In this tradition-bound nation scarred by a brutal Islamist-led civil war that killed more than 100,000, a quiet revolution is under way: women are emerging as an economic and political force unheard of in the rest of the Arab world.

Women make up 70 percent of Algeria’s lawyers and 60 percent of its judges. Women dominate medicine. Increasingly, women contribute more to household income than men. Sixty percent of university students are women, university researchers say.

In a region where women have a decidedly low public profile, Algerian women are visible everywhere. They are starting to drive buses and taxicabs. They pump gas and wait on tables.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/world/af...amp;_r=1&hp

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting. Both Hachemi's younger sisters have College degrees. One in computer science and the other in Banking and Finance. Both have jobs in their field.

Meriem

It will be interesting to see how ti eventually plays into social politics.

In Jordan, many women hold degrees and work... but unless they do something "important" like being a doctor or a nurse, they seem to drop it after a while. Eventually, they just get too laden with social responsibilities. But this is not always so in the larger cities in Jordan, where likely income is much more of a concern from a variety of standpoints. I thought it was interesting that the majority of Anthropology students there (as here) were female, although the faculty was entirely male, save one woman in the Archaeology department.

What strikes me is that their strides have taken them *beyond* equality... to actually superceding men and having more advanced degrees and jobs. We certainly don't see that in the US yet, nor do I expect we will. I wonder what is different there to make this happen.

Could it basically be a feeling of desperation? Sort of like well, if I cannot depend on a man to make it in this life, maybe I should just do it myself? I wonder how much of that is going on. The article made it sound like the men were more or less staying with low-paying, low-education jobs and it just doesn't seem feasible economically to attach yourself to a man like that unless you have your own income/abilities.

Saha kerwin for posting that article. It is true...many women in the Maghreb are more educated then in other Muslim countries...women are going against the idea that educatio/careers for women are taboo.