Word: arabism
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Talk to Arab women and you'll quickly learn that the controversy over the Muslim veil that rages endlessly in Europe is the least of their concerns. They face a daunting array of hardships, from spousal domination at home to gender discrimination in the workplace, and even if they happen to agree that the veil symbolizes their plight, they tend to dismiss criticism of it as a Western attack on their culture...
...Because the topic of women's rights in the Arab world can be as confusing as it is culturally explosive, the report released on Thursday by a panel of distinguished Arab thinkers is a welcome guide to Arabs and outsiders alike. "Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World" is the long-awaited fourth and final installment of the Arab Human Development Report compiled under the auspices of the United Nations Development Fund. The AHDRs, including earlier reports dealing with youth, education and freedom, are the work of scores of Arab intellectuals, scholars, writers, diplomats and development specialists...
...latest report debunks the Arab conspiracy theory that promoting women's rights is part of a Western plot against Islam. On the contrary, the panelists point out, the advancement of women has long been an Arab goal - Egyptian women's rights organizations date back to 1881, for example. "The rise of Arab women," the report argues, "is in fact a prerequisite for an Arab renaissance and causally linked to the fate of the Arab world and its achievement of human development...
...report then goes on to draw a devastating picture of the plight of Arab women - while thoughtfully examining the complex background to the issue, and offering some creative proposals for progress...
...Although Arab girls who attend school outperform the boys, the report notes, they generally have fewer educational opportunities - the Arab countries collectively have one of the highest rates of female illiteracy in the world. Lack of education and gender discrimination combine to keep the percentage of employed Arab women at only one-third, the lowest in the world. These conditions contribute to unhealthy lifestyles, resulting in higher rates of disease and deaths linked to pregnancy and childbirth...