the imposed 120 barriers. Effective in this process was the 100 98 95 99 100 Iran election of 14 female Parliamentarians – the 90 89 highest number in the Islamic Republic’s 80 MENA

history. The vision 2020 of the country and the % 60 42 5-year development plan have specific targets 40 33 27 Lower Middle for gender inclusion, such as increasing women 16 Income 20 Countries in the work force from 16% to 48%-- which is 4 8 0 ambitious. Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of total Proportion of The actions of the newly elected government, boys in primary & literate females to labor force(2004) seats held by • secondary males women in under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are difficult to education parliament (2005) read in this respect. The President has appointed Sources: World Bank Central Database 2006, World Bank two women to his Cabinet, one holding the vice- Edstats, and the Population Reference Bureau. presidency position and the other being School enrollment data is for 2004 (LMI for 2003) Advisoron Women’s Affairs. At the same time, Youth Literacy data is for 2004 (Iran for 2000-2004) there have been crackdowns on women’s rights gatherings.

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Female enrollment rates have improved dramatically. At the primary level, girls’ enrollment rate reached 108 percent (gross) in 2004 versus 98 percent for boys.198 At the university level, women comprise around 65 percent of university entrants.199

Health

Life expectancy increased from 66 years in 1990 to 72 in 2004200 and the maternal mortality rate declined from 91 per 100,000 live births in 1989 to 76 in 2000.201 Iran, the most populous country in the region, has one of the highest contraceptive use rates (74 percent in 2000).202 This has helped reduce fertility rates from 6.7 births per woman in 1980 to 2 in 2004,203 curbing population growth and contributing to women’s increasing participation in the economy and public life.

198 World Bank Central Database 2006. 199 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4787190.stm 200 World Bank Central Database 2006. 201 World Bank Central Database 2006. 202 World Bank Central Database 2006. 203 World Bank Central Database 2006 204 http://www.irandokht.com/news/readnews.php?newsID=13200&catalog=Iran%20Women 205 http://www.irandokht.com/news/readnews.php?newsID=14477&catalog=Iran%20Women 86

Economic Participation

Women’s labor force participation out of the total labor force was 33 percent in 2004.206 This rate is higher than the regional average of 27 percent but still low considering that 65 percent of university entrants are women. Two main factors contribute to this low rate. First, the belief that men are the primary breadwinners of the family and should be hired first reduces the demand for women. Second, the availability of services to support women’s work outside the home significantly affects the supply of women to the labor force. For instance, female participation rates in rural and smaller towns, where women can depend on extended family, is higher than in metropolitan areas.

The combination of lower demand, and shortage of support systems, which increases the cost of working outside the home, is more binding for women in urban areas.207 The higher participation rate in non-urban areas can also be explained by women’s prevalence in traditional sectors – in fact there is a feminization of agriculture in Iran. Also, entire industries, such as the rug weaving industry, are supported by women, but these women work outside the formal labor market. Eighty percent of employed women (in 1996)208 were in the public sector, though this number has been decreasing as emerging numbers of women set up their own businesses.

Figure 3: Female Economic Activity by age, 2000 Women’s labor force 80 participation is lower in Iran at 70 Iran every age group than its peers 60 in MENA and other middle MENA 50 income countries.

% 40 Lower-Middle- Income 30 20 World 10 0

65+ 15-1920-2425-2930-34 35-3940-4445-49 50-5455-5960-64

Source: ILO Labor Statistics.

One issue is that married women need their husbands’ permission to work outside the home.209

Public Participation and Representation

206 World Bank Central Database 2006. 207 World Bank, Gender and Development in the MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2004. 208 Iran Daily, “Challenges Facing Working Women,” 10 October 2004. 209http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/August/middleeast_August203.xml&s ection=middleeast&col= 87

It is yet too early to analyze issues concerning women under the new government. Some women’s rights advocates are concerned about President Ahmadinejad’s conservative approach. Under his government, for example, the Centre for Women's Participation has been renamed the Centre for Women and Family Affairs in order “to pay more attention to the institution of family.”211 Furthermore, in 2006, there was a crackdown on the peaceful International Women’s Day gathering and on the June 12 women’s rights gathering in Tehran. The participants of both these gatherings had demanded freedom and equal rights under the law.

Women's Rights

210 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4787190.stm 211 Embassy of Iran in Denmark (http://www.iran-embassy.dk/fa/culteral/women%20en.pdf) 212 http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-290357 88

Discrimination in such areas as marriage, child custody, divorce, right to work, right to travel, inheritance, bearing legal witness, etc., are among the many legal issues facing women.213 There is also marked discrimination in the Penal Code as girls legally come of age at age 9 while the age for boys is 15.

The issue of “blood money” is much debated in the country. The Penal Code, based on Islamic law, dictates that if a man kills a woman, he faces the death penalty only if the victim’s family pays the difference between the value of his life and that of his victim. As a woman’s life is valued as half that of a man (about US$11,000 versus US$22,000), victims’ families are faced with huge bills before sentences can be carried out. This regulation is much more important when it concerns compensation due to loss and dismemberment, workers’ compensation, and impunities that are calculated on the basis of blood money. In practice, there are cases where the government has compensated families in order to carry out social justice.

Some women’s rights advocates say that they have not seen the rollback of women's rights they expected under President Ahmadinejad but they do not either foresee radical change for the better under his Presidency.214 There were some debates in spring 2006 about tighter enforcement of the Islamic dress code. Reports indicated that the police of greater Tehran would crack down on women who don't observe what the Islamic Republic considers proper Islamic clothing. The President, however, responded with a statement supporting women's right to wear clothing of their choosing.215

213 Some aspects can be corrected by stipulating the aforementioned in the marriage contract. 214 BBC, Women’s Rights on Iranian Agenda,” 9 March 2006 215 http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2334.cfm 89

IRAQ

1. Background and Key Issues Social Development is at Risk

General Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004

1990 School enrollment, primary • A key and visible success factor of Iraq’s (% gross) F:105, M:126 reconstruction will be how Iraqi women will fare 150 especially in terms of empowerment. According 100 Life expectancy at birth to reports from NGOs, there is significant (years) F:63, M:60 50 School enrollment concern with regards to the ability of Iraqi Secondary 0 (% gross) women to retain the rights that they enjoyed in F:38, M:60 the past.

Labor force, (% of Literacy rate, adult total labor (% age 15+)* • Similar concerns are voiced by women force) F:16 M:84 F:42, M:68 advocates with regards to putting Islamic law as the main source of legislation. The fear is that it 2004 will allow for various interpretations of the School enrollment primary (% gross) F:89 Shar’ia which can potentially set back legal M:108 equality and status women enjoyed especially in 150 100 personal matters like marriage, divorce, and School enrollment Life expectancy at birth 216 50 secondary (% gross) family inheritance. In addition, different F:64, M:62 F:36, M:54 applications of the law risks increasing 0 inequality between women based on their religious and ethnic affiliation which can % of total labor force Adult Literacy rate F:56, undermine the unified status and development of F:20, M:60 M:74 Iraqi women at the national level. Female Male

Source: National Statistics Unit/UNDP Household survey, Lack of gender awareness in public policy and 2005 and World Bank Central database 2006 • Labor laws is a challenge in the reconstruction

efforts. The rapid turn-over within the ministries Figure: 2 MDG Goal # 3 – Promote Gender and NGOs is partly to blame for the weak Equality & Women’s Empowerment - 2004 capacity on gender mainstreaming. Many 120 NGOs and activists believe that it is not enough 98 99 100 to raise awareness among technical staff but that 90 91 89 78 efforts to address gender issues in development 80 and projects should be pushed by higher Iraq

% 60 MENA management and decision-makers who lack 42 40 32 gender awareness and training. 27 LMI 20 20 16 8 • Availability of gender disaggregated data is crucial in providing accurate policy advice and 0 Ratio girls to Ratio of Female % of Proportion of in designing projects. There is little capacity to boys in prim. literate total labor parliamentary monitor and evaluate the impact of policies on & secon. females to (2004) seats held by Education* males 15 - 24 women (2005) women in a systematic way. Analysis is left to yrs

rely on anecdotal evidence here and there. Source: World Bank Central database 2006

LMI = Lower-middle-income countries * Data for LMI is for 2003. Data for MENA and Iraq is for 2004. 216 The New York Times, “Iraqi Constitution May Curb Women’s Rights,” 20 July 2005. 90

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Low education and illiteracy are highly linked to poverty. Most recent data (2004) shows adult female literacy at 56 percent compared to male literacy of 74 percent.217 However, the ratio of young literate females to males (15 -24 years) looks promising reaching 91 percent in 2004, better than the MENA average of 89 percent. In addition, reports by the Ministry of Education indicate that female secondary school enrollment has increased in the past two years.

At the technical and vocational education level, women make up less than 20 percent of student enrollments218.

Health

Health indicators have worsened over the past several decades. Child mortality rates have increased from 50 in 1990 to 125 in 2003.

Maternal mortality increased from 117 deaths for every 100,000 births before 1990, to 294 in 2000219. Fertility rates were at 6 births per woman in 1990 and are now at 5.220

Economic Participation

217 National Statistic/UNDP Household survey, 2005 218 World Bank, UN/World Bank Joint Iraq Needs Assessment, October 2003. 219 World Bank, WDI, 2003. 220 National Statistic/UNDP Household survey, 2005

91 force (between the ages 25-45) was only 20 percent in 2004221. Labor force participation for women with more than secondary education is the highest (42 percent)222.

