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Ambassador Dennis Ross discusses U.S. foreign policy in the Arab world with Anchor, Daljit Dhaliwal
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or read the transcript.
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In recent years, the government of Morocco, led by the young Western-educated King Mohammed VI, has unleashed what some regard as the most sweeping peaceful political and social reforms of this decade in the Arab world. Moroccan women, in particular, have achieved some important victories, playing an increasingly active role in politics, and successfully lobbying for a new family law which now grants them equal rights in marriage, divorce and the ownership of property. But Morocco, like countless Muslim nations across the globe, is teetering in a delicate balance between a reformist spirit and a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism. What are the possible outcomes of the increased participation of women in Moroccan society?
Read this week's briefing to find out how overall living standards improve as women are provided more access to education and mobility in politics and the professional world.
The Payoff from Women's Rights
Isobel Coleman
Reprinted by permission of FOREIGN AFFAIRS, (May/June 2004). ©2004 by the Council on Foreign Relations, Inc.
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Over the past decade, significant research has demonstrated what many have known for a long time: women are critical to economic development, active civil society, and good governance, especially in developing countries.
Much like human rights a generation ago, women's rights were long considered too controversial for mainstream foreign policy... Now, however, they [international development agencies] increasingly see women's empowerment as critical to their mandate. The Asian Development Bank is promoting gender-sensitive judicial and police reforms in Pakistan, for example, and the World Bank supports training for female political candidates in Morocco.
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Timeline of some prominent women in the Muslim world.
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| 610 |
Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, becomes the first convert to Islam.
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| 624 |
Fatima Zahra, one of the daughters of the Prophet Mohammad, becomes the wife of the first Shi'a Imam. Many Mulsims regard her as the greatest woman who has ever lived. She is noted as being a devoted daughter, wife, and a sincere Muslim.
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| 632 |
Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, his third wife, Aisha bint Abu Bakar becomes one of four people to transmit the "hadiths," or the words and deeds of Muhammad considered by many Muslims to be important tools for discerning the Qur'an.
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| 717 |
Marks the birth of Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya who is considered to be one of the first to practice the mystic tradition of Islam known as Sufism, and acknowledged as the most prominent Sufi poets of her time.
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| 1067 |
Arwa al-Sulayhi comes to power and rules for over 40 years in Yemen. She is known for her contributions to education, the expansion of religion, and agriculture.
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Women's status has advanced in many countries: gender gaps in infant mortality rates, calorie consumption, school enrollment, literacy levels, access to health care, and political participation have narrowed steadily. And those changes have benefited society at large, improving living standards, increasing social entrepreneurship, and attracting foreign direct investment.
Yet significant gender disparities continue to exist, and in some cases, to grow, in three regions: southern Asia, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa... Deep tensions are evident in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, for example, and to a lesser extent in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Gender disparities hit women and girls the hardest, but ultimately all of society pays a price for them. Achieving gender equality is now deemed so critical to reducing poverty and improving governance that it has become a development objective in its own right. The 2000 UN Millennium Development Goals, the international community's action plan to attack global poverty, lists gender equality as one of its eight targets and considers women's empowerment essential to achieving all of them.
Although there is no easy formula for reducing poverty, many argue that educating girls boosts development the most. Lawrence Summers, when he was chief economist at the World Bank, concluded that girls' education may be the investment that yields the highest returns in the developing world. Educated women have fewer children; provide better nutrition, health, and education to their families; experience significantly lower child mortality; and generate more income than women with little or no schooling. Investing to educate them thus creates a virtuous cycle for their community.
Educating women, especially young girls, yields higher returns than educating men... Better-educated women bear fewer children than lesser-educated women because they marry later and have fewer years of childbearing... Studies show that in India, educating girls helps lower birth rates even more effectively than family planning initiatives.
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Inside This Episode
Learn about Middle Eastern and North African Family Law in the Interactive Map.
Explore the roles of women in other major world religions in the Photo Essay.
Go behind the scenes with the creators of "Class of 2006" in the Filmmaker Notes.
Women training to be Morocco's first official female religious leaders at the Religious Scholars Council in Rabat, Morocco.
Credit: Charlotte Mangin
Explore basic beliefs and practices of Islam and examine the different views of women's modesty and hijab among Muslims in modern society.
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