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Azza Karam, discusses global development and the Arab world with Anchor, Bill Moyers.
Watch the video
or read the transcript.
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Can Arab-Israeli widows achieve financial independence and greater social freedom by starting their own pickle factory?
Read this week's briefing (below) and learn about the economic, religious, and cultural factors affecting Arab women in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Arab Women in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
by Orly Halpern
August 2005
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Many modern debates about "women's status in Islam" focus on topics such as polygamy, the veil, and a few verses from the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, that seem to impose female subordination -- to men in general and husbands in particular. In medieval times, such interpretations of the scripture provided women with security by requiring men to support and protect their families. In modern times, that requirement, in exchange for women's obedience, bars their empowerment by establishing a hierarchal relationship between women and men.
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| Middle East and Africa |
Female literacy rates in the Arab world today range from 28% to 73%. Between 1970 and 1990, six Arab countries ranked among the world's top twelve countries in increasing their female literacy rates: Saudi Arabia raised its female literacy rate from 2 to 48 %; Jordan from 29 to 70%; Tunisia from 17 to 56%; Libya from 13 to 50%; Algeria from 11 to 71%; Iraq from 18 to 49%, and Syria from 20 to 51%...
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| Europe |
In England, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are the poorest groups in the country. Only two in ten of these women are active in the job market, compared with seven in ten black Caribbean and white women...
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| North America |
In the United States, Arab-American women share characteristics commonly associated with women who leave the home to find employment. Despite these qualities, however, Arab-American women's employment rates rank among the lowest of any ethnic group....
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Patriarchal values and social customs have influenced the development of traditions in all major religions of the world. Since Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, the tribal Arab society influenced the interpretations and implementation of Islamic law (Shari'a). While Islam granted women the right to inherit property, to choose a husband, and to divorce -- rights that had not existed for women in the Arab tribal culture before Islam -- some of their rights were still unequal to those of Muslim men.
The 1.2 million Arab citizens of Israel, all heir to the values of Arab society, include both Muslims and Christians. In Islam, as it is practiced in the Middle East today, "You cannot differentiate what discriminatory customs come from the religion and what come from the Arab traditions," said Aida Touma, an Arab citizen of Israel, a Christian-born atheist, and the General
Director of Women Against Violence (WAV), an organization that advocates for the rights of Palestinian women citizens of Israel. WAV also provides leadership training and legal counsel and runs a battered women's shelter.
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Inside This Episode
Learn more about the lives of Muslim women in the Interactive Map.
Explore women-run cooperatives around the world in the Photo Essay.
Go behind the scenes with director Dalit Kimor in the Filmmaker Notes.
Several of the founders of the Azka Pickle Cooperative in the small Galilean town of Tamra, Israel
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Explore some of the challenges faced by Arab-Israeli women. Learn more about women's cooperatives around the world and conduct an experiential project to raise money to support a cooperative. Students develop ideas for small business ventures and write business plans. Explore these ideas!
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