The history of women’s rights and empowerment in the Middle East is one that is particularly pertinent, as well as presenting a more optimistic future that lies ahead.
In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted women permission to drive, and in 2020, Qatar ceased to require male guardian permission for women wishing to obtain driving licenses. Iran has allowed a limited number of women to attend specific sports matches, although a general ban is still in place; in the country, 50% of university students are female, but its labor market participation rate in 2020 was at 19%.
A new wave of ambitious, courageous, and creative female minds is looking to further push for new opportunities, increased freedom, and a strong, empowered vision of Middle Eastern womanhood.
Enabling Entrepreneurs
The opportunity landscape is not linear. Women and Entrepreneurship in MENA: The Cases of Bahrain, Lebanon, and Tunisia, published in March 2023, states that while worldwide 34% of small and medium enterprises are female-owned, in the MENA region this figure drops to 23%. Educational access also varies throughout the region. Recent female literacy rates range from 77% in Tunisia to 93% in Bahrain.
But thanks to increased funding, government initiatives, and growing global representation, change is afoot: According to McKinsey, the number of women (currently 78 million and counting) in highly productive jobs in the Middle East could more than double by 2030. The World Economic Forum reported that a majority of STEM graduates in the Middle East are women. Increased female participation in the workforce could boost its economy by $2.7 trillion by 2025.
The next wave of female visionaries is certainly gaining momentum as governments and ruling bodies look to enable more educational and professional access. In a Stimson study, The Status of Women’s Rights in the Middle East—a comparative study of economic and socio-political status across Qatar, Oman, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia—it was revealed that more than 70% of university graduates in the Emirati region are women, and 50% of the Federal National Council are female seats. The UAE’s 20 for 2020 initiative is aiming to increase female presence in the engineering sector. Organizations like Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council and Dubai Women Establishment are further pushing their presence and influence.
Last year, women’s participation in the UAE private sector saw a 23.1% increase. The region has also seen the highest level of gender parity in the Arab world. On March 4, 2024, the Ministry of Economy UAE and the European Women Association (EWA) launched the Investment Readiness Acceleration initiative to empower female-led start-ups in the UAE. The region also committed an additional $15 million to UN Women in June 2023 to advance gender equality worldwide.
Saudi Vision 2030, a government program launched by KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) is looking to boost the cultural, social, and economic diversity of the region and create one million jobs for women in the region. According to WealthBriefing, one in three new businesses is founded by women.
The Oman’s Vision 2040 plan helped literacy rates surge to 91% and 50% enrollment, with 46% of women in the workforce. Aisha al-Kharusi notably became the CEO of Oman Investment Authority in 2016. HH Sayyida Basma Al Said, founder of Whispers of Serenity Clinic, continues to campaign for mental health and women’s rights.
In Qatar, individuals such as Hessa Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, as well as Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, leader of the Qatar Foundation, and Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser Al Thani, founder of the Qatar Ladies Investment Company, are increasing female presence in typically male-dominated fields.
The GEM 2022/23 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report: Challenging Bias and Stereotypes found that the Middle East was one of the global leaders when it came to business growth desire, with one in three women expressing entrepreneurial intentions. Beauty entrepreneurs like Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty, Mona Kattan of Kayali, Hind Sebti of whind, Mouna Abbassy of Izil Beauty, Salama Mohamed of Peacefull, Sara Al-Rashed of Asteri Beauty, and Doaa Gawish of The Hair Addict are proving that success is possible. On a collective front, the UN Women’s Oasis program was set up to enable women in Jordan and Syria to participate in the labor market, emerge as leaders, and confront social violence through aspects like education and community building. Since 2012, 22 centers have been built.
Redefining Feminism
A discussion of women’s rights isn’t possible without including the f-word: feminism. But before unpacking its nuances, one has to understand that there is no one universal standard. “We have to steer away from the whole notion of imposing some kind of preprepared, prepackaged form of Western feminism. Rather, we have to create our own homemade feminist recipe,” comments Dr. Sahar Khamis, co-editor of Arab Women’s Activism and Socio-Political Transformation: Unfinished Gendered Revolutions. “We should try to always create our own homemade recipes of multiple feminisms, which should be contextualized within our own cultural, social, political, and socio-economic realities, which, of course, are different—not just between the West and the East or the Western world and the Arab world—but even within, and across, different Arab countries.
Aside from not trying to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to feminism, perhaps other facets of the conversation could also be reframed. Speaking on the hijab, perhaps one of the most significant visual signifiers in discussion worldwide, Khamis comments, “People might think, ‘Oh my god, the veil is restrictive and it's very suppressive.’ Well, guess what? It can be very liberating, when it is your personal choice, and it can even be a symbol of resistance, when you fight for it. In other words, it could never be seen in black and white terms.” She also sees the Arab Spring of 2010 as a pivotal moment when feminism took a more grassroots form.
The voices of grassroots feminism are certainly growing louder and harder to ignore. Amid the #MeToo moment, 22-year-old Cairo resident Nadeen Ashraf created an Instagram account @assaultpolice, which now has 303,000 followers. Online female-led media platform Khateera, founded by Amanda Abou Abdallah and based in Beirut, has a name derived from the feminine form of “dangerous” in Arabic. Content includes discussions around societal issues, patriarchy, and feminism, delivered with a satirical style and lighthearted tone. It currently has 178,000 subscribers on YouTube and 231,000 followers on Instagram, and the first season of its program garnered over 26 million views across various platforms.
In the creative realms, women from the MENA region are also making waves. Work by feminist artists from the region such as Manal Al Dowayan and Sophia Al-Maria has gained international acclaim. In 2017, the music video for pop song “Hwages” (Arab for “Concerns”) went viral, garnering over 49 million views to date. Its protagonists are skateboarding Saudi women dressed in niqabs challenging cultural norms in the Middle East through their lyrics. AZEEMA magazine, an online and print publication, as well as creative agency, while based in the UK, is “exploring the strength and creativity of women and nonbinary folk of the Global Majority.” Founded by photographer and Creative Director Jameela Elfaki, its content highlights fashion, art, and cultural leaders from the MENASA regions. A children’s book, Brave and Bold, highlighting 12 feminists from the MENA region from the 19th century onwards to present-day, was published in 2023.
New Approaches, New Opportunities
The investment in female-led businesses and increasing support for social and humanitarian issues is illuminating a contemporary wave that will not only have personal impact, but also contribute to a more equal and prosperous society. There are undoubtedly still huge improvements to be made in more conservative regions, but with increased awareness through social media, these issues will hopefully become too loud to ignore. Other countries that are already investing in female entrepreneurs are showing that these minds are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with—for 2024 and beyond.