Figure 3: Female economic activity rates by age – 2000

80 Official estimates show that 70 there were approximately 60 150,000 female headed households in Iraq in 1995. By 50 Iraq the end of 2000, that number

% 40 LMI was estimated to have 30 MENA increased to 300,000. (Report submitted by the government 20 of Iraq at the UNESCWA, 10 Arab Regional Conference 0 Beijing+10, July 2004)

15 - 1920 - 2425 - 2930 - 3435 - 39 40 - 4445 - 4950 - 5455 - 5960 - 64

Source: ILO LMI= Lower-middle-income countries

Public Participation and Representation

More recently, one-third of the 140 winning candidates on the Shiite parliamentary list were women. Thirty two percent of Iraq’s newly elected 275 parliamentarians are women.

221 UNDP, Study by Khalid M. Khalid, 2004. 222 Ibid. 223 Ibid

Women’s Rights:

In 1986, Iraq signed CEDAW, though with reservations to Articles 2, 9, 29, which deal with change in national law, nationality of children, and arbitration.

JORDAN

1. Background and Key Issues Higher than the MENA average in human General development but lower in female labor • The status of women in Jordan is unique even participation within the context of MENA. Jordan has Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004 achieved high levels of female literacy and School enrollment, 1990 primary (% gross) F: improved health conditions. Jordan benefits 101, M:100 from a proactive state leadership, and enjoys a 120 100 high degree of women’s advocacy and 80 activism. These ingredients normally result in 60 School enrollment, % of total labor force 40 secondary (% gross) a higher rate of participation of women in the F:17, M:83 20 F:65, M:62 economic and political sphere but this has not 0 been the case in Jordan.

Social attitudes based in Jordan’s traditions and • Life expectancy at birth Literacy rate, adult (% tribal background manifest themselves in deep- (years) F:70, M:67 ages 15+) F:72, M:90 rooted attitudes. Factors such as the attitude that men are the sole breadwinners, the 2004 School enrollment primary* importance of women’s safety and honor, and (% gross) F:100, M:100 120 laws and regulations continue to limit women’s 100 80 access to equal opportunities in the public 60 School enrollment % of total labor force F:24, 40 secondary* (% gross) sphere. M:76 20 F:89, M:87 0 • An example of this is the 2002 parliamentary refusal to approve amendments to laws that affect women and Life expectancy at birth Adult Literacy rate % F:85, their personal status, despite the strong (yrs) F:73, M:70 M:95

backing of the Government. Laws regarding Female Male

higher minimum age of marriage, and Source: World Bank Central database, 2005 granting women their own ID cards (daftar) * Data for 2004 is from 2003

that provide access to public services, remain Figure 2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender as interim laws until parliament agrees to equality & women’s empowerment - 2004 vote on them again. Amendments for stricter 120 penalty for honor killings and women’s right 101 98 100 99 to divorce were rejected by parliament. 100 90 89 80 • Based on estimates for all MENA countries Jordan and other world regions, the actual level of % 60 42 MENA female labor force participation in Jordan is 40 24 27 only about half of its potential - among the 16 LMI 20 lowest in the region224 . Total fertility, a 6 8 predictor of women’s empowerment, remains 0 higher than the MENA regional average of 3. Ratio girls to Ratio of literate Female % of Proportion of boys in prim. & females to total labor parliamentary

secon. males 15 - 24 (2004) seats held by • Private sector opportunities are limited – only Education* yrs (2004) women (2005) 3.9 percent of entrepreneurs are women. Promoting women in the private sector, as Source: World Bank Central database LMI=Lower-middle-income employees and entrepreneurs is an important * Data for Jordan and LMI is for 2003, data for step in advancing gender issues in Jordan. MENA is 2004

224 Jordan CGA May 2005.

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Jordan has made significant progress in extending universal access to education. Primary school completion rates are 100 percent. Female enrollment accounts for 68 percent of community college enrollments and 47 percent of university undergraduate enrollments225. However, female tertiary completion rate is 31 percent of the male completion rate and is the lowest in the MENA region226.

Health

Six percent of women compared to two percent of males have been married between the ages of 15 and 19228. Jordan’s minimum legal age of marriage is fifteen for girls and sixteen for boys.

Economic Participation

Estimates of women’s labor force participation in Jordan vary widely, from 12 to 28 percent. Around 6 percent of women work in agriculture229. Forty five percent of the female labor force is employed in the public sector230.

Figure 3: Female economic activity by age-2000 Women’s unemployment rates are 80 significantly higher than men’s – 21 70 percent compared to 12 percent 60 50 LMI respectively (data for year 2000 - ILO, KILM 3rd edition). % 40 Jordan 30 MENA 20 Unlike women in other comparable 10 countries Jordanian women exit the 0 labor market upon marriage. In figure 3, the rise in the 30-35 age

15 - 1920 - 24 25 - 2930 - 3435 - 3940 - 4445 - 4950 - 5455 - 5960 - 64 group, may be an indication that 65 and up some women go back to work when Source: World Bank Development Data Platform (DDP) they have children and household LMI = Lower-middle-income countries expenses increase.

225 Public universities and public community colleges. 226 Ibid. 227 Educational Reform for the Knowledge Economy project (ERfKE) 228 PRB World’s Youth 2006 Data – Note: data refers to year prior to 1997 or earlier than the year listed. 229 UNIFEM, “Evaluating the Status of Jordanian Women in Light of the Beijing Platform for Action,” 2003. 230 The Ministries of Health, Education, Planning, Social Development, and Post and Telecommunications employ the largest proportions of women in their civil service, totaling 45,829, or approximately around 86 percent of all female civil service employees. 95

Public Participation and Representation

In 2003, the Jordanian electoral law was amended to reserve 6 seats in the Lower House of Parliament (the Majlis) for women. Although 54 women had registered to run in the last elections, compared to 750 male candidates, none of them was elected to the parliament. Given the quota, 6 female parliamentarians were appointed and have made up 5.5 percent of the 110- seat Majlis since August 2003. In the same year, King Abdullah dissolved the Upper House of Parliament and appointed seven women to a new 55-member body.232 This brought the number of female members in both houses of Parliament to 13.233

Women’s Rights:

The Jordanian Constitution embodies the principle of equality before the law although it does not specify protection against gender discrimination.

The penal law incorporates leniency provisions to men who commit violence or crimes against their female relatives whom they suspect of dubious behavior.

Jordanian women have limited rights to divorce. Unlike men, and consistent with Shari’a laws, women must specifically request a special clause in their marriage contract to obtain the right to divorce. The majority of women do not include this request for fear of losing prospective grooms and men who accept this clause are looked down upon by society. The law requires men to pay support to divorced wives for only one year. A guardian is required to administer a bride’s marriage contract.

231 International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW). http://iwraw.igc.org/publications/countries 232 Previously, it included three women. 233 Three female senators are serving for the first time: former Minister Rowaida Maaitah, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Forum for Women, Mai Abul Samen, and President of the Jordanian Business Women Forum, Wijdan Saket. 96

LEBANON 1. Background and Key Issues Social indicators are at risk

General Figure 1: Social indicators 1990 -2004 Lebanon is one of the few countries in the • 1990 Adult literacy rate F:73, region that enjoys high social indicators, and M:88 progressive laws. Female labor force 125 100 participation however has always been low 75 School enrollment % of total labor force 50 relative to other middle income countries and primary (% gross) F:111, F:27, M:73 25 M:115 women’s inclusion in political office remains 0 weak even by MENA standards.

School enrollment Life expectancy at birth • Prior to the recent conflict, higher educated secondary (% gross) F: (years) F:70, M:66 Lebanese were already migrating to neighboring 118, M:123 GCC countries that are seeing strong surges of economic growth and construction. This “brain 2004 Adult Literacy rate* F82, drain” was predominantly male creating a M:93 shortage of highly educated male labor thereby 120 100 contributing to an increased employment of 80 60 % of total labor force F:30, y women especially in banks, law firms, and the 40 School enrollment primar M:70 (% gross) F:105, M:109 20 hospitality industry. The civil war of the 1970’s 0 played a significant role in pushing Lebanese women into the workforce and similar outcomes School enrollment Life expectancy at birth are expected after this crisis. However, prospects secondary (% gross) F:93, F:75, M:70 for women in the medium term do not look good M:85 and the long term socio-economic impact is uncertain. As Lebanon reverts back to rebuilding Female Male

infrastructure (a male dominant industry) job Source: World Bank Central Data Base 2006 opportunities for women are likely to decrease *Literacy data for 2004 is from 2002 leaving many women facing unemployment. Figure 2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality & • Poverty is a looming prospect and risks women’s empowerment - 2004 becoming highly feminized. After the civil war 120 102 many women were left to assume sole 98 96 100 responsibility of the household. There are fears 100 90 89 Lebanon of an increase in female headed households as 80 males migrate to seek work elsewhere. The

% 60 MENA recent conflict will also see Lebanon suffering 41 setbacks in its human development and social 40 30 27 15 indicators. Evidence suggests that when families 20 5 8 UMI are faced with restricted resources they usually 0 cutback on the education of daughters. Ratio girls to Ratio of Female % of Proportion of Similarly, youth males will have their education boys in prim. literate total labor parliamentary interrupted as they face the need of having to & secon. females to (2004) seats held by leave school in order to work and help support Education* males 15 - 24 women their families. yrs* (2005)

Source: World Bank Central Database, 2006 and MENA Lack of adequate health infrastructure and Gender and Development Report 2004 • UMI = Upper-middle-income countries medicine will contribute to increased maternal * Lebanon data is for 2002 .MENA and UMI data is for 2004 and infant mortality. Women’s mobility will also be more severely hampered than men’s by lack of infrastructure and roads.

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Adult literacy was 84 percent for females and 92.8 percent for males in 2000235. Youth literacy rates (ages 15 -24) were 93 percent and 97 percent respectively236.

