Gulf News, Friday, October 10, 2008
Dr Afaf Al Haimi presented a paper at a symposium in Sana'a, Yemen, this week. The paper focused on the role of tribes in Yemen, Jordan and Iraq. The subtitle of an article about his paper in the Gulf News [p. 23] reads - education failing young girls, study says.
The article opens with this paragraph: "Women are not allowed to live their lives like men in Yemen because the social traditions still look at women as minors who need help and support however matured and educated they are...".
Amongst the alarming findings of Dr Al Haimi, the following need to be mentioned:
- illiteracy rates among women in the rural areas reaches 75.7%
- illiteracy rates among women in the urban areas reaches 40.5%
- 90,464 women are employed by the Yemeni Government, whereas 440,061 men are employed
The Gulf News article concludes: "The researcher also critisised the educational curriculum in Yemen, saying it discriminates against women and focuses only on male power". It seems crucial to point out, once more, that it is often a set of socio-cultural values and perspectives that is responsible for the status of women in a predominantly Islamic society, and not inherent religious values and perspectives.
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