Diversity of Rationales for Gender Inequality in the Middle East

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Class Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 10) Markets and Inequalities: Gender, Livelihoods, and Social Justice

Abstract

Comparative panel data from Egypt and Tunisia (2011–2020) reveal that although liberalization in the region has advanced more strongly in secular political attitudes, change in gender norms has been slower and more uneven. In-depth interviews with respondents who participated in all three survey waves show that support for male dominance persists, but it is framed and negotiated differently across four key domains: politics, polygamy, employment, and family. In politics, many participants maintained that men are better suited for leadership, frequently citing women’s presumed emotional instability; however, this view was increasingly contested—particularly by women—who pointed to successful female leaders and personal experiences as counterexamples, signaling a gradual normalization of women’s political participation. Regarding polygamy, support was commonly justified through references to men’s greater sexual needs and religious permissibility, with limited acknowledgment of the emotional consequences for women; yet economic pressures, shifting social values, and the importance of emotional companionship led many respondents to reject or conditionally accept the practice. In employment, the dominant narrative prioritized men in hiring based on their perceived responsibility as primary breadwinners, while a counter-discourse emphasized merit, competence, and women’s reliability, challenging automatic male preference in the labor market. Within the family sphere, support for wifely obedience was largely grounded in religious and traditional norms; nonetheless, many respondents qualified this support, asserting that obedience is not required when a husband’s demands are unjust, immoral, or harmful, suggesting that male authority in marriage is conditional rather than absolute. Overall, the findings point to a dynamic process of negotiation rather than simple persistence or decline of patriarchal norms, as traditional gender hierarchies remain influential but are actively reinterpreted in light of economic realities, religious understandings, and personal experiences, producing a complex landscape in which resistance to gender equality coexists with gradual adaptation and renegotiation of gender roles.

Authors

• Mansoor Moaddel, University of Maryland-College Park

• Soufiene Alayet, Elca-Consulting, Tunis, Tunisia