Family, Gender, and Population Policy: Views from the Middle East

This paper explores the relevance of international debates to the realities of the Middle East, an important but understudied region that has often been subject to stereotyping. The region’s wealth of traditions and diverse contemporary experience offer insights to those who venture beyond the surface appearance. This paper provides a broad introduction to the connections between family, gender, and population policy in the Middle East. It is based on studies by a diverse group of Middle East scholars and the discussions they generated in Cairo at an international symposium sponsored by the Population Council in February 1994. The paper was written prior to the historic UN International Conference on Population and Development in Egypt, in the hope both of increasing understanding of an important region of the world and refining our grasp of international issues