Haley Beglau 11/20/12 The status of Egyptian women, as shown in the maps from The Atlas of Women in the

World Women, is frequently lower then many industrialized countries because of influences like, religion, government, and culture. Egyptian women face a multitude of social differences as shown in the four maps: Farming, Literacy, Murder and Abortion. These present day feminist issues can be seen within Egyptian society, for instance women are the majority of agricultural workers, have a high percentage of illiteracy, have a exceedingly high number of honor killings, and are not allowed to have a legal abortion. Women in Egypt are subject to many injustices because of their female status within society, while there are many feminist grassroots organizations trying to solve the above issues; there is still much work to be done.

Farming and food production is mainly the work of 53% of the women living in Egypt (Seager, J., 2009). There are more Egyptian women farming than men because it is not associated with high social status, (Mehenna & Saunders , 1986). Women of color and poor and working-class women have been urged by the womens movement to join in sisterhood with white women to struggle against sexism (Lexicon of the Debates, n.d.). The statement above encourages women to work towards abolishing sexism in the labor force and demand equality for both genders. It is a common ideology that women have a lower status then men in Egyptian culture (Abdel Wahab Al-Afifi, N., & Abdel Hadi, A., 1996). This belief stems from many religious principles within the prominent faith of Islam. For example, a Muslim woman in Egypt is denied access to (Women, 2012), the formal religious structure in which men operate. (Smith, 2002). This

patriarchal viewpoint within Islam is the basis for many Egyptian laws, cultural practices, and feminine disadvantages within this society. Therefore farming is a fundamental part of womens role within this society because it enables the production of economic prosperity, while continuously suppressing gender equality (Women and Globalization, 2012). In comparison to the United States the sexual division of labor greatly differs, with fewer than 10% of American women working on agricultural farmers, in comparison to the 53% of women farming in Egypt (Seager, J., 2009). This difference can be seen on pages 68-69 (Seager, J., 2009), where most of the agricultural women are more prevalent in developing countries than in industrialized countries. The difference in the quantity of women farming in each country is due to each nations historical value placed on the advancement of women, such as, education, womens liberation movements, and human rights (Al-Ali, N., 2000). These progressions started earlier in the United States and were somewhat fulfilled more recently when in contrast to an Egyptian womans status. Due to these earlier improvements in gender equality, American women have been able to maintain high paying jobs and easy access to contraception (A More Secure Future, 2012), therefore many American women have the opportunity to not work on a farm and the choice to be employed where they desire. This new knowledge surrounding agricultural work has shown me that many American women are privileged when it comes to choosing a job. Which makes me believe that many American women have a better advantage to move upwards in their rank or pay scale, as opposed to Egyptian women. These privileges, like many others, are not given to Egyptian women;

for example, women are not allowed an equal opportunity to an education, which is another factor within the plight of womens rights.

Between 26%-50% of Egyptian women are illiterate. This is due to the lack of education, poverty and entrenched gender discrimination (Seager, 2009) for many young girls. There has been an inadequate amount of education for Egyptian girls because many impoverished communities have the perception that the child can be a financial burden upon the family, so they choose to keep their children out of school (Inspiring communities to break the chain of 'culture' in Egypt, 2012). Despite free, mandatory education for children ages 6 to 15, parents in poor communities often remove their kids from the education system to help work at home or in the fields (McGrath, 2010). It is more financially reasonable for an underprivileged family to make such a decision because to do otherwise puts little monetary strain on their livelihood, savings and food acquisition. Also, the well-established gender discrimination within this social location causes many reoccurring issues surrounding the education of female rights (Women, 2012). With many deeply rooted philosophies stemming from Islam, this is mainly the cause for the barrier between men and women. In Islam they call their higher power Allah, which means God, this faith believes that Allah is a powerful male figure by affirming that, we worship Him and Him alone (Bunch, 1979). America also has the predominant religion of Christianity that depicts their God as a male as well. This depiction of He insists that males are presumably the dominant gender on earth, just like Allah or God. Faith, in Egypt, has given the male authority over womens roles, class

and actions, which has held back the progression of womens literacy over the past generations. The United States illiteracy level is 10% and under (Seager, 2009). This shows that Americans have been making great strides towards literacy among women, when Egyptians have been struggling with the push towards advancing womens literacy. In comparison with Egypt, the current laws for American education and promotion of literacy are far stricter. For example, in the United States it is illegal to deprive a child of a basic elementary education and can be punishable by law, whereas in Egypt they are less severe about enforcing such laws. This information on the illiteracy of women has shown me that women in Egypt continue to struggle with access to education. Although there have been many literacy promotion movements within Egypt, it is still a large issue for the females within this country. Giving a girl the opportunity to read should be an important part of any society, but there are further distressing issues within Egyptian livelihood that should be discussed in greater detail.

The honor killings of women regularly occur within Egypt (Seager, 2009). Honor killings are a socially constructed solution based upon the assumption that the, rights are further determined by the womans position within the family (Khafagy, 2005). This means that if a womans status within her society is compromised by rape, adultery or any other socially unacceptable behaviors within her culture, then a male family member can punish her by that of death, in order to cleanse the family of her wrong doings. This stems from the idea that power is based on gender differences (Bunch, 1979) because females are the only gender being killed. These practices are so rooted within Egyptian

and Islamic traditions, that it limits the progression towards equality for both genders. The fact that only women are killed for the honor of their family, but men are not, is sexist towards women because they are the only ones being murdered. The Egyptian honor killings and the American murders can be shown as examples of domestic violence. Domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence (Smith, M., & Segal, J., 2012). This type of murder is shown in both countries because people believe that this action will be a reasonable reaction to their personal situation. Although, 47% honor killings in Egypt were because the woman had been raped (Seager, 2009), whereas on average, 23 women a week are killed by intimates (Seager, 2009). This information leads me to believe that women, in each country, were killed due to their actions or because the intimate person in their life chose to harm them based on their perception of what constitutes death. The amount of killings that happen against women distresses me and has shown me that women are usually the victims when it comes to patriarchal violence. Murder and domestic violence can usually be construed as negative; however, there are many differing viewpoints on abortion.

Abortion within Egypt is illegal or severely restricted only to save womans life (Seager, 2009) and the husbands consent needed for abortion (Seager, 2009). The males control over the female body can be construed as a human rights issue because it limits the amount of control a woman has in regards to her body. In reference to human rights, each human should be given the same freedoms as everyone else, but in this case

Egyptian men are in primary control of a womans abortion. The women are rendered helpless in their choices concerning their wellbeing, body and overall future, which is a form of abuse towards women. Egypts strict view on abortion and the United States legal on request but usually with gestational limits (Seager, 2009) stance differ from one another, but are occasionally viewed in a similar political and social sense. The Egyptian government and many of the Egyptian people feel that abortion should be outlawed on a moral basis (The 'most extreme' abortion ban in America: A guide, 2012). We must also look at which institutions are most influential and which are most vulnerable to change, and the relations between then-eg., how the Catholic Church affects hospital and government policies (Bunch, 1979) and how the religious perspective is usually prevalent within each of these scoeieties. Additionally, in 2005, 87% of US counties were not served by an abortion provider (Seager, 2009), which means that many of the American people were not accepting of abortion clinics within their community. This shows me that many of the Egyptian perceptions on abortion are held within the United States. These results did surprise me because I was unaware of so many American countries that lacked an abortion clinic. Furthermore, there are many American people believe that the government should outlaw abortions because of their faith base or moral values.

There would need to be more research on the current changes for the statistics within the United States and Egypt to be completely accurate in the portrayal of this data. The information that would be most helpful in assessing the struggle of women in each of

these countries would be personal accounts from women each country. This would enable one to use examples and stories to better understand each map. The advantages of making generalizations for Egyptian and American societies were that it helped me to make broad statements for each country. The pitfalls of generalizations were that makes a sweeping declaration obtained by only one specific case. Globalization has been affecting each map because the promotion of media throughout the world has caused many countries to become more aware of many world issues. The ways in which people from each country responds to the media can influence an activist group, strike, or shape how people deal with such issues in the maps (Women and Globalizations, 2012). The globalization of media has given many people the opportunity to shape their perspectives and see how the rest of the world is dealing with the same problems.

