“It is vital that MENA countries more urgently recognize that the status of women is the key determinant to the development of their societies. This report provides important data to encourage reform in women’s rights.” 

The 2005 edition of the Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa is available online in both English and Arabic. The 2009 edition is currently in progress and will be published in its entirety in late autumn of 2009. However, the first installment of the 2009 edition will be available in February, covering the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates).

Freedom House’s innovative publication, Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, analyzes the status of women in the region through the prism of international standards embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The 2005 edition found that despite some evidence of progress toward equality in a number of countries, there was a pervasive gender-based gap in rights and freedoms in every facet of society: the law, criminal justice system, economy, education, health care, and the media.

Go HERE for full article and access to the report