Assessing Causes for the Poor State of Women’s Rights in Egypt

The Arab Republic of Egypt is among the more culturally progressive countries within the Middle East. Influenced heavily by globalization through its close relationship with the United States, Egypt tends to take a more open stance to many issues; a simple walk down most any street in Cairo reveals the deep intrusion of Western culture into Egyptian society. However, despite Egypt’s alignment with more liberal values than its neighbors, women’s rights abuses are common and Egyptian women’s participation in the economy and politics are minimal. The oppressed position of women in Egypt has a strong cultural basis that is essentially Egyptian in origin, takes expression in economic and political forms which subsequently reinforce the foundational cultural bias, and is justified in some cases through highly localized interpretations of Islam