Enrollment rates of females in vocational education reached 40 percent in 2000.237 There is also a sense that higher education for women is regarded as a means to obtain a “personal education” meaning that getting a university degree paves the way for marriage rather than preparing women for a professional career.238 Nevertheless, there is no university program or field of specialization that does not have female students in it.

Health

Data on health indicators is equally weak with most of what is available refers to the nineties. Most recent 2003 World Bank data indicate that the overall fertility rate for women declined to 2.2 births per woman, down from 3.2 in 1990.239 Life expectancy reached 75 years for women and 70 for men in 2004 and maternal mortality rate is estimated at 150 for every 100,000 live births in 2005240.

Economic Participation

In addition to other social impacts lower female education will also impact the structure of female employment. This is due to the fact that education tends to be a prerequisite for women entering

234 World Bank, Development Data Platform Central Databases, Global Development Finance & World Development Indicators August 2005. 235 Ibid. 236 Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org – datafinder. 237 UN/ESCWA, Summary Report on the Status of Women in Arab Countries for the Arab Regional Conference: 10 Years After Beijing, July 2004. 238 UNDP, Program on Governance in the Arab Region. 239 World Bank, Development Data Platform Central Databases, Global Development Finance & World Development Indicators August 2005. 240 Population Reference Bureau, 2005 Women of our World. 99 the labor force in Lebanon more so than for men. This is especially the case in higher paying positions where women are more highly educated than their male counterparts in similar jobs241. The female labor force participation rate of 32.3 percent in 2000242 is much lower than in comparable upper-middle-income countries. Women are paid less than men for doing similar work; however, this trend was changing in some sectors such as commerce and industry.

Unemployment in year 2000 reached 9.9 percent, 8 percent for females and 15.2 percent for males243.

Figure 3: Female economic activity by age - 2000

70 “Lebanese women tended to leave 60 their work after marriage – and are allowed to cash their indemnities (as 50 UMI stipulated by Lebanese law) – or 40 Lebanon leave work after the birth of their 30 first child.” (UNIFEM 2003) MENA 20 10 Women’s economic activity patterns Economic activity % flowed in the opposite direction than 0 patterns observed in countries of comparable income (Fig.3). 15 - 1920 - 24 25 - 2930 - 3435 - 3940 - 4445 - 4950 - 5455 - 5960 - 64 65 and up It remains to be seen to what extent Age in years these trends will change after the recent conflict Source: ILO UMI= Upper Middle Income Countries

Public Participation and Representation

In October 2004, for the first time, women were appointed to the Lebanese Cabinet. Layla Solh, daughter of former Prime Minister Riad Solh, was named Minister of Industry. Wafaa Hamza was appointed Minister of State. Since the August 2000 parliamentary elections, there have been three women in the 128 member Parliament (2.3 percent of Parliament). Out of 108 heads of

241 UNDP, Program on Governance in the Arab Region. 242 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, Statistical Appendix, 2003. 243 UN/ESCWA, Arab Regional Conference 10 Years After Beijing - Report submitted by Lebanon, July 2004. 244 ibid. 100 municipalities, only 3 are women. In the South, female representation is relatively weaker than in the North245.

Men dominate the leadership of all political parties246 and the introduction of a parliamentary quota system for women continues to be discussed. Only 4 out of the 53 ambassadors representing the Lebanese government abroad are women and at the director-general level, there are 3 women out of a total of 22 director-general positions.

Women's Rights

245 UN/ESCWA, Arab Regional Conference 10 Years After Beijing - Report submitted by Lebanon, July 2004. 246Ibid 247 UN/ESCWA, Summary Report on the Status of Women in Arab Countries for the Arab Regional Conference: 10 Years After Beijing, July 2004. 101

MOROCCO

1. Background and Key Issues Notable progress in political representation and General economic participation Morocco enjoys the highest level of female • Figure 1: Social Indicators 1990 – 2004 labor force participation and political inclusion in 1990 MENA. Since 2001, Morocco has made major Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:25, M:53 reforms to integrate women in its political system 120 100 and women now have the largest parliamentary 80 60 representation in the region. Labor Force (% of total labor School Enrollment, Primary (% 40 force) F:24, M:76 gross)* F:52, M:76 20 0 • Gender issues have taken center stage in Morocco in the past few years marked by the landmark reforms in the family code the Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) School Enrollment, Secondary(% Moudawana initiated by King Mohammed VI in F:66, M:63 gross)* F:29, M:41 2004 which granted women greater equality and justice in their rights concerning marriage, Female Male divorce, and their status in the family. The King’s commitment to improving women’s development * 1990 School enrollment data is from 1991 through several initiatives to integrate women in 2004 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:40, M:66 the country’s development has strong backing 120 from women activists and NGOs. 100 80 60 Labor Force (% of total labor % 40 School Enrollment, Primary ( However, implementation of these reforms force) F:25, M:75 gross) F:100, M:111 • 20 remains to be a challenge. There is no coherent 0 strategy or action plan to implement these reforms. Recently, there has been an attempt to develop a national strategy for gender equality and Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) School Enrollment, consultations are currently on-going. F:72, M:68 Secondary(% gross) F:43, M:51

Female Male • Morocco is a front runner in the area of gender budgeting. A large proportion of the Government Source: World Bank Central database, 2006 has been trained (mainly by UNIFEM) in Gender But lagging gender disparities in social budgeting and the new finance law foresees the indicators integration of gender issues across all sectors. The latest Budget report included for the first time a Figure 2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality & chapter on gender budgets. women’s empowerment 120 Morocco 98 Despite notable progress, the challenge 100 99 • 88 90 89 remains for Morocco to expand women’s access to 80 75 public resources and wider economic opportunities MENA

% 60 as well as to better social services. Gender gaps in 42 40 25 27 education and health require greater improvement, 16 20 Lower 11 and the constraints to economic opportunities need 8 Middle 0 Income to be addressed. Ratio of girls Ratio of young Female % of Proportion of Countries to boys in literate total labor seats held by primary & females to force(2004) women in secondary males (2004) parliament education (2005)

Sources: World Bank Central Database 2006, World Bank Edstats School enrollment data is for 2004 (LMI for 2003)

102

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

With school enrollments improving, female illiteracy rates declined from 75 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2004.248 However, the gender gap remains high whereby illiteracy among women is 1.5 times more than among men. Moreover, about 40% of female youth are illiterate compared to 20% of male youth. However, the gender gap has narrowed significantly during the past decade. 249

Health

248 World Bank, Edstats, 2006 249 World Bank, SIMA, 2003 database. 103

Economic Participation

Morocco has formulated policies and established programs for job rehabilitation and training targeting unemployed youth. However, inadequate attention is given to gender specific issues.

Public Participation and Representation

There is only one woman among the 270 members in the upper chamber, Majlis al- Mustacharin, which has 270 members who are appointed for 9 years.

104

Women’s membership in trade unions is weak. However, it is not uncommon to see professional associations headed by women.

Women's Rights

250 Ministry of Justice, Morocco: http://ejustice.justice.gov.ma/justice/console/Uploads/Doc/FicheStat.pdf 105

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

1. Background and Key Issues Figure 1: Social indicators General 1990 Literacy Rate, adult Since the 1960s, Saudi Arabia has made (%age 15+) F:50, M:76 substantial gains in the education of women. The 100 Kingdom is well on its way to completely 80 Labor Force (% of 60 School Enrollment, eliminating gender disparities in all levels of total labor force) 40 Primary (% gross) 20 F:11, M:89 F:68, M:79 education: the girls to boys ratio in net enrollment 0 had reached 1, 1, and 2 at the primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels, respectively in Life Expectancy at School Enrollment, 251 Birth (Years) F:70, Secondary (% gross) 2004. M:66 F:39, M:49

There are no women members of the Majlis Al- Shoura, a 120-member national consultative Female Male 252 council appointed by the King. Shoura Council 2004 Literacy Rate, adult President Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid in February 2005 (%age 15+) F:69, M:87 ruled out the appointment of women to the 100 consultative body during the upcoming Shoura 80 Labor Force (% of 60 School Enrollment, reshuffle, when the number of its members total labor force) 40 Primary (% gross) 253 F:15, M:85 20 F:66, M:69 increased from 120 to 150. 0

In a landmark achievement in 2005, two women Life Expectancy at School Enrollment, Birth (Years) F:74, Secondary (% gross) were elected to the Board of the Jeddah Chamber of M:70 F:64, M:72 Commerce and Industry. Two additional women were subsequently appointed by the Ministry of Female Male Commerce and Industry.

Source: World Bank Central Database 2006 School enrollment data for the 1990 is from 1991.

120 Saudi 98 100 Arabia 100 92 90 96 89

80 MENA

% 60 41 40 27 Upper 15 Middle 20 15 8 Income 0 Countries 0 Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of Proportion of boys in primary literate females total labor force seats held by & secondary to males (2004) (2004) w omen in education parliament (2005)

Source: World Bank Central Database 2006, World Bank Edstats School enrollment data is for 2004 (UMI for 2003)

251 World Bank Central Database 252 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 253 Arab News, 10 February 2005. 106

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Since the 1960s, Saudi Arabia has made substantial gains in the education of women. The Kingdom is well on its way to completely eliminating gender disparities in all levels of education: the girls to boys’ ratio in net enrollment had in 2004 reached 1, 1, and 2 at the primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels, respectively.254

Girls’ enrollment across all educational levels grew at an average annual rate of 8.3 percent, compared to 4.2 percent for boys over the 1975-2000 period.255 However, women are still restricted from taking some subjects, such as engineering, journalism, and architecture.

Female literacy rates have reached 94 percent for those between 15 and 24 years of age, and 69 percent for those ages 15 and above (2004).256 According to the World Bank, the ratio of literate females to males, ages 15-24, decreased from 86 percent in 1990 to 96 percent in 2004.257

It is estimated that between 2004 and 2020, there will be twice as many female college graduates as male graduates.258 According to 2003 statistics, at 52 percent, women form more than half of all college graduates in the Kingdom.

