Introduction
Every human deserves an equal chance and access to flourish and survive in this life. Gender inequality has been occurring in communities around the world and in most cases, it starts from childhood. This robs young ones of their childhoods and limits their opportunities. As a result, many nations are in a move to cause a change in order to achieve gender equality. Gender discrimination refers to any form of unequal conduct in accordance with gender when it comes to priority and privileges. This causes one sex to be regularly advantaged over the other especially for girls around the world. In the contemporary world, gender inequality is considered to be a violation of the law and is forbidden in almost every human rights treaty around the world. There are now many international laws advocating for equal rights and privileges among males and females to realize the rights of women.
There are several causes for unequal gender customs concerning access to opportunities resources, causing lasting effects in schools, homes, and the society at large. There is unequal access to education where there is less access to schooling in women and this causes a great impact on their future and the opportunities they get (Wang 54). There is uneven employment whereby females get the same work rights as males in less than ten nations around the world with most economies giving ladies only a fraction of what men enjoy. Gender inequality is also seen when it comes to job segregation due to an inner belief in many societies that men are more equipped for certain jobs especially those with better pay. This causes women to have low incomes with some taking responsibilities for free labor and participating in extra work with no financial benefits.
A large number of women across nations have no legal protections against violence at homes in regards to sexuality and economy yet they need it for freedom and thriving. There are also no laws protecting them in schools, in the public, and workplace making these places to be unsafe for them since they are prone to limit their goals. There is poor access to quality medical care in females than in males and this is connected to inequality reasons that make most of them poor thus unable to afford better healthcare. There is also discrimination by doctors with less research on the sicknesses that affect them. Women have also been seen to suffer more when religious freedom is confronted since most of them are restricted to participate in economic activities yet they are great contributors to a stable economy. There is unequal access to political representation with less than 30% of women filling seats in most parliaments hence neglecting important equality issues that female politicians could have brought up for the betterment of the society.
Gender Inequality in The Arab World
Gender inequality is more prevalent in Arab countries with many achievements favoring only men. Males have been seen to use their power to limit the ability of women to make their own decisions. According to statistics, the Arab world has the lowest percentage of women participating in economic development in the entire world (Yassine-Hamdan and John 27). This disparity in the labor force has remained dominant over the years even when the level of education of females was increased. The male-controlled norms in this world restrict women to engage in productive and paid work since women are considered to be homemakers with men being breadwinners. In this society, women are given only certain professions that relate to reproductive roles in case they decide to work outside their homes. These stereotypes have increased the unequal burden of care roles imposed on females thus limiting their ability to acquire paid jobs. Countries like Syria and Iraq have limited women’s access to jobs, security issues are increased and opportunities are reduced yet women are still primary earners who have no skills and experience (McCool-Myers 10).
In Arab countries, refugee women are isolated due to the legal restrictions that do not allow them to work and earn income. Women in these nations face different issues ranging from demographics, technology, and climate change with many discriminations such as restrictive labor laws, unequal wages, and the absence of social protection. It is the mindset of the society that has led to prevalent gender stereotyping in the Arab society as the abilities of women are hindered due to a lack of employment opportunities. There is however a younger generation of women that have risen to find against these restrictions and to change the perception of the society to women for females to participate in any area of the society. There are many arguments that favor empowering women to lift themselves and the society at large by enhancing economic growth. Allowing women to engage in the workforce strengthens productivity, reduces unemployment, and accelerates growth and development.
In the Arab world, women are marginalized, isolated, and are considered second-class citizens. The norm in this society is that males are the ones to dominate and show authority thus many regulations are imposed on women. This is seen in all Muslim women since the restrictions are imposed by the Islam religion in the name of protecting the image of women. This has caused women in the Arab states to be stopped from going out in public alone with a significant gap depicted in the labor force. Women in these nations participate more in unpaid work since they are considered to take part in family duties that do not have compensation for the efforts made. In the Arab society, their culture is such that women have influence in the family unit and are responsible for marriage arrangement, children’s education, and family costs while men are expected to offer financial support.
Reasons For Gender Inequality
The Islam culture is the main reason for gender inequalities in the Arab world. The culture requires that women engage in household activities as men dominate the economic world. The culture is male-dominated and requires women to submit to authority practiced by men. This has caused a gender gap in employment with women either being restricted from paid work or just engaging in service occupations that do not bring much to the table. This has caused Arab women to experience a wage gap since they are denied high-income jobs with a low part in managerial positions. The majority of the occupations in this society are dominated by men with a huge bias on the monthly wage of males when compared to females.
The Islam religion is not only considered as a belief system in the Arab world but also as a way of life that guides all aspects of life thus contributing to gender issues (Yassine-Hamdan and John 33). According to history and former times, this society has been strictly observing male supremacy as its norm thus contributing to the abuse of women’s rights in the current world.
Social limitations and legal rights have also been reasons behind gender inequality. Social, political, and economic issues have also been contributing to gender inequality in the Arab world although most of them are misinterpreted as religion. There is an increase in socioeconomic gaps that lead to division in social classes and a lack of a democratic system to uphold gender equality. this has caused women to suffer since they are the vulnerable group in society. Women’s rights have been debated in the legal systems of these nations with lots of questionings on which opportunities to grant to females thus increasing inequality problems in the society. As a result, aspects of legal discrimination with respect to gender are seen when it comes to education, rights to marriage, employment opportunities, education, and political rights. There is a high level of literacy in men than in women due to cultural reasons that cause female segregation and early marriages.
Sociocultural factors have resulted in employment disparities since women are required to play dual roles. Those married with children find it to be promoted in the workplace since they have not undergone the training required to acquire skills needed due to time constraints brought by family responsibilities. In as much as there are no legal barriers for promotion, the dictates of culture bring these restrictions. Cultural constraints have reduced the level of political participation by Arab women. In the Arab world, counties like Qatar are yet to grant their women the right to participate in politics and there are no women in power since cultural constraints are active.
The marriage institution in Arab countries favors men and does not allow females to violate any Islamic instructions yet men can get away in case of any violations. The divorce procedures in the Arab world are abusive and discriminate against women with women’s rights being violated during the process (McCool-Myers 7). There is an organized law of personal status that subjects women to lengthy trials when they go to courts thus causing women to suffer discriminatory practices from those complications. In countries like Yemen, women are not allowed to access the legal system due to the common belief from their ancient customs that females should solve their issues away from courts while relying on mediation and custom. Cases of inequality usually arise in countries having the law of personal status since men can manipulate gaps in the system in their favor.
Gender Inequality in The Western World
Gender inequality varies from country to country and amongst cultures. This issue in the western world is associated with the development taking place rather than gender roles and patriarchal values as seen in the Arab world. The economy and education are among the driving factors for gender inequality in the west. This issue is unique in the west due to its location and is connected to development and many other factors. The western world is made up of developed countries thus their women are educated and contribute to economic development. Although in these counties women are said to have equal rights as men, this is not so in practice. There are usually salary differences in that males are paid more in every kind of professional job thus causing gender inequality to be a social issue (Wang 62). Males are considered to be everything in society who are more valued and desired in real life.
Similarities
There are instances of gender inequality in both the Arab and western world with women being marginalized. Just like in the Arab countries, males still dominate the society in the west. Social issues are similar in both cultures in that they view men as ones who are more valuable and supreme than women. There is unequal access to opportunities in these cultures with men being more prioritized as women fall victim especially when it comes to political positions and earning income. Women in these cultures are seen as second-class citizens who are not supposed to earn more compared to men no matter the positions they occupy in jobs (Abduljaber172). Both the west and the Arab world have recognized the need for gender equality thus they are striving towards ensuring that their women are given equal access to opportunities.
Differences
The number of gender inequality in the Asian world is high with a worse index compared to that in the west countries. Arab countries have cultural barriers that result in gender discrimination unlike in the west where this does not exist or is minimal. The Arab states, therefore, need to be culturally sensitive to solve this issue among the people and help stop violence against women. This means that the approach of solving gender inequality is different for the Arab and Western cultures. In the Arab world, gender discrimination arises from patriarchal values and gender roles since their society are male-dominated and require women to only perform household tasks. The western world, however, discriminates against women in regards to the development of the countries in terms of economic growth among others.
There is equal access to privileges like education, health, employment, and economic development in the western world. This is so since their women are highly educated, gain access to better healthcare since they have the money, they are allowed to acquire paid jobs which enables them to have higher incomes. Western women thus use their skills to contribute to economic development as they are not restricted by their culture to only perform family tasks (Al-Ghanim and Abdallah 175). In the Arab world, however, women do not have equal access to opportunities as men. Most of them are not educated, do not have paid jobs, and lack the necessary skills to enable them to acquire high-paying jobs. They, therefore, have low incomes and are required to remain at home to perform household tasks thus they cannot contribute to economic development in their respective nations. Lack of this contribution is among the reasons why the economies in these nations are not doing well since females are great contributors to economic development.
The focus of the two cultures when handling gender inequality is different since the western world focuses on whether gender equality can be achieved while the Arab world focuses on protecting their women. Females are allowed to present their issues in law courts in the west unlike in the Arab states where they need to use customs and mediation (Salinas and Claudia 731). There is a high rate of females engaging in politics and occupying political positions with the electoral system supporting women representation in the west than in the Arab where they are restricted. Unlike in the Arab countries, no religion is available in the west to guide how different genders should conduct themselves in society. Legal options are not available to guide how women should be treated in the Arab world since they judge based on cultural actions yet this is not the case in the western culture.
Underlying Principles
Gender equality is important for any society and it denotes the absence of any bias with regard to sex. There are several principles that help ensure that any nation and society including the Arab and western world achieve gender equality. This helps ensure that there are equal privileges, values, recognition, rights, opportunities, and respect for both males and females. These underlying principles thus help stop the marginalization of women in society and advocate for gender equality.
The first principle is treating equality as a right since this helps in achieving all forms of discrimination in society. Addressing root causes is another code that is needed to end discrimination since any social norms resulting in inequalities are dealt with while developing policies that promote equality. Equal access to services helps in ensuring that services are used by both genders, both take part in planning and designing with no group suffering from the services offered. This also helps in providing barrier-free services in offices to the benefit of all and according to their needs (Abduljaber 163). Equal involvement in decision-making is another foundational principle that helps in ensuring equality. This is done by having binding targets in a society requiring a balanced gender ratio during decision-making at any level and putting measures that advocate for this at all levels. This helps in eliminating bias during appointments with barrier-free workplaces.
There is the principle of equal treatment that has to be incorporated in steering processes of a nation to help achieve equality. This involves paying attention to situations affecting males and females and equal consideration when setting targets and during the evaluation of results. Women empowerment is a principle that nations across the world need to follow to end all forms of bias against females and eliminate harmful practices like forced marriage to women (Al-Ghanim and Abdallah 170). This helps in ensuring that women gain access to quality education to enable them higher-paying jobs and help ensure shares responsibilities at homes.
Conclusion
Gender equality is an issue that needs to be advocated and prioritized by everyone. It helps in saving lives and helps businesses to grow since equal access to education enables women to acquire jobs and leadership positions in which they perform better for the good of the business. Women contribute to the growth of the economy when they are given a chance to participate in it and poverty is reduced among women since they receive better education, job opportunities, and medical care. From the above, it is seen that Islam is not the only reason for gender inequality in the Arab world. Inequality can be caused by other things like laws and it varies from country to country. Nations all over the world are now advocating for equality since it plays an important role in development. Gender equality allows all people to fully participate in their society and is an essential key for ending extreme poverty and stimulating economic growth in nations.
Works Cited
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Al-Ghanim, Kaltham A., and Abdallah M. Badahdah. “Gender roles in the Arab world: development and psychometric properties of the Arab adolescents gender roles attitude scale.” Sex roles 77.3 (2017): 169-177.
McCool-Myers, Megan, et al. “Predictors of female sexual dysfunction: a systematic review and qualitative analysis through gender inequality paradigms.” BMC women’s health 18.1 (2018): 1-15.
Salinas, Patricia C., and Claudia Bagni. “Gender equality from a European perspective: Myth and reality.” Neuron 96.4 (2017): 721-729.
Wang, Yue. “Reducing Gender Inequality: What Does It Mean for Japanese Corporations?” Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Equality in Japan. Springer, Cham, 2021. 53-66.
Yassine-Hamdan, Nahla, and John Strate. “Gender Inequality in the Arab World: A Comparative Perspective.” Contemporary Arab Affairs 13.3 (2020): 25-50.