This work assesses the impact of globalization on women in Middle Eastern societies. To explore the gendered effects of social change, the authors examine trends within, as well as among, states in the region. Detailed case studies reveal the mixed results of global pressures.

The essays in this collection examine issues of gender, family, and law in the Middle East and South Asia. In particular, the authors address the impact of colonialism on law, family, and gender relations; the role of religious politics in writing family law and the implications for gender relations; and the tension between international standards emerging from UN conferences and conventions and various nationalist projects. Employing the frame of globalization, the authors highlight how local and global forces interact and influence the experience and actions of people who engage with the law. By virtue of a "south-south" comparison of two quite similar and culturally linked regions, contributors avoid positing "the West" as a modern telos. Drawing upon the fields of anthropology, history, sociology, and law, this volume offers a wide-ranging exploration of the complicated history of jurisprudence with regard to family and gender.

The Middle East and Globalization discusses past and contemporary political, societal, economic, and cultural trends in the Middle East against the background of comprehensive theories of globalization. The chapters draw on a shared methodological approach, looking at the fractures and horizons of globalization that are shaping the Middle East.

Extrait de la préface : "The subject of this study is social change in the Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan ; its impact on women's legal status and social positions ; and women's varied responses to, and involvment in, change processes. It also deals with constructions of gender during periods of social and political change. Social change is usually described in terms of modernization, revolution, cultural challenges, and social movements. Much of the standard literature on these topics does not examine women or gender, and thus [the author] hopes this study will contribute to an appreciation of the significance of gender in the midst of change. Neither are there many sociological studies on MENA and Afghansitan or studies on women in MENA and Afghanistan from a sociological perspective. Myths and stereotypes abund regarding women, Islam, and the region, and the sevents of September 11 and since have only compounded them. This book is intended in part to "normalize" the Middle East by underscoring the salience of structural determinants other than religion. It focuses on the major social-change processes in the region to show how women's lives are shaped not only by "Islam" and "culture", but also by economic development, the state, class location, and the world system. Why the focus on women? It is [the autor's] contention that middle-class women are consciously and unconsciously major agents of social change in the region, at the vanguard of movements for modernity, democratization and citizenship."

The seventeen essays in Women and Power in the Middle East analyze the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape gender systems in the Middle East and North Africa. Published at different times in Middle East Report, the journal of the Middle East Research and Information Project, the essays document empirically the similarities and differences in the gendering of relations of power in twelve countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. Together they seek to build a framework for understanding broad patterns of gender in the Arab-Islamic world. Challenging questions are addressed throughout. What roles have women played in politics in this region? When and why are women politically mobilized, and which women? Does the nature and impact of their mobilization differ if it is initiated by the state, nationalist movements, revolutionary parties, or spontaneous revolt? And what happens to women when those agents of mobilization win or lose? In investigating these and other issues, the essays take a look at the impact of rapid social change in the Arab-Islamic world. They also analyze Arab disillusionment with the radical nationalisms of the 1950s and 1960s and with leftist ideologies, as well as the rise of political Islamist movements. Indeed the essays present rich new approaches to assessing what political participation has meant for women in this region and how emerging national states there have dealt with organized efforts by women to influence the institutions that govern their lives. Designed for courses in Middle East, women's, and cultural studies, Women and Power in the Middle East offers to both students and scholars an excellent introduction to the study of gender in the Arab-Islamic world.

This book examines women, money, and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa focusing on women’s capacity to engage local political systems. In particular, it considers whether and how this engagement is facilitated through specific types of financial flows from abroad. Arab countries are well-known rentier states, and so a prime destination for foreign aid, worker remittances, and oil-related investment. Alongside other factors these external monies have elicited dramatic shifts in gender-related social norms and expectations both from the state and the domestic population, affording certain women the opportunity to enter the political arena, while leaving others behind. The research presented here expands the discussion of women in rentier political economy and highlights their roles as participants and agents within regional templates for economic development.

