06-09-2006, 05:28 AM
Friday, June 09, 2006
âMuslim women want to make free choicesâ
* Gallup survey says sex issues not a priority with most Muslim women
* Majority concerned with lack of unity, extremism and corruption in Muslim world
* Think adopting Western values wonât help Muslims
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Muslim women interviewed in eight countries have made it clear that they should have the right to vote without influence, work outside the home and serve in the highest levels of government.
The more than 8,000 face-to-face interviews were conducted in eight predominantly Muslim countries by the Gallup Organisation.
In , 53 percent of the women said attachment to their religious beliefs was their countryâs most admirable trait. Only 68 percent of Pakistani women wanted to make their own voting decisions, the lowest number in all the countries polled. The highest percentage of women who want to make their own voting decisions was recorded at 97 percent in Lebanon.
The survey also found that women in the Muslim world did not see sex issues as a priority, finding other issues more pressing When asked what they resented most about their own societies, a majority of Muslim women said that a lack of unity among Muslim nations, violent extremism, and political and economic corruption were their main concerns, reports the New York Times.
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The hijab, or head scarf, and burqa were never even mentioned in the womenâs answers to the open-ended questions, the poll analysts said. Concerning womenâs rights in general, most Muslim women polled associated sex equality with the West.
Seventy-eight percent of Moroccan women, 71 percent of Lebanese women and 48 percent of Saudi women linked legal equality with the West. Still, a majority of the respondents did not think adopting Western values would help the Muslim worldâs political and economic progress.
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The most frequent response to the question, âWhat do you admire least about the West?â was the general perception of moral decay, promiscuity and pornography that pollsters called the âHollywood imageâ that is regarded as degrading to women. An overwhelming majority of the women polled in each country cited âattachment to moral and spiritual valuesâ as the best aspect of their own societies. Similarly, in , 59 percent of the women surveyed cited love of their religion as the best aspect. At 97 percent, had the highest percentage of women who said they believed they should be able to make their own voting decisions, followed by Egypt and at 95 percent.
According to the New York Times, the survey, âWhat Women Want: Listening to the Voices of Muslim Women,â is a part of The Gallup World Poll, which plans to survey 95 percent of the earthâs population over the next century.
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Dalia Mogahed, the strategic analyst of Muslim studies at The Gallup World Poll, said the new data provide fresh insight into the Muslim world, where Western perceptions generally cast women as victims. âWomenâs empowerment has been identified as a key goal of US policy in the region,â</b> said Mogahed, adding that Muslim womenâs rights have generated a lot of interest without much empirical information on âwhat Muslim women want.â
âMuslim women want to make free choicesâ
* Gallup survey says sex issues not a priority with most Muslim women
* Majority concerned with lack of unity, extremism and corruption in Muslim world
* Think adopting Western values wonât help Muslims
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Muslim women interviewed in eight countries have made it clear that they should have the right to vote without influence, work outside the home and serve in the highest levels of government.
The more than 8,000 face-to-face interviews were conducted in eight predominantly Muslim countries by the Gallup Organisation.
In , 53 percent of the women said attachment to their religious beliefs was their countryâs most admirable trait. Only 68 percent of Pakistani women wanted to make their own voting decisions, the lowest number in all the countries polled. The highest percentage of women who want to make their own voting decisions was recorded at 97 percent in Lebanon.
The survey also found that women in the Muslim world did not see sex issues as a priority, finding other issues more pressing When asked what they resented most about their own societies, a majority of Muslim women said that a lack of unity among Muslim nations, violent extremism, and political and economic corruption were their main concerns, reports the New York Times.
<b>
The hijab, or head scarf, and burqa were never even mentioned in the womenâs answers to the open-ended questions, the poll analysts said. Concerning womenâs rights in general, most Muslim women polled associated sex equality with the West.
Seventy-eight percent of Moroccan women, 71 percent of Lebanese women and 48 percent of Saudi women linked legal equality with the West. Still, a majority of the respondents did not think adopting Western values would help the Muslim worldâs political and economic progress.
</b>
The most frequent response to the question, âWhat do you admire least about the West?â was the general perception of moral decay, promiscuity and pornography that pollsters called the âHollywood imageâ that is regarded as degrading to women. An overwhelming majority of the women polled in each country cited âattachment to moral and spiritual valuesâ as the best aspect of their own societies. Similarly, in , 59 percent of the women surveyed cited love of their religion as the best aspect. At 97 percent, had the highest percentage of women who said they believed they should be able to make their own voting decisions, followed by Egypt and at 95 percent.
According to the New York Times, the survey, âWhat Women Want: Listening to the Voices of Muslim Women,â is a part of The Gallup World Poll, which plans to survey 95 percent of the earthâs population over the next century.
<b>
Dalia Mogahed, the strategic analyst of Muslