A World Bank gender and development report spotlights both the obstacles and prospects facing women in the Middle East today. Reem Leila reports A World Bank (WB) report on gender and development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) -- prepared under the auspices of Egypt's National Council for Women -- was issued last week. The report identifies the economic, social, and political obstacles faced by the region's women. It also analyses the potential economic benefits of engaging women in the work force and suggests a plan of action that would help expand their role in the formal economy and all other public spheres. The report urges policy-makers to pursue an agenda that will promote equity and offer women greater access to economic security, better job opportunities, and improved political performance. It also acknowledges the central role of the family as a commonly accepted cultural asset, and calls for a supportive environment that will allow women to play multiple roles in the different domains of life. According to Nadereh Chamlou, WB senior advisor to the MENA region, gender inequality impacts not only women negatively, but society as a whole. It hinders a country's ability to efficiently allocate and use its most important resources -- its human capital -- in development. Restricting women's participation in life's different sectors limits both overall societal development and national potential. "Empowering women and providing opportunities for their full integration into all aspects of society is not just an issue of justice for women, it is a vital element in creating a climate favourable to achieving sustainable progress and development," Chamlou said. The report indicates that Egypt's achievements in the realm of women's well-being compared favourably with those of other MENA region countries. Indicators such as female education, health, and life expectancy show the substantial progress that has been made. Women's literacy has increased from 16.6 per cent in 1970 to 53.5 per cent in 2002. The average years of schooling has gone up from 0.5 in 1960 to 4.5 in 2001. Female life expectancy has increased from 59.4 per cent in 1980 to 70.1 in 2000. The general health condition of women has improved by 64.7 per cent. Egypt falls considerably short, however, when it comes to women's economic participation and political empowerment. "Their participation in the economic and political fields is significantly lower than in the rest of the MENA region as well as the world. It is lower than would be expected considering their constitutional rights," Chamlou said. Although female participation in the Egypt's labour force has grown by 50 per cent since 1960, actual rates of participation remain among the lowest in the MENA region. The primary factor hindering female participation in the labour market is simply that employers prefer to hire men. Hoda Rashad, head of the NCW's Education and Scientific Research Committee attributed this to the belief that men's income is more important for a family's welfare. With the exception of Morocco and Tunisia, most MENA countries, including Egypt, have been slow to deal with the disadvantages faced by women attempting to successfully work in the private sector. Traditionally, women have been more likely to find success in the public sector, this is due to the favourable conditions of work in the public sector, including generous maternity leave benefits where, Rashad said, there is a perception that professions such as teaching and nursing are more appropriate for women. NCW Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan indicated that those kinds of ideas are changing, however. Younger generations have been raised in smaller, nuclear families, where gender disparities are likely to have been less pronounced. "This generation is likely to push for equality in the private and public sectors, as well as all other spheres of life," Hassan said. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to review and adapt the legislative atmosphere in order to make it more consistent with women's constitutional rights. Hassan continues, currently there are number of legal provisions that fail to recognise women's equal rights under the Egyptian constitution. Combined with efforts to improve education, with a particular emphasis on providing women in rural areas with the skills needed in the job market, Hassan said, would balance the realignment of the nation's labour laws and regulations towards the country's new development model so they can create a better incentive for job creation in the private sector as the public one.