Health

Saudi Arabia’s population growth rate remains among the highest in the world at 3 percent in 2003 (surpassing national economic growth rates). Fertility rates have decreased from 6 births/woman in 1990 but remained relatively high at 4 births per woman in 2004,260 corresponding to low contraceptive prevalence rates, which are just above 30 percent (1995- 2002).261

Despite Saudi Arabia having a high level of public spending on health (4.2 percent of GDP), it has not been able to reduce its child mortality rates to numbers below those in upper-middle- income countries. Child mortality rates remain the highest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).262 And while Saudi Arabia, like all other GCC countries, has achieved lower male mortality rates than average male mortality in upper-middle-income countries, its female mortality rates remain above those in upper-middle-income countries.263

Improved access to general health services and specialized maternal health services has helped to reduce the incidence of maternal mortality considerably (to 23 per 100,000 live births in 2000).

254 World Bank Central Database 255 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 256 World Bank Central Database 257 World Bank Central Database 258 Arab News, 3 June 2004. 259 Nawaf Obaid, “Saudi women must get the vote in 2009,” Financial Times, 13 October 2004. 260 World Bank Central Database- April 2006 261 UNDP, Human Development Report: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World, 2004. 262 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2003. 263 Ibid. 107

The percentage of births attended by skilled health professionals was 91 percent in 2000 – a significant increase from 78 percent in 1985.264

Female life expectancy increased from 70 years in 1990 to 74 in 2004. Life expectancy for males was 70 years in 2004. 265

Economic Participation

Women’s participation in total employment was estimated at 15 percent in 2004.266 Out of the total number of employed women, an estimated 30 percent are nationals, while the rest are expatriate female workers.267 Currently, many expatriate men and women are employed in jobs that Saudi women could perform. These expatriates are remitting millions of riyals outside the country.268

The female labor force participation rate does not reflect the actual employment status of women as it does not include women’s traditional work such as herding and farming.269

Female participation in the labor force is highest in the 25-34 age group, followed by those of all ages with tertiary education. Female participation rates are directly affected by educational attainment and marital status.271 In Saudi Arabia, there are incentives for married women to quit their jobs. For example, a woman who resigns because of marriage receives a benefit equal to 11 percent of her average annual salary over the years she has served.

Under the new labor law opportunities have been opened for women to be employed in retail outlets selling exclusive female intimate clothing and make-up. Shops and businesses have yet to comply with the stated requirements to ensure the strict code of segregation. Many complain that closing off their shops and blacking out display windows will hurt business.

264 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 265 World Bank Central Database 266 World Bank Central Database 267 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 268 Arab News, 3 June 2004. 269 Saudi Arabia Human Development Report 2003 270 Saudi Arabia Human Development Report 2003 271 Ibid. 108

The new retirement age for women has been reduced to age 55 years from 60 years (which was the same as the male retirement age). This will reduce women’s benefits and retirement compensation.

Women may own businesses, but until recently, they were only allowed to run them through an appointed male agent.272 According to Amnesty International, approximately 16,390 businesses are owned by women and women own 40 percent of the nation’s private wealth.273 Aggregate investments made by women in Saudi Arabia in 2002 included US$ 1 million in industrial projects and US$ 1.77 million in service projects274. Nevertheless, most women allow male relatives to control their economic interests rather than accept public responsibilities.275

In November 2002, Saudi women's bank accounts contained an estimated $26.6 billion in idle funds as a result of laws that prohibit women from opening businesses of their own.276 In fact, Saudi Arabia has large numbers of women business owners who have inherited family-owned businesses. Many of these are among the country's largest enterprises. The report blames the flight of at least SR 21 billion to foreign countries on regulations that prevent women from conducting business.277

According to a survey conducted by a London-based research firm (Synovate), 32 percent of wives in Saudi Arabia keep their assets or part of their earnings as well as their assets secret from their husbands. Their assets are in bank accounts, stocks and shares, or property other than real estate.280

272 The country's Labor Minister announced in May 2004 that women may carry out business activities without the need for a wakil (representative). The impact of this announcement is, however, not yet clear. 273 There are 40,320 commercial registrations by Saudi women in Saudi Arabia. These businesses focus on wholesaling, retailing and services, and are typically of small size and low technology use. There are 3,193 businesses in Riyadh that are owned by women. In 2003, there were 2,500 businesswomen members of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2002, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Agency licensed 27 projects by female investors (representing 2.1 percent of total licenses). 274 Nadereh Chamlou and Reem Kettaneh Yared, “Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa: Building on Solid Beginning,” Annual Joint Seminar of the Arab Fund on Arab Women and Economic Development, 2003. 275 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 276 Al-Madinah, “Saudi Women's Bank Accounts Waiting to Be Tapped,” 19 November 2003. 277 World Bank, Gender and Development in MENA: Women in the Public Sphere, 2003. 278 Samar Fatany, “The Status of Women in Saudi Arabia,” Arab View, 2003. 279 Arab News, 9 February 2005. 280 Arab News, 8 February 2005. 109

Public Participation and Representation

There are no women members of the Majlis Al-Shoura, a 120-member national consultative council appointed by the King.281 However, female academics and thinkers have in the past been consulted by the Shoura Council on issues relating to women. Despite a lively public discussion on the subject matter, Shoura Council President Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid in February 2005 ruled out the appointment of women to the consultative body during the upcoming Shoura reshuffle, when the number of its members increased from 120 to 150.282

While no female has yet occupied a ministerial or legislative post in Saudi Arabia, many women hold sub-cabinet and senior government positions, mainly in the education, health or social service sector. Furthermore, a number of Saudi women hold executive positions in private sector firms, businesses, and international organizations (for example, Thoraya Obaid, UNFPA’s Executive Director).283 The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry - after having established a women’s wing in March 2004 –has also recently allowed women members to vote. This only occurred after numerous debates.

In 2003, women were appointed to the newly formed National Human Rights Commission284 and the Journalists' Syndicate (where women also have voting power). Women also took part in a series of national dialogues on challenges facing the nation. The discussions were at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s reform program.285 In the summer of 2000, Princess Al-Jawhara Fahad bin Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman al-Saud was appointed Assistant Undersecretary for Education Affairs—the highest position ever held by a woman in the Saudi government.286 Businesswoman Lubna Al-Oyalan was recently elected to the board of directors of a major Saudi Bank (Saudi Hollandi Bank), making her the first female in the kingdom to occupy such a position.

281 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 282 Arab News, 10 February 2005. 283 United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals” Report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2002. 284 This is a nongovernmental organization, which aims to promote women’s rights and contribute to social justice. 285 “Citizens’ civil rights in addition to the right of men and women to participate in public affairs were among the recommendations made by the First National Dialogue Forum held in Makkah in December 2003. At the second dialogue, participants adopted recommendations combating extremism, calling for public involvement in the decision- making process and establishing civic institutions. The third dialogue held in Madinah in June gathered 70 male and female thinkers and researchers to discuss women’s rights and duties in the Kingdom. The meeting lifted a virtual ban or taboo that has existed for years about discussing women’s issues. It initiated a social dialogue and triggered and renewed interest in women’s rights and women’s roles in the future of Saudi Arabia. The dialogue reflected the Saudi leadership’s opinion that women are an integral part of the reform process. It conveyed the message very clearly that both men and women are partners in reform.” Arab View by Samar Fatany, 2003. 286 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 110

Women's Rights

According to an independent survey of more than 15,000 Saudi men and women conducted over six months across Saudi Arabia, more than 90 percent of the population wants to grant women more rights.289

Recently, women have been able to obtain identity cards, but only 6 percent of Saudi women requested them.291 However, IDs cannot be obtained without the approval of a male guardian. The lifting of such a requirement would be the first step towards women’s legal independence by giving them an identity distinct from that of their husbands or fathers. This could then serve as the basis for granting passports, offering bank loans, and other means of increasing a woman’s autonomy.

Discrimination against women includes limitations on freedom of movement, allowing for effective imprisonment within the home, and preventing recourse to protection or redress from human rights abuses. Additionally, women are required to remain segregated from all males who are not members of their household. Women cannot receive driver’s licenses or drive.292 In addition, a woman must obtain the written consent of a male family member to travel outside the country, and even to receive medical treatment.293

287 Samar Fatany, “The Status of Women in Saudi Arabia,” Arab View, 2003. 288 Amnesty International, “News Amnesty,” 17 November 2004. 289 Financial Times, 13 October 2004. 290 Arab News, December 2004. 291 BBC News, 10 February 2005. 292 Women used to be able to obtain international drivers-licenses in Saudi Arabia. 293 UNDP, Programme on Governance in the Arab Region. 111 government. However, there has been significant reporting and highlighting of domestic abuse cases in the local media and the Human Rights Association and other NGOs have begun helping victims and raising awareness on this issue. Female domestic workers remain at particular risk of human rights abuses, including physical abuse.

The practice of forced marriage was recently banned, as the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, denounced the practice as un-Islamic.

112

TUNISIA

1. Background and Key Issues Significant progress in social indicators but slow economic and political empowerment for women

General Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004 Tunisian legislation has helped to promote Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) 1990 F:47, M:72 women and to ensure the durability and irreversibility of their acquired rights. These 100 rights are constantly evolving and being adapted Labor Force (% of total labor 50 School Enrollment, Primary ( to the social changes taking place in the country. force) F:21, M:79 gross)* F:107, M:120 0 The different amendments, firstly to the personal status code promulgated in 1956 and Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) School Enrollment, Secondary modified in 1993, and to the other codes such as F:72, M:69 (% gross)* F:39, M:50 the nationality code, the labour code and the 294 penal code aim to eliminate all forms of Female Male discrimination against women. *1990 School enrollment data is from 1991

2004 Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) To better integrate women into the F:65, M:83 development process, Tunisia has set up a 100 number of structures to develop policies that promote women, to monitor the implementation Labor Force (% of total labor 50 School Enrollment, Primary (% of these policies, and to ensure reduction of force) F:27, M:73 gross)* F:109, M:113 0 gender disparities.

