Globalization & Women’s Rights in the Middle East Research Outline

Opening paragraph: Women’s rights in the Middle East involve ONE Increased Economic Capability; TWO The Secularization of Society; and THREE The Diminishing of Traditional Gender Roles.

II. ONE: Increased Economic Capability: Having more freedom economically is an important socio-economic factor in global markets. 

1.   More women being educated

2.   Women dominate the workforce

III. TWO: The Secularization of Society: A patriarchal society that adheres to traditional gender roles has limited the perceived progress of women in middle eastern countries, but globalization has caused changes in the Muslim world.

1.   Islam is the dominant faith

2.   Muslim countries traditionally extremely patriarchal

3.   Collectivist nature 

4.   American influence

5.   Globalism positively affected the region’s economy

6.   Technological advances

7.   Critique of culture

IV. THREE: The Diminishing of Traditional Gender Roles: Greatly impacted by globalization.

1. Severe rules for women

2. Regulated by Sharia law

3.   Considered legally inferior in some areas

4.   Lack of women’s rights gains attention

5.   Greater freedoms

6.   The growing influence of women

XI. Closing Paragraph: Globalization facilitated the growth of women’s rights in Muslim countries.

Bibliography

1. Bahramitash, Roksana. “Islamic Fundamentalism and Women's Economic Role: The Case of Iran.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Summer, 2003), pp. 551-568. 

2. Doumato, Eleanor Abdella and Marsha Pripstein Posusney. “Women and Globalization in the Arab Middle East: Gender, Economy, and Society.” Middle East Policy Council, 2003, https://www.mepc.org/women-and-globalization-arab-middle-east-gender-economy-and-society. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.

3. Rodrigo. “Globalization and the Saudi Arabian Culture.” The WritePass Journal, 2015, https://writepass.com/journal/2015/03/globalization-and-the-saudi-arabian-culture/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.

4. Kamguian, Azam. “Islam and the Liberation of Women in the Middle East.” Center for Inquiry, 2018, https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/islam-and-the-liberation-of-women-in-the-middle-east/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2019. 

5. Khan, Mishal. “Globalization and the Politicization of Muslim Women: Consequences for Domestic Violence in the Netherlands and the United States.” Macalester International, vol. 25, no. 9, 2010, https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1478&context=macintl. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.

6. Metcalfe, Beverly Dawn.  “Women, Management and Globalization in the Middle East.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 83, no. 1, pp. 85-100, 2008, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-007-9654-3. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.

7. Ozedemir, Erhan. Globalization and its impact on the Middle East, 2008, https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a493849.pdf. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.

8. Zahidi, Saadia. “Working Muslim Women are a trillion-dollar-market.” World Economic Forum, 2018, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/muslim-women-trillion-dollar-market-saadia-zahidi/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2019.