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Women’s right in the Middle East has been a topic of debate for many years. Interestingly enough women’s rights have been a topic of debate for many places across the globe including America. A little over fifty years ago women in the United States were fighting for the right to use contraceptives. So why do we as westerners scrutinize countries that haven’t fully jumped on the pro women’s rights bandwagon? I personally believe it’s because western society has “evolved “in a multitude of ways. Because of all the rallying and women’s rights activism that occurred during the 1960’s we now allow women to vote, hold certain job positions, and take on other responsibilities besides cooking, cleaning, and looking after children. And if we can come to the realization that women deserve these basic rights why can’t other countries?
    In specific regard to the Middle East I think it’s important to note the strong religious and cultural values of the people. By doing some basic research I was able to find that western powers usually made up of men do a really good job of painting life for Middle Eastern women as miserable and repressive. Contrary to this popular belief this is not the case for many women living in the region.  The Middle East is filled with tons of different countries and although they all have the Islamic religion in common their system of life and cultural practices vary from country to country. Haartez.com, a website dedicated to informing its readers about current events in the Middle East dedicated an article highlighting all of the freedoms that women have in these various countries. For example they explain, “In Syria women are members of parliament, cabinet ministers, and one of the countries vice presidents”.  A woman having the opportunity to be involved in the government is a really big deal. Especially in comparison to the US who has yet to have a woman elected as vice president.
     Another key part of the culture is the restrictions of dress. We are often taught or hear that only women have to adhere to a strict dress code, when in actuality men and women of the Middle East practice dressing modestly.  In certain regions it is preferred that men are covered from head to toe just like many of the women. I also would like to make it known that most middle eastern women see nothing wrong with this dress code because it is a part of their culture and ultimately their religion. There have been instances in which women will personally tell foreigners that out of respect for their country and culture when visiting they should dress more modestly. As stated earlier these practices vary from region to region so, in some parts of the Middle East, although women are expected to dress modestly the outlook on the dress code  is not as strict as other places.
     A final perspective that relates to women which differs from those of the west is the importance of the education. Education is a basic right that all people should have no matter what their gender or ethnicity may be. Middle Eastern women are allowed to be educated and in most cases the literacy rates in Middle Eastern countries are much higher for women than men. The popular media website CNN World.com states, “In nearly two thirds of Middle Eastern countries, there are more women than men in university, according to united nations statistics”.  For example, the University of Tehran in Iran was one of the first countries in the Middle East to allow women to come and study and at one point women outnumbered men accepted at the university by 60%.  There may be huge cultural differences in how the women are educated and the type of experiences that they may have in comparison to women in the west but nonetheless they are still able to pursue higher education and obtain degrees in male dominated fields such as engineering, architecture and medicine.
Cut this out   In closing of this piece I would like to highlight that just because a country doesn’t follow the western paradigm of what life should be doesn’t mean that its system is oppressive or wrong. There are a lot of things that could be improved within Middle Eastern countries, but there are also a lot of things that could be improved right here on our own soil.

Citations:
  "A Look at the Rights of Women in Arab Countries - Middle East." Haaretz.com. N.p., 8 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 June 2014.

Davies, Catriona. "Mideast Women Beat Men in Education, Lose out at Work." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 20 June 2014.
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