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The Progression Of Women’S Rights In The Middle East

The conflict with Arab Women’s rights is a difficult one to resolve due to tradition and worldwide indifference towards the topic. The world’s misconception about Arab women not actively pursuing equality is harming their image and hindering progression towards suffrage. The subject of Arab women’s rights has become infamous in this country because of the American media, and Americans are criticizing the speed of advancement in most Middle Eastern countries. However, it is difficult for us, as Americans, to accurately advocate reform for another country when we are not familiar with their cultural history and social conflict. The stereotype of Arab women disregards the difference in rights between the different Arab countries. Some critics think that because these women are not yet equal, they have not been trying to progress, but in truth, because of the heavy influence tradition has had on their current status, it is difficult to implement such drastic reform. Some Arab women even feel as if they should have to deal with the same inequality their grandmothers and mothers did without complaining. The conflicting opinions seen in the Middle East contribute to the overall lack of consensus.
The current inequities are simply a way of life for most Middle Eastern women. Defenders of traditional male superiority say that their views can be supported by and originated from the Koran. Religious texts are often distorted in order to support the pre-existing traditions. An example of this is conservative dress. The Koran mentions modesty in dress, but how much modesty is merely a matter of opinion. Most scholars agree that the Hadiths about conservative dress were referring to the prophet’s own wives. Whether to follow this example should be free choice. The fear regarding Ikhtilat, or mixing of the sexes, also has no religious textual justification. Arabic public opinion is strongly opposed to fully secular laws, like in Tunisia, because they feel some link to Islamic...