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Women in Middle Eastern Life
Photos and commentary by Carol J. Riphenburg, Ph.D.
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Given the tradition of segregation of the sexes practiced almost universally in Muslim countries, most women’s work tends to take place in the informal sector. In the countryside and in urban poor families women are frequently job holders, employed in all kinds of farm and household work in rural localities. Carpet weaving is an attractive occupation, since women can remain confined to the home and limited to an exclusively feminine sphere. Women also work in factories and elsewhere in cities.
In the Middle East, women’s employment patterns are largely shaped by the political economy of the region. Women’s employment patterns have been constrained by overall limited industrialization. Oil economies poor in other resources, including population (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya) have seen fairly limited industrialization which has served to limit female labor force participation.
In the non-oil industrializing economies (Israel,Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey), female employment is higher than elsewhere. Even then, men predominate in the industrial sector. There seems to be a widespread Middle Eastern attitude that factory work is not suitable for women.