Men’s views of equality between the sexes are woefully out of sync with the hopes of young women, according to a survey across the Middle East and north Africa.
Male attitudes towards the role of women in the workplace and at home, and of their participation in public life, were stereotypically sexist in the study of views in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine.
Nearly 10,000 people, aged between 18 and 59, were questioned with a majority of the men supporting a range of traditional and inequitable attitudes toward women, including a belief that they are not fit to be leaders, should not work outside the home, and that it is more important to educate boys than girls.
The younger women surveyed showed a consistent desire for greater gender equality, according to the research undertaken by the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (Images), an advocacy project that has been carrying out extensive household surveys of attitudes to gender issues around the world. [The Guardian] Read more
Only one in four Middle East men backs equality, study suggests
Only one in four men in the Arab world supports equality for women in some areas, and most still believe a woman’s primary role is at home, a survey suggests.
Interviews in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and the Palestinian territories also found that younger men mostly appeared to be as conservative as their fathers.
But men in the region are said to face “tremendous stress” to be providers.
This was especially true in places affected by conflict, the report says.
The survey of 10,000 people co-ordinated by Promundo and UN Women found that between 20-50% of men across the four locations were ashamed to face their families due to a lack of work or money.
“There is the perception about the Arab region that the patriarchy clearly dominates and that it is fantastic for men,” Shereen El Feki, who led the study, told the BBC.
But “the patriarchy works for the very small minority who are on the top of that pyramid,” she added. [BBC] Read more
Survey finds deeply regressive views of women among large majorities of Muslim men
…. The report, produced by International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) found that “The majority of Egyptian men consider it their duty to protect the honour of women and girls in their family, and nearly three-fifths agree with honour killing in some circumstances. More than 90 per cent of men saw male honour as directly contingent on their female relatives’ dress and behaviour”.
Just 45% of Egyptian men believed there should be laws “criminalizing domestic violence, including marital rape.” And only 70% of Egyptian women agreed with this statement.
43% of Egyptian Muslim men said they would approve of their son having multiple wives, though just 9.5% said they would approve of their daughter marrying a man who already had other wives.
Only 6.6% of unmarried men said they “have no problem with marrying someone of a different religion”, and a tiny 2.3% of unmarried Egyptian women said the same.
Just 39% of Egyptian men approved of women serving as leaders of political parties, though 93% said they should be able to vote.
60% of Moroccan men said “if a woman is raped, she should marry her rapist.”
62% of Moroccan men said “a woman should tolerate violence to keep the family together”, and 38% agreed “there are times when a woman deserves to be beaten”. Shockingly, 20% of Moroccan women agreed with this.
The report collected anecdotes and accounts from men and women across the four countries surveyed, including many accounts of domestic violence. [National Secular Society] Read more
Islam Surveyed 