Poll bodes well for future of women’s empowerment in the Arab world

Poll bodes well for future of women’s empowerment in the Arab world

Mon, 2019-12-09 03:12

DUBAI: Women's empowerment in the Arab world has a bright future, if the findings of a YouGov study commissioned by Arab News for the Arab Strategy Forum are any guide.

Several recent regional developments “” women driving in Saudi Arabia and an increase in the number of women holding ministerial roles in the Arab world “” are viewed by substantial numbers of Arabs as positive.

A combined average of 61 percent said they expect to see more female empowerment in their home country over the next 10 years. This thinking was strongest in the Levant at 60 percent, followed by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with 48 percent and 44 percent in North Africa.

The study surveyed 3,079 Arabic speakers, aged 18 years old and above, from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to better understand their current and future concerns on various topics.

June 24, 2018, will go down in history as the day Saudi Arabia lifted its longstanding ban on women driving. Two-thirds of the poll respondents actively supported the Kingdom's new driving law, with only nine per cent expressing opposition.

Commenting on women's standing in the MENA region, Maria Al-Qassimi, an Emirati writer, said recent decades had