Women's Roles in the Middle East and North Africa (Women's Roles through History)

265 Pages·2010·1.85 MB·English

by  Ruth Margolies Beitler

WOMEN’S ROLES
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
AND NORTH AFRICA
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WOMEN’S ROLES
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
AND NORTH AFRICA
Ruth Margolies Beitler and Angelica R. Martinez
Women’s Roles through History
Copyright 2010 by Ruth Margolies Beitler and Angelica R. Martinez
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except
for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beitler, Ruth Margolies, 1966–
Women’s roles in the Middle East and North Africa / Ruth Margolies
Beitler and Angelica R. Martinez.
p. cm. — (Women’s roles through history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-313-36240-8 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-36241-5 (ebook)
1. Women—Middle East. 2. Women—Africa, North. I. Martinez, Angelica R.
II. Title.
HQ1726.5.B45 2010
305.40956—dc22 2010002232
ISBN: 978-0-313-36240-8
EISBN: 978-0-313-36241-5
14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
Th is book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook.
Visit www.abc-clio.com for details.
Greenwood
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
ABC-CLIO, LLC
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my parents, Wil and Florence Margolies,
for their constant and unwavering support
and to my three best buddies, Alan,
Eliyana, and Hannah. RMB
To my husband and best friend, Timothy,
and to my loving and supportive family,
Robert, Debbie, Patrocinio,
and Mathilda. ARM
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Contents
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
Introduction xv
Chronology xxxi
1. Women and Work 1
2. Women and Family 49
3. Women and Religion 99
4. Women and the Law 127
5. Women and Politics 155
6. Women and Culture 189
Glossary 211
Selected Bibliography 213
Index 221
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Series Foreword
Women’s history is still being reclaimed. Th e geographical and chrono-
logical scope of the Women’s Roles through History series contributes to
our understanding of the many facets of women’s lives. Indeed, with this
series, a content-rich survey of women’s lives through history and around
the world is available for the fi rst time for high school students to the
general public.
Th e impetus for the series came from the success of Greenwood’s 1999
reference Women’s Roles in Ancient Civilizations, edited by Bella Vivante.
Librarians noted the need for new treatments of women’s history, and
women’s roles are an important part of the history curriculum in every era.
Th us, this series intensely covers women’s roles in Europe and the United
States, with volumes by the century or by era, and one volume each is de-
voted to the major populated areas of the globe—Africa, the Middle East,
Asia, and Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Each volume provides essay chapters on major topics such as
•Family Life
•Marriage and Childbearing
•Religion
•Public Life
•Lives of Ordinary Women
•Women and the Economy
•Political Status
•Legal Status
•Arts