' In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and in light of socio-economic and geopolitical challenges facing governments old and new, women''s rights and empowerment have gained new urgency and relevance. Groups in power, or groups contesting for power, are more conservative than expected, and there are serious threats to roll back some of the gains women had achieved over the past 20–30 years on economic and social fronts. The global gender debate has neglected the economic dimension of women''s empowerment and a great deal of debate and interest among researchers is needed to push the topics further. This timely book brings together leading regional researchers to offer original research linking gender equality with economic policy, reinforcing the agenda from a broad-based perspective. Contents:Forewords (Gary Becker and Ismail Serageldin)Preface (Soukeina Bouraoui)Acknowledgments (Nadereh Chamlou)Committee Members of the Gender Economic Research and Policy Analysis InitiativeContributors'' Biographical InformationWomen, Work, and Welfare in the Middle East and North Africa: Introduction and Overview (Massoud Karshenas, Valentine M Moghadam, and Nadereh Chamlou)Socio-Demographics:Returns to Education in Palestine and Turkey: A Comparative Study (Aysit Tansel and Yousef Daoud)Gender Effects of Education on Economic Development in Turkey (Aysit Tansel and Nil Demet Güngör)Intra-Household Resource Allocation in Egypt: Effect of Power Distribution within the Household on Child Work and Schooling (Rania Roushdy and Soiliou Daw Namoro)Gender, Resources across the Life Course, and Cognitive Functioning in Egypt (Kathryn M Yount)Socio-Demographic and Economic Characteristics and Problems of Jordanian Female-Headed Households (Hussein M Abu Farash)Women''s Entrepreneurship — Obstacles, Progress, and Prospects:Women Entrepreneurs in Egypt: Obstacles, Potential, and Prospects (Alia El Mehdi)Women Entrepreneurs in Lebanon: Obstacles, Potential, and Prospects (Kamal Hamdan, Redha Hamdan, Lara Batlouni, and Nisrine Mansour)Women Entrepreneurs in Turkey: Obstacles, Potentials, and Prospects (Şemsa Özar)Self-Employed Persons and Wage-Earners in Algeria: Application of a Bivariate Probit Model (Soheil Chennouf and Taïeb Hafsi)Gender and Entrepreneurship in Iran (Roksana Bahramitash and Hadi Salehi Esfahani)Labor, Liberalization, and Gender Discrimination:The Determinants of Female Labor Force Participation in the Middle East and North Africa Region: The Role of Education and Social Norms in Amman, Cairo, and Sana''a (Nadereh Chamlou, Silvia Muzi, and Hanane Ahmed)Women and Work in Dubai City: Institutional Barriers and Potentials (Fatemeh Etemad Moghadam, Farroukh Guiahi, and Rabia Naguib)Private–Public Sector Employment Choice and Wage Differentials in Palestine: A Gender Perspective (Yousef Daoud and Ruba Shanti)Offshoring and the Availability of Female Labor in the MENA Region (Nadereh Chamlou & Désirée van Gorp)Gender and Public Policies:Did Trade Liberalization Benefit Female Workers? Evidence from Egypt on Wage and Employment Effects (Shireen AlAzzawi)Gender and Employment Impacts of Taxation Policy in the Middle East and North Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia (Ismael Fofana, Rim Chatti, Erwin Corong, Sami Bibi, and Omar Bouazouni)Family Planning and Female Empowerment in Iran (Djavad Salehi-Isfahani)The Impact of Labor Nationalization Policies on Female Participation Rates in the Arab Gulf (Emilie Rutledge and Fatima Al Shamsi) Readership: Policy makers, graduate students and researchers interested in the socio-economic issues that impact women in the Middle East and North Africa. Key Features:Incorporates a wide range of authoritative voices and counters criticism that the topic infringes on "cultural" issuesIncludes a foreword by the late Nobel Laureate Professor Gary Becker, the Chair of the Steering Committee and the Director of the renowned Library of Alexandria Dr Ismail Serageldin, and the Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Mrs Inger AndersenMore than 80 researchers were engaged in the writing of this book. They are intimately familiar with the circumstances of their societies, and what kind of reforms are neededKeywords:Middle East and North Africa;Women''s Welfare;Gender Studies'