The first ladies of the Arab world blaze a trail for women's rights


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ma ... iddle-east

Its certainly the case that Arab countries need to give its women a greater level of rights, it can only be beneficial for these societies if one-half of the population is able to unleash its creativity and spirit. Having said that many of our media outlets do 'bang on' about the lack of equal ops in Arab countries - equating this to the oppression of women when in fact many are genuinely quite content with their situations.

completely agree with the latter part of your comment. I have friends from the middle east who are frequently complaining about the jaded opinion that the mainstream has of them of being oppressed, free when they are in the UK studying and battling biased patriachal norms of living with suppress them, when in fact, in reality, their way of life suits them and enables them to negotiate a space of contentment in terms of culture and religion. However, saying that, i guess any attempt to regenerate strength and voice women who dont have the basics of freedom of speech and action can only ever be a good thing.