Fortunately there are many grassroots organizations that have sprung up in reference to these matters such as, World Education Egypt and the Association of Development and Enhancement of Women In Egypt. The World Education Egypt foundation works to, improve womens literacy, community and parental support for education through strengthening and expansion of educational governance (Engage, Educate, Inspire, 2011, 2011). They work towards improving the lives of women and children through medical attention, education and community development. The Association of Development and Enhancement of Women In Egypt is an organization that believes that the status of Female Headed Households, a traditionally neglected and

disempowered segment of Egyptian society, can only be enhanced by empowering these women socially, legally and economically (Egypt, n.d.). This organization provides women with a multitude of life skills though programs and activities to help empower women.

The idea of control over the female gender within Egypt is exhibited through the four maps of: Farming, Literacy, Murder and Abortion. Although, further analysis would need to be done in regards to the religious restriction put on many countries without the separation of church and state. This is because faith plays a huge role in laws, politics and cultural norms. Globalization has also been a huge change factor in Egypts progress towards gender equality because access to public media has made it possible to influence women through the Western perspective on issues such as, lesbian rights, motherhood and feminism (What Egypt Thinks About Globalization, 2009). Egyptian womens rights have made many strides in the progress towards a more equal society, but still have a long way to go.

The world map for The Vote shows the voting status of women around the globe, showing when each countrys government began to let women vote. Countries that allow the government to maintain religious influence over laws and politics seem to deny more women the right to vote, in comparison with countries that have the separation of church and state. There is a theory that we operate consciously or unconsciously out of certain assumptions about what is right or what we value (principles), and out of our

sense of what society ought to be (goals) (Bunch, 1979), which is what many American felt towards their equal right to vote. Although, there are still countries that have limited the womens right to protest or stand up. For example, Saudi Arabia is a predominantly Islamic country and they deny women the right to vote, whereas the United States has religious freedom and women have been allowed to vote from 1920-1944. In Iraq the women have only been allowed to vote since 1980, due to the religious influence over the government (Hilton, R., 2003). The religious influences within a country can influence females rights. I feel that if a countrys government has the separation of church and state then a womans rights tend to be met faster then if there is a heavy influence of religion in the government. When the laws and ordinances of a religious faith are the basis of many functioning governmental laws, then it causes everyone living in that country to abided by those religious morals. This can cause defined gender roles based on many peoples interpretation of their faith, which is mainly outlined in a patriarchal society by male politicians and religious leaders (Lexicon of the Debates, n.d.). I believe that a predominantly male government cannot fully understand a womans rights because they are not women. This leads me to believe that many women have been made to take the back seat on the creation of laws and other regulations, which should be revised.

The non-map geographic chart for The State of Women shows the womens average life expectancy. The worlds average age for a woman is 70 years and a man is 66 years. Although, many developing countries tend to have a lower age expectancy and most industrialized countries have a higher life expectancy. This is most likely due to an

industrialized countrys access to medical advancements, wide variety of diet and higher income, while a developing country usually has very little access to health, diet, or income (Unit 5: Human Population Dynamics, n.d.). Women have different capacities or natures but because they live in different social circumstances (Lexicon of the Debates, n.d.), which can give an advantage or disadvantage to many. For example, women in industrialized countries such as Japan, France and Canada have a high life expectancy of 83 years and over, whereas the developing countries Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho have a low life expectancy of 45 years and under. The access to a developed countries everyday amenities are a key factor to a womans life expectancy. I understand that many developing countries are usually at a disadvantage because they have less access to medical care and a variety within their diet, but it is interesting to see that there is such a substantial difference in the average life expectancy. I found it shocking that Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho have some of the lowest life expectancies, at 45 years in under. I believe that I was under the westernized impression that everyone in the world lived to be 80 or older, without taking into consideration that other women live differently then I do. Learning this information altered the way I perceive information, especially on making assumptions about countries I am not familiar with, instead of just thinking that everyone lives like an American woman.