Several institutional support mechanisms, Life Expectancy at Birth (Years) School Enrollment, Secondary (% which take into account the specifics of the rural F:75, M:71 gross)* F:80, M:74 world, have been set up for rural women. Female Male

For example, the task of the National Commission for Rural Women, set up in 2001, Source: World Bank Central Database 2006 * 2004 School Enrollment data is from 2003 is to define a national strategy for the promotion of rural women and to ensure coordination Figure: 2 MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality between the different operators of the 1998 & women’s empowerment national plan for the promotion of rural women. 120 102 98 96 99 Tunisia 100 90 Tunisian President Ben Ali has always 89 advocated “a larger presence for women in 80 MENA 60 % decision-making and responsibility positions” 42 40 and called for a transition for women “from 27 27 295 23 16 Lower Middle 20 equality to effective partnership” 8 Income Countries 0 Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of Proportion of boys in primary literate females total labor force seats held by & secondary to males (2004) (2004) women in education parliament (2005) 294 Other amendments pertained to legislation dealing with social, civil and economic transactions. The most recent amendments pertained to the joint estate of husband and wife and the abrogation of all discrimination against women with reference to contracts and commitments.

295 Tunisia National Government website 113

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Health

These health achievements and the prevalence of contraception led to a drop in maternal mortality and to a reduction in the fertility rate. The contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 9 percent in 1965 to 65 percent in 2000 and is among the highest in the MNA region298. The rate of maternal mortality was estimated at 120 per 100,000 births in 2000.299 At this rate, however, it will not be possible to attain the goal which is to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015.

296 Tunisia, National report on MDGs 297 World Bank Data , 2003 298 IBID 299 World Bank Central Database 2006 114

Economic Participation

Public Participation and Representation

300 World Bank Central Database 2006 115

The Ministry of Women’s and Family Affairs became a full-fledged ministry in 1993 (out of the State Secretariat of Women’s and Family Affairs, which was established in 1992). Since 1999, a woman has held the position of Ombudsman (médiateur administratif).

Several complementary agencies were set up in support of the Ministry to help it fulfill its mission. The most important of these is the National Council for Women and the Family, the Commission on “Women and Development” and the Research, Study, Documentation and Information Centre on women known as CREDIF. The national council basically constitutes a framework for discussions on women’s issues. The commission meets during the preparation of Development Plans and their monitoring constitutes a place for reflection and for the orientation of policies. CREDIF is furthermore a scientific body responsible for developing studies and research work on women.

Women's Rights

Tunisia ratified CEDAW in 1985, but reserved the provisions that contradict the Tunisian Constitution, the Personal Status Code, or the Tunisian Nationality Code.

116

117

WEST BANK and GAZA

1. Background and Key Issues Figure1: Social Indicators

2000 General Literacy Rate, adult (% age 15+) F:no data, M:no data 120 The victory of Hamas in the January elections will have a 100 80 60 major impact on the country, not only politically, but also Labor Force (% of total labor School Enrollment, Primary 40 force) F:13, M:87 (% gross) F:110, M:109 socially and economically. Whether or not such effect will be 20 0 positive depends on Hamas’s political agenda, and how the International community deals with the outcome of the School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary (% gross) F:84, elections. (Years) F:74, M:70 M:79 The United States and Europe consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Therefore, they have threatened to cut Female Male financial aid to the government. If the international No literacy data for 2000. community stops financial aid, essential services could 2004 collapse in the Palestinian territories. This will acutely Literacy Rate, adult (% age affect women. Even though international donors have stated 15+) F:88, M:97 100 that they will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to 80 the Palestinian people, it is not always possible to separate 60 Labor Force (% of total labor 40 School Enrollment, Primary humanitarian aid from assistance to the government. force) F:13, M:87 20 (% gross) F:93, M:93 0

There are concerns that the newly elected government will School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary (% gross) F:96, (Years) F:75, M:71 undermine Palestinian women’s rights and hinder their M:91 participation. Some of the elected women parliamentarians, who are part of the Hamas party, hold very extremists views. An elected legislator, on Hamas' electoral list, Miriam Female Male Farahat stated that she will advocate for making Hijab Source: World Bank Central database 2006. There is no data compulsory. In addition, Palestinian women activists fear for 1990. Therefore year 2000 was used for comparison. that women-related legislations, which were submitted by former parliamentarians but have not yet been approved, Figure 2: Gender Gap in education and employment will be rejected by the new government

120 103 On the other end, some women candidates, such as Jamila 98 100 99 West Bank 100 90 al-Shanti, talk of proper interpretation of Islam to push back 89 and Gaza boundaries for women. Jamila al-Shanti will be the voice that 80 will add the gender dimension to Hamas’s agenda. 60 MENA % 42 The status of women under a Hamas-led government is hard 40 27 to predict. Even though Hamas is for women’s education, Lower 20 and opposes early marriage and honor killings, hardliners 13 Middle Income within the party may hamper the approval of women-related 0 Countries legislations and hinder the empowerment of Palestinian Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of total boys in primary & literate females to labor force (2004) women. The main concern is that an atmosphere will be secondary males(2004) created under Hamas that will undermine the freedoms education currently enjoyed by more secular women. Predictions at this point are very hard.

118

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

Hamas has previously highlighted the importance of women’s education. Now that they are the ruling party, hopes are that they will continue to promote education for women.

The gender gap at the primary education level is almost non-existent, but increases at the secondary level, between grades 9 and 11, where female enrolment is 63 percent compared to that of male at 67.4 percent. The gender gap increases at the secondary level, mainly because of early marriage. According to the 1996 Palestinian Beijing Platform of Action document, about 40 percent of female teenagers, mostly in rural areas, become wives and mothers before they complete their education or learn an occupation. The legal age of marriage for girls is 16 in the West Bank and 9 in Gaza. This compares to the male legal ages of marriage, which are 16 and 12 respectively.301 In the West Bank and Gaza, according to a 1992 study quoted by the Parliamentary Research Unit, the ratio of girls marrying between 12 and 17 was about 35 percent.302

Vocational training of girls is still limited and traditional. Girls constitute only 13 percent of students enrolled in vocational schools.303 The 1995/96 school year statistics show that girls in the vocational secondary schools continue to select traditional occupations like commerce and nursing.

The National Strategy points out that one shortcoming of the current generation of job schemes is that they mainly benefit unskilled adult males. This can be modified through a greater mix of construction with non-construction schemes and by designing projects that cater specifically to the young, the skilled, and women.

Health

301 Women’s Learning Partnership. 302 Nadia Hijab and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, “Laws, Regulations, and Practices Impeding Women’s Economic Participation in the MNA Region,” World Bank, March 2003. 303 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Palestine document. 304 International Labour Organization, "Report of the Director-General on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories" (Geneva, 2005) para. 31

119

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, states that "refugee camps are among the most vulnerable of all".305 A survey conducted by the Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva demonstrated that the percentage of refugees depending on food assistance was threefold the percentage of non-refugees.306 Not having any land or work to depend on, refugee women are severely malnourished.

In 1999, the fertility rate was 5.6 per 1,000 in the West Bank, 6.7 per 1,000 in Gaza, and 6.1 per 1,000 in the Palestinian territories.309 Fertility rates decreased to 5 births per woman in 2004, indicating increased awareness of family planning and provision of related services. Ninety-eight percent of women are aware of contraceptive methods which are actually applied by 66.7 percent (71 percent in the West Bank and 39 percent in Gaza). Forty-five percent of married women use contraceptives. Modern methods are used by 52.5 percent of the women who use contraceptives.

Economic Participation

Palestinian women still face impediments emanating from cultural conservatism and old traditions. Such traditions prevent women from taking an active part of the work force as, for example, it is considered bad for women’s reputation to work at night, or travel alone.

305 UNRWA, Emergency Appeal, March-May 2001, Second Emergency Appeal to Provide Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to Palestine Refugees in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank 306 Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva (IEUD), The Role of International and Local Aid During the Second Intifada, Report VII, An Analysis of Palestinian Public Opinion in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on their Living Conditions, August 2003 February 2004, p. 247. 307 Kofi Annan's report to the Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 308 UNRWA, Annual Report of the Department of Health 2003, p.5 309 Follow-up Report to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1999.

120 reporting “home duties” added some 28,000 women to the labor force – equivalent to a 30 percent increase.310

According to the World Bank, "the Palestinian recession is among the worst in modern history. Average personal incomes have declined by more than a third since September 2000".311 62 per cent of Palestinians live below the poverty line. The daily suffering is felt most severely by Palestinian women within the household, because of the death, imprisonment, or unemployment of male members. Because of such circumstances, Palestinian women carry the burden of responsibility in the household. To substitute for the loss of male income, women work overnights, while women who cannot work face severe poverty.

Public Participation and Representation

Women hold sixteen parliamentarian seats. Six of which are part of Hamas - granting women who are part of Hamas an unaccustomed public role.

In November 2003, the Women's Department was upgraded to the Ministry for Women Affairs which is headed by Zuhaira Kamal. Hence, the Palestinian Cabinet for the second time includes two female ministers.313 Intisar al-Wazir has held the position of Minister of Social Affairs since the 1995 Beijing Conference.314 The ministry of women’s affairs has taken measures to increase the economic, social, and political empowerment of women, through establishing good relations with other ministries, and helping to add the gender dimension to various departments.

310 World Bank, Four Years: Intifada, Closures, and Palestinian Economic Crisis – An Assessment, October 2004. 311 "Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements", World Bank, 23 October 2004, p. 4. 312 ILO, The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories, May 2004. 313 Dr. Hanan Mikail-Ashrawi served as Minister of Higher Education from 1996-98. 314 Al-Wazir is one of the most prominent women in Palestine. She is known as “Umm Jihad” (her husband Abu Jihad was the PLO’s second-in-command when murdered in1988).

121

According to the 1999 Report on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, women in the Palestine National Authority (PNA) have been appointed to leading positions at grades which enable them to share the various levels of decision making in 13 ministries. However, women’s participation in decision-making positions in the PNA institutions is still limited at 10 percent.315 All heads of public structures and authorities are men. Women do not hold leadership positions in certain ministries such as Ministries of Agriculture, Industry and Public works.

Women's Rights

315 UNIFEM, Evaluating the Status of Palestinian Women in Light of the Beijing Platform for Action, 2002.

122

123

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

1. Background and Key Issues Improving Health and Education Indicators General Figure1: Social Indicators 1990 -2004 1990 Yemen witnessed significant achievements in • Literacy Rate, adult (%age 15+) F:13, M:55 education and health over the last decades; yet, 100 gender disparities persist. School Enrollment, Labor Force (% of total 50 Primary (% gross) F:34, labor force) F:27, M:73 M:96 • Between 1995 and 2004, female gross 0 enrollment rates increased by 73% in primary School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth level (41.5% to 72%) and more than doubled to Secondary(% gross)* (Years) F:55, M:54 31 % in secondary education. Female enrollment F:16, M:74 in the tertiary level remains low with a rate of 5.1%, a third of the male enrollment rate of Female Male 13.5%. 1990 Secondary school enrollment data is from 1991

2004 • Life expectancy has also improved significantly Literacy Rate, adult (%age for both sexes over the last several decades. 15+) F:29, M:70 100 Despite declining fertility rates, Yemen’s • Labor Force (% of total 50 School Enrollment, Primary continuous high rates of population growth labor force) F:28, M:72 (% gross) F:72, M:102 dilute potential progress in reducing poverty. As 0 a result of high fertility rates, Yemen has the School Enrollment, Life Expectancy at Birth Secondary(% gross) F:31, highest dependency ratio in the region, which (Years) F:63, M:60 M:64 in turn puts immense strains on social services

provision. Female Male

Sources: World Bank Central Database, World Bank Edstats • Yemen has one of the highest average rates of Literacy data in 2004 chart is taken from 2005 Human early age marriage in the world (especially in development report (data is for 2002)

rural areas), which further contributes to girls’ The gender gap persists lower school enrollment as well as high infant and child mortality rates. Figure2: MDG Goal # 3 – Promote gender equality & women’s empowerment 100 Although Yemen’s female labor participation 90 • 86 89 Yemen 90 81 rate is relatively high for the region, it is lower 80 70 than what it should be given the country’s level 63 60 60 MENA

of female education, fertility rates and age % 50 40 35 structure. Women’s economic activity is mainly 30 28 27 unpaid and in agriculture. 20 15 Low 10 8 Income 0 0 Countries Ratio of girls to Ratio of young Female % of Proportion of In contrast to other MENA countries, where boys in primary literate females total labor seats held by • & secondary to males force(2004) women in women work predominantly in the public sector education parliament (2005) as teachers and health providers, in Yemen Source: World Bank Central Database 2006, women’s participation in the public sector is World Bank Edstats, and the population low. This can be an important constraint toward Reference Bureau School enrollment is for 2004(LIC for 2003) improving key social indicators in girl’s literacy Youth literacy is for 2004 (Yemen is for 2000-2004) and access of women to health services.

124

2. Development Issues

Education and Training

The lack of female teachers, especially in rural areas constitutes a barrier to female education. In urban areas, the percentage of female teachers is only 52 percent of male teachers, while in urban areas; it is as low as 8.6 percent.316 Fortunately, the percentage of females becoming trained teachers has been increasing dramatically between 1990 and 2000, rising from 25 to 45.8 percent.

In absence of a minimum legal age of marriage, girls' secondary school enrollment rates are also negatively affected - especially in the rural areas.317 The gender gap in vocational training has not changed significantly over the last decade. In all vocational training programs following primary school, women made up 4.6 percent of all vocational trainees in 2000. Most female trainees specialized in health, education and administration programs, while few enrolled in technical programs. Of the students who graduated from universities in 2000, 27 percent were female. In 2001, 44 percent of female students enrolled in the faculty of medicine, followed by 41 percent in the faculty of sciences.

Health

Female life expectancy increased significantly from 55 in 1990 to 63 in 2004 (54 to 60 for men). This falls well below the average of 63 years for developing countries and the MENA average of 71.318

316 “MDG Draft Needs Assessment Report,” Women’s National Committee, January 2005. 317 According to the Women’s National Committee’s MDG Draft Needs Assessment Report, 46% of the population above ten years of age is married. Of those in the 10-19 married age group, 75% are women, and 25% are men, suggesting that a much larger proportion of women are married off early. Moreover, the 1999 Poverty Phenomenon Survey in the Yemeni Society indicates that one of the major reasons for girls dropping out of school at the primary level (both poor and non-poor families) is marriage. 318 Moreover, biological advantages suggest that under ideal circumstances women will live five years longer than men. When this difference is smaller than five years, as it is in Yemen, it suggests inadequate maternal health care and that women may generally have less access to medical care and nutritious food than men. 125 same time, maternal mortality rates have significantly dropped from 1,400 per 100,000 live births in 1990 by more than half to 570 per 100,000 live births in 2001319.320

Economic Participation

Yemen’s female labor force participation rate is one of the highest in MENA, which has been explained by the large rural population. Women’s percentage of total labor force rose from 27 percent in 1994 to 28 in 2004, reflecting an overall increase in employment and income for women.321 Depending on sector, women’s employment growth from 1994 to 1999 was more than four times higher than that of men (8.9 percent compared to 2.1 percent respectively). In 2003, the ratio of female to male labor force participation stood at 0.39 with an annual growth rate of 64 percent. At the same time, the share of women in the agricultural sector compared to the nonagricultural sector remained almost constant, indicating overall constraints for women to access employment in the non-agricultural sector.

Figure 3: Female economic activity rates by age and selected regions– 2000 Women’s labor force 80 participation in Yemen is one 70 Yemen of the highest in MENA, 60 however, when compared to 50 MENA other less developed regions, it 40 Less developed is very low. According to 30 regions World Bank simulations, if 20 World female labor force rates were 10 to increase to 38 percent, the 0 average rate for all developing 15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65+ 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 countries, average household earnings would increase by 3

Source: ILO Labor Statistics. percent.

Public Participation and Representation

In March 2005, the Cabinet passed a quota system calling for 30 percent women representation in Parliament, the Shura Council, and government decision-making positions. The quota system

319 Various sources cite different figures: 351 per 100,000 live births in 1997 according to the 2003 Yemen National MDG report, 350 in 2003 according to the 2005 Human Development Report and an estimate of 370 between 1990- 2004 according to the 2006 World Development Indicators 320 World Bank Central Database. 321 Labor Survey 1999, 1994 Population Census, World Bank Central Database 2006 126 needs to be approved by the Parliament.322 This is an important breakthrough for women’s political participation.

Currently, there are only two women in the cabinet, with one heading the ministry of human rights and the other fronting the ministry of Social Development and Work Affairs.

Women’s Rights

322 The Speaker of Parliament, Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar expressed the Parliament’s reservations on the implementation of the quota system, regardless of the Cabinet’s approval. Yemen Times, “Women quota system is imposed on Yemen, and women involved in election management,” 14 June 2005. 323 Article 19 guarantees the right of equality of opportunity to all citizens in the political, economic, social and cultural domains. Article 27 states that there should be no discrimination on the basis of sex. Article 38 states that Yemenis are free to move around the country without restrictions. In addition, Article 42 of the Labor law states that women have equal rights vis-à-vis employment, wages, training, rehabilitation and social insurance. 127

Summary Gender Profile for ALGERIA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 25290666 30463134 32853798 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 50 50(2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 41 .. 60 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 64 .. 80 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 53 .. 70 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 68 .. 86 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 86 .. 94 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 77 .. 90 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 94 (1991) 98 97 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 95 (1991) 97 95 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 95 (1991) 97 96 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 72 82 94 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 89 83 94 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 47 47 Primary education, teachers (% female) 39 (1991) 46 50 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 83 (1991) 90 95 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 95 (1991) 93 98 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 47 (1991) .. 68 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 59 (1991) .. 65 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. .. 20 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. .. 19

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 92 96 (2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. .. 57 (2002) Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) .. .. 22 (2005) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5 3 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 69 72 73 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 66 69 70 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 67 70 71 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 140 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 54 37 35 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 69 44 40 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 7231552 11078387 13405859 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 23 28 31 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 8 12 16 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) 55 (1991) .. .. Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) 17 (1991) 30 31 (2001) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) 22 (1991) 34 27 (2001) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 20 30 27 (2001) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) .. .. … Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

128

Summary Gender Profile for BAHRAIN 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 492952 672008 726617 (2005) Population, female (% total) 42 42 43 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 75 .. 84 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 87 .. 89 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 82 .. 87 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 95 .. 97 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 96 .. 97 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 96 .. 97 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 90 (1991) 98 100(2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 89 (1991) 100 100(2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 89 (1991) 99 100(2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 98 (1991) 100 103 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 96 (1991) 95 100 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 49 49 Primary education, teachers (% female) 54 (1991) 72 76 (2002) School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 99 (1991) 97 97 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 99 (1991) 94 96 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 86 (1991) 91 93 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 84 (1991) 84 87 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 20 (1991) 27(1999) 45 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 15 (1991) 16 (1999) 25

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 99 (2003) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 4 3 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 74 75 76 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 69 72 73 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 71 74 75 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 28 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 15 10 9 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 19 12 11 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 219603 311398 337279 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 17 18 19 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 7 12 13 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 39 33 Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) ...... Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

129

Summary Gender Profile for DJIBOUTI 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 557992 714574 793078 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 50 50 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 40 .. .. Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 67 .. .. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 53 .. .. Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 64 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 82 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 73 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 84 (1991) 85 (2001) .. Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 46 (1991) 90 (2001) .. Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 87 (1991) 88 (2001) .. Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 24 25 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 35 33 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 42 44 Primary education, teachers (% female) 37 (1991) 28 (2001) 30 (2002) School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 24 (1991) 24 29 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 33 (1991) 31 36 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 11 (2001) 15 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 18 (2001) 22 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 0 1 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 0 2

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 61 (2003) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) .. .. 60 (2005) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 6 5 5 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 52 54 54 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 49 51 52 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 51 52 53 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 730 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 122 107 101 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 163 136 126 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) .. .. 2 (2005) Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) .. .. 1 (2005) Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 3 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) 0 (1991) .. .. Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) 3 (1991) .. .. Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) 1 (1991) .. .. Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) 11 (1991) .. .. Employees, services, female (% of female employment) 88 (1991) .. .. Employees, services, male (% of male employment) 78 (1991) .. .. Labor force, total 217363 279840 314646 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 41 40 39 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) ...... Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) 8 (1991) .. .. Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) 47 (1991) .. .. Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) 42 (1991) .. .. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 44 (1991) .. .. Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

130

Summary Gender Profile for EGYPT 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 55673444 67285496 74032880 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 50 50 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 34 .. 59 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 60 .. 83 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 47 .. 71 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 51 .. 79 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 71 .. 90 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 61 .. 85 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) .. 99 99(2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) .. 99 98 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. 99 99 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 94 93 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 101 96 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 47 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 52(1991) 52 55 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 76(1991) 90 94 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 91(1991) 96 97 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 77(2001) 77 (2002) School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 81(2001) 81 (2002) School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 11(1991) .. .. School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 20(1991) .. ..

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) 37(1991) 61 69 (2003) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) 48(1991) 56 60 (2003) Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 4 3 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 64 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 61 67 68 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 63 69 70 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 84 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 76 40 26 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 104 49 36 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) 52 39 28 (2002) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) 35 27 28 (2002) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) 10 7 10 (2002) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) 24 25 23 (2002) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) 38 54 62 (2002) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) 41 48 50 (2002) Labor force, total 16573167 20021302 22875574 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 26 22 22 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 21 19 22 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) 18 23 24 (2002) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) 5 5 6 (2002) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 9 9 11(2003) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) .. 37 (1999) 51 (2001) Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) .. 14 (1999) 19 (2001) Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) .. 20 (1999) 28 (2001)

131

Summary Gender Profile for IRAN 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 54400000 63664000 67699896 (2005) Population, female (% total) 49 49 49 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 54 .. 70 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 72 .. 84 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 63 .. 77 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 81 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 92 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 86 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 89 (1991) 97 87 (2002) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 91 (1991) 98 88 (2002) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 90 (1991) 98 88 (2002) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 81 88 97 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 93 91 92 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 51 Primary education, teachers (% female) 53 (1991) 54 58 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 89 (1991) 79 88 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 96 (1991) 81 89 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. .. 76 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. .. 80 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 7 (1991) 18 24 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 14 (1991) 20 21

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 90 .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) 49 (1991) 74 .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) .. .. 17 (2005) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5 2 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 66 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 64 68 69 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 65 69 71 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 76 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 54 36 32 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 72 44 38 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 15616958 21861464 27320230 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 20 29 34 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 17 .. .. Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 36 38 (2002) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 17 20 (2003) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 14 10 (2003) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 14 12 (2003) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

132

Summary Gender Profile for IRAQ 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 18514860 24360108 .. (1999) Population, female (% total) 49 49 (1999) ..

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 20 .. 64 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 51 .. 84 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 36 .. 74 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 25 .. 80 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 56 .. 89 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 41 .. 85 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) .. 63 (1999) .. Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) .. 67 (1999) .. Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. 66 (1999) .. Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 47 63 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 58 85 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 44 44 Primary education, teachers (% female) 70 (1991) 72 72 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 88 (1991) 77 81 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 100(1991) 90 94 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 25 31 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 38 44 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 8 11 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 15 19

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 72 .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. 44 .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 6 .. .. Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 63 .. .. Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 60 .. .. Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 62 .. .. Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) ...... Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 40 .. .. Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 50 .. .. Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 4727920 6717590 .. (1999) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 17 19 (1999) .. Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 12 .. .. Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. .. 16 (2003) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. .. 30 (2003) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. .. 28 (2003) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

133

Summary Gender Profile for JORDAN 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 3170000 4754556 5411151 (2005) Population, female (% total) 48 48 48 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 72 .. 85 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 90 .. 95 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 82 .. 90 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 95 .. 99 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 98 .. 99 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 97 .. 99 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) .. 97 (1999) 99 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) .. 98 (1999) 99 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. 98 (1999) 99 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 98 98 96 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 97 97 97 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 49 49 Primary education, teachers (% female) 62 (1991) .. 64 (2003) School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 94 (1991) 93 92 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 94 (1991) 92 90 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 82 (1999) 82 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 77 (1999) 80 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 24 (1991) 30 41 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 22 (1991) 26 37

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) 87 .. 100(2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) 35 .. 56 (2002) Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5 4 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 69 72 73 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 66 69 70 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 68 71 72 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 41 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 33 25 23 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 40 30 27 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 753540 1542560 1875259 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 19 23 24 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 23 24 25 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 21 .. Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 12 .. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 13 .. Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

134

Summary Gender Profile for KUWAIT 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 2125000 2190000 2535446 (2005) Population, female (% total) 43 39 40 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 73 .. 91 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 79 .. 94 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 77 .. 93 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 87 .. 100 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 88 .. 100 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 88 .. 100 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) ...... Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 97 92 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 94 91 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 49 49 Primary education, teachers (% female) 61 (1991) 74 86 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 47 (1991) 83 87 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 51 (1991) 82 85 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 85 80 (2002) School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 83 76 (2002) School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 34 (1999) 33 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 14 (1999) 12

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 100(2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3 3 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 77 79 79 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 73 75 75 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 75 77 77 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 5 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 14 9 10 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 16 11 12 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 852515 1143376 1325367 Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 22 22 25 Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 23 24 24 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 45 28 (2002) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) ...... Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

135

Summary Gender Profile for LEBANON 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 2741426 3397859 3576818 (2005) Population, female (% total) 52 51 51 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 73 .. .. Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 88 .. .. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 80 .. .. Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 89 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 95 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 92 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) .. 99 100(2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) .. 95 95 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. 97 98 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 100 96 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 99 92 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) .. 82 84 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 71 (1991) 94 93 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 74 (1991) 96 94 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) ...... School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) ...... School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 39 50 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 35 45

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 93 (2001) .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. 63 .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3 2 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 71 73 75 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 67 69 70 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 69 71 72 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 150 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 32 28 27 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 37 32 31 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 941693 1265087 1408747 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 32 29 30 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 26 .. .. Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) ...... Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

136

Summary Gender Profile for LIBYA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 4333897 5306250 5853452 (2005) Population, female (% total) 48 48 48 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 51 .. .. Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 83 .. .. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 68 .. .. Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 83 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 99 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 91 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) ...... Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) ...... Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) ...... Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 49 (2003) Primary education, teachers (% female) ...... School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 94 (1991) .. .. School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 98 (1991) .. .. School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) ...... School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) ...... School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 47 59 (2003) School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 48 54 (2003)

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) ...... Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5 3 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 71 76 77 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 66 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 68 73 74 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 97 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 35 20 18 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 41 22 20 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 1257584 1916137 2337507 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 17 24 27 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 15 .. .. Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) ...... Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

137

Summary Gender Profile for MOROCCO 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 23917222 27838452 30168082 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 50 50 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 25 .. 40 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 53 .. 66 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 39 .. 52 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 42 .. 60 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 68 .. 81 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 55 .. 70 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 76 (1991) 81 74 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 75 (1991) 79 77 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 75 (1991) 80 76 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 38 (1991) 51 72 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 55 (1991) 65 79 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 45 46 Primary education, teachers (% female) 37 (1991) 37 45 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 46 (1991) 72 83 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 65 (1991) 81 89 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 28 32 (2003) School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 33 38 (2003) School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 8 (1991) 8 10 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 13 (1991) 10 11

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 63 Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. .. 63 Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) .. .. 21 (2005) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 4 3 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 66 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 63 67 68 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 64 69 70 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 220 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 69 45 38 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 89 54 43 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. .. 57 (2003) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. .. 39 (2003) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. .. 19 (2003) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. .. 21 (2003) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. .. 25 (2003) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. .. 40 (2003) Labor force, total 7529135 9954001 11121399 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 24 26 25 Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 25 26 26 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) 54 52 51 (2003) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) 20 13 11 Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) 14 14 11 Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) 16 14 11 Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) .. 17 (1999) 16 (2003) Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) .. 22 (1999) 17 (2003) Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) .. 21 (1999) 17 (2003)

138

Summary Gender Profile for OMAN 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 1842998 2442000 2566981 (2005) Population, female (% total) 44 42 44 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 38 .. 74 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 67 .. 87 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 55 .. 81 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 75 .. 97 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 95 .. 98 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 86 .. 97 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 96 (1991) 97 98 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 97 (1991) 95 97 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 97 (1991) 96 98 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 62 81 90 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 67 82 93 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 49 Primary education, teachers (% female) 47 (1991) 54 62 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 68 (1991) 81 79 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 71 (1991) 80 77 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 68 75 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 67 74 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 4 (1991) 10 15 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 4 (1991) 6 11

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 95 .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) 9 (1989) 32 .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 7 4 4 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 72 75 76 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 68 72 73 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 70 74 75 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 87 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 25 12 10 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 32 15 13 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. 5 .. Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. 7 .. Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. 14 .. Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. 11 .. Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. 80 .. Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. 82 .. Labor force, total 567370 912339 956903 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 11 13 16 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 19 25 26 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) ...... Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

139

Summary Gender Profile for QATAR 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 467428 606339 812842 (2005) Population, female (% total) 33 36 33 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 76 .. 89 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 77 .. 89 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 77 .. 89 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 93 .. 98 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 88 .. 95 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 90 .. 96 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 65 (1991) .. .. Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 63 (1991) .. .. Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 64 (1991) .. .. Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 72 91 (1999) 91 (2003) Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 67 90 (1999) 93 (2003) Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 72 (1991) 75 85 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 89 (1991) 95 94 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 90 (1991) 94 95 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 72 (1991) 80 86 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 68 (1991) 73 88 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 40 (1991) 41 (1999) 34 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 12 (1991) 13 (1999) 9

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 100(2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 4 3 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 72 75 76 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 68 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 70 73 74 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 7 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 21 19 18 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 26 23 21 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. .. 0 (2001) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. .. 3 (2001) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. .. 3 (2001) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. .. 44 (2001) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. .. 96 (2001) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. .. 53 (2001) Labor force, total 255806 319801 471970 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 10 14 14 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 12 15 15(2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. .. 13 (2001) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. .. 2 (2001) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. .. 4 (2001) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

140

Summary Gender Profile for SAUDI ARABIA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 16379270 21484344 24573100 (2005) Population, female (% total) 44 46 46 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 50 .. 69 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 76 .. 87 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 66 .. 79 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 79 .. 94 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 91 .. 98 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 85 .. 96 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 84 (1991) 94 93 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 82 (1991) 94 94 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 83 (1991) 94 94 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 50 67 61 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 57 69 62 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 48 (1991) 53 52 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 53 (1991) 57 57 (2002) School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 66 (1991) 61 62 (2002) School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 28 (1991) 52 51 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 34 (1991) 61 54 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 10 (1991) 25 33 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 11 (1991) 19 22

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 93 (2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. 21(1999) .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 6 4 4 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 70 73 74 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 66 70 70 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 68 71 72 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 23 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 35 23 21 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 44 29 27 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. 2 1 (2002) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. 7 5 (2002) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. 2 1 (2002) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. 23 24 (2002) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. 96 98 (2002) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. 70 71 (2002) Labor force, total 5095204 6712265 7921862 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 11 14 15 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 14 14 15 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 39 38 (2002) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 9 12 (2002) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 4 4 (2002) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 5 5 (2002) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

141

Summary Gender Profile for SYRIA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 12843049 16812824 19043382 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 50 50 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 48 .. 74 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 82 .. 86 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 65 .. 80 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 67 .. 90 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 92 .. 94 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 80 .. 92 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 95 (1991) 92 92 (2001) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 97 (1991) 92 93 (2001) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 96 (1991) 92 92 (2001) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 83 82 104 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 94 89 109 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 47 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 64 (1991) 68 62 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 86 (1991) 90 92 (2002) School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 95 (1991) 96 97 (2002) School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 36 (1991) 35 56 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 49 (1991) 38 60 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 14 (1991) .. .. School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 21 (1991) .. ..

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 70 (2002) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. 45 (1999) 48 (2001) Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 5 4 3 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 70 74 75 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 67 71 72 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 68 73 74 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 160 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 35 19 15 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 44 22 16 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. .. 58 (2002) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. .. 24 (2002) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. .. 7 (2002) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. .. 31 (2002) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. .. 35 (2002) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. .. 45 (2002) Labor force, total 3672222 6035905 7575065 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 26 29 31 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 16 18 18 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. .. 75 (2002) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 24(2001) 24 (2002) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 8 (2001) 8 (2002) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 11(2001) 12 (2002) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) .. .. 39 (2002) Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) .. .. 21 (2002) Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) .. .. 26 (2002)

142

Summary Gender Profile for TUNISIA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 8154400 9563500 10021900 (2005) Population, female (% total) 49 50 50 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 47 .. 65 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 72 .. 83 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 59 .. 74 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 75 .. 92 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 93 .. 96 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 84 .. 94 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 77 (1991) 94 97 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 94 (1991) 92 96 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 86 (1991) 93 97 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 75 87 98 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 86 88 97 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 47 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 45 (1991) 50 51 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 90 (1991) 94 98 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 98 (1991) 95 97 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 71 69 (2002) School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 66 66 (2002) School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 7 (1991) 17 (1999) 33 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 10 (1991) 17 (1999) 24

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 90 .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) .. 66 .. Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) .. .. 22 (2005) Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 3 2 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 72 75 75 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 69 71 71 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 70 73 73 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 120 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 41 25 21 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 52 31 25 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) .. .. 0 (2005)

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) ...... Employees, services, female (% of female employment) ...... Employees, services, male (% of male employment) ...... Labor force, total 2443083 3329895 3845174 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 21 25 28 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 24 25 25 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 48 (1999) 43 (2003) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) ...... Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) ...... Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 16 14 (2003) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

143

Summary Gender Profile for the U.A.E 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 1773000 3247000 4533145 (2005) Population, female (% total) 35 33 32 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 71 .. .. Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 71 .. .. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 71 .. .. Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 89 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 82 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 85 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) 80 (1991) 98 95 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) 80 (1991) 98 94 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) 80 (1991) 98 95 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) 103 81 74 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) 106 81 77 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 48 48 Primary education, teachers (% female) 64 (1991) 73 83 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 98 (1991) 76 70 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 100(1991) 78 72 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) 64 (1991) 76 64 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) 56 (1991) 70 61 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) 14 (1991) 33 39 (2003) School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) 4 (1991) 10 12 (2003)

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 100(2003) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 4 3 2 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 75 80 81 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 71 76 77 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 73 78 79 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 54 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 12 8 7 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 14 9 8 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. 0 .. Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. 9 .. Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. 14 .. Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. 36 .. Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. 86 .. Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. 55 .. Labor force, total 904469 1875759 2723070 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 10 12 13 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 12 14 14 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 3 .. Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 2 .. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 2 .. Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

144

Summary Gender Profile for WEST BANK & GAZA 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 1969967 2966000 3626000 (2005) Population, female (% total) 49 49 49 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) .. .. 88 Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) .. .. 97 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) .. .. 92 Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) .. .. 99 Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) .. .. 99 Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) .. .. 99 Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) ...... Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) ...... Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 104 99 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 103 98 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 49 49 Primary education, teachers (% female) .. .. 61 School enrollment, primary, female (% net) .. 96 86 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) .. 96 86 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 80 92 School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 75 87 School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 25 39 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 27 37

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. 97 .. Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) ...... Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) .. 5 5 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) .. 74 75 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) .. 70 71 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) .. 72 73 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) ...... Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) ...... Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) ...... Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. 35 34 (2003) Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. 10 12 (2003) Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. 11 8 (2003) Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. 39 30 (2003) Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. 53 57 (2003) Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. 51 57 (2003) Labor force, total 392641 618419 767007 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 12 13 13 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) ...... Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) .. 55 58 (2003) Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 13 19 (2003) Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 15 27 (2003) Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 14 26 (2003) Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) .. 31 (2001) 37 (2002) Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) .. 36 (2001) 43 (2002) Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) .. 36 (2001) 43 (2002)

145

Summary Gender Profile for YEMEN 1990 2000 2004 Population, total 12085666 17936592 20974656 (2005) Population, female (% total) 50 49 49 (2005)

Education and Training Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) 13 .. .. Literacy rate, adult male (% of males ages 15 and above) 55 .. .. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) 33 .. .. Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) 25 .. .. Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15-24) 74 .. .. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) 50 .. .. Persistence to grade 5, female (% of cohort) .. 70 (2001) 67 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) .. 78 (2001) 78 (2003) Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) .. 74 (2001) 73 (2003) Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) .. 34 (1999) 46 Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) .. 74 (1999) 78 Primary education, pupils (% female) .. 38 40 Primary education, teachers (% female) .. 21 (1999) .. School enrollment, primary, female (% net) 28 (1991) 47 63 School enrollment, primary, male (% net) 73 (1991) 72 87 School enrollment, secondary, female (% net) .. 21 .. School enrollment, secondary, male (% net) .. 46 .. School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) .. 4 5 School enrollment, tertiary, male (% gross) .. 16 14

Health Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) .. .. 27 (2003) Contraceptive prevalence (% of women ages 15-49) 10 (1991) .. 23 (2003) Female adults with HIV (% of population ages 15-49 with HIV) ...... Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 8 6 6 Life expectancy at birth, female (years) 55 61 63 Life expectancy at birth, male (years) 54 58 60 Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 55 59 61 Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) .. 570 .. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) 98 84 82 Mortality rate, under 5 (per 1,000) 142 117 111 Prevalence of HIV, female (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, male (% of ages 15-24) ...... Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) ......

Labor Force Participation Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment) .. 88 (1999) .. Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employment) .. 43 (1999) .. Employees, industry, female (% of female employment) .. 3 (1999) .. Employees, industry, male (% of male employment) .. 14 (1999) .. Employees, services, female (% of female employment) .. 9 (1999) .. Employees, services, male (% of male employment) .. 43 (1999) .. Labor force, total 2961312 4826174 5941432 (2005) Labor force, female (% of total labor force) 27 27 28 (2005) Share of women employed in the nonagricultural sector (%) 9 7 6 (2003) Unemployment with primary education (% of total unemployment) ...... Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) .. 8 (1999) .. Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) .. 13 (1999) .. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) .. 12 (1999) .. Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) ...... Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ......

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