The Woman Question
The role of women is crucial to any society's formation. Particularly in the Middle East, the correlation between gender and the nation is instrumental in the formation of the modern state. Essentially, the "Woman Question" attempts to understand the role of women within the modern state and their effect on its construction. It is not a gendered analysis but a holistic approach to understanding society in the Middle East. In following the emergence of women's movements in Egypt, Jordan, and Iran, a connection is clear: Nationalism and revolutions, or the lack thereof, have impacted women immensely. To understand the status of women in these countries, the relationship between women and the state must be established. In her examination of women's movements from 1900-1945, Ellen Fleischmann presents three thematic stages of development. The first is the awakening in which social practices that effect women are questioned. Following this awakening, is an "adoption of nationalism as a liberating discourse," which connects women's nationalist activities to their liberation. Finally, the third stage brings the evolution of state feminism. In this way, "nationalism often had a 'releasing effect' on women...through their involvement in
nationalism, they developed over time an internal critique of gender relations." This framework referred to women's movements in the first half on the 20th Century. However, these stages are useful in examining the modern movements in the Middle East and how they relate to gender and the nation. When the Nasser regime realized that women's rights activism would not diminish, he incorporated gender issues into his socially progressive agenda. The outcome was state feminism. It provided increased citizenship rights and upheld a women's right to work. By creating a nationalist, secularist discourse on gender, woman achieved evolution of state feminism. This third stage of woman's movements, however, did not bring about significant change. Instead, "despite the multiplication of the number of professional women in the public arena, their professional consciousness did not routinize or internalize relations of equality or empowerment." Women were still second class citizens whose work was equated with child labor, and who did not have equal access to land. In 1991, the National Charter specified equality regardless of sex. Still there are obvious discrepancies in men and women's rights. The interpretation of Shari'a allows arbitrary divorce and polygamy to exist for men but women can not exercise these same powers. Women are not full citizens in Jordan and are unable to pass on nationality. For rural and Bedouin women, honor is the responsibility of the woman and her main role is to bear male children. This is a cultural notion, however, not an Islamic one. The formation of the state resulted in a patriarchial society because the government did not usurp its role in the family. The legislation of Jordan points to themes of state p
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Approximate Word count = 1177
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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