Annotated Bibliography on Family Laws in MEDA Countries

The initial mapping of studies and research carried out on family laws in the 10 Mediterranean countries covered by the project revealed the existence of such research and studies in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Two regional studies were identified; the first compared and analyzed the legal systems governing marriage, inheritance and nationality in countries of the Mashreq (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine) and the second compared and analyzed family laws in countries of the Maghreb (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria). Comparative studies on family laws involving Turkey were lacking. A possible explanation could be attributed to the fact that Turkey’s family law is unique compared to Arab countries in that it is not based on interpretations of Islamic Sharia, or Islamic law. No studies on Israel regarding this subject have been yet identified.

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Annotated Bibliography on Literature Review of Regional Studies on the Economic Participation of Women

There are a number of regional studies that discuss the economic participation of women. Most of the poverty studies in the Arab countries of the Mediterranean deal with the issue of feminization of poverty. They indicate a higher percentage of poor females than of poor males. Some of these studies indicate also a higher incidence of poverty among rural females than among rural males. As Heba El Leithy mentions in her study on the Gender Dimensions of Poverty in Egypt, the feminization of poverty is a new concept in the literature. It indicates the vulnerability of women to the economic conditions. She mentions that the few researchers who had considered the gender dimension of poverty in Egypt have not related gender disparities with determinants of poverty in its gender dimension. El Leithy mentions that the status of women is often more critically affected than men by any economic changes. Poor women are triply disadvantaged: as poor people, they live under the same harsh conditions as poor men; they suffer from culture and policy biases which undervalue their contribution to development; and as heads of households, they face the same problems as men while having the primary responsibility for the care of children, elderly and for housework.

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Annotated Bibliography on Women’s Empowerment

In March 2006, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) launched a five-year research programme consortium (RPC), Pathways of Women’s Empowerment, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The RPC aims to understand what enables women to empower themselves and how changes in gendered power relations can be sustained. The programme will involve practitioners, policy makers and researchers from 5 regions, with the goals of revitalising discussion of women’s empowerment, generating new insights into the processes and policies that contribute to positive change in women’s daily lives, and exploring women’s own pathways to empowerment.

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