Women's rights in the Middle East are considered a phenomenon because they noticeably vary from country to country. Women have specified responsibilities within their family life and subsequently are treated differently in the workforce than men. Some countries govern mostly on religion, which in turn regulates women and their rights. Other countries that do not govern based off of religious law still leave certain issues to be determined by religious law. It is not uncommon for family members to punish their own family if anyone breaks these religious laws (Rivera 5). Women are expected to hold vital roles inside their families but then are denied a multitude of rights because of their job in society. .
Middle Eastern women are generally responsible for household work such as cooking, cleaning, doing household chores, and taking care of children while men are in the public sphere working and living freely. Thus exemplifying that a male dominant household bestows the power in politics and religion to men so not only can they financially support their families, but also protect the women from danger therefore they can perform household duties (Rivera 6). Marriage is also viewed as crucial to the social structure in the Middle East. .
Women's rights are oppressed even more from the sanction of marriage. Some countries do not allow women to interact with other men outside of their families. Families will arrange marriages for their children in the Middle East, giving women absolutely no choice in who they are going to marry. Conversely, a select number of countries will allow women to make their own choices in seeking out a suitable mate but they can only consider marriage with parental approval. Even with this moderate privilege for women, the fact still remains that women have limited rights in who they are to spend the rest of their lives with (Rivera 6).
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Moreover, women are further being controlled by not being allowed to drive in numerous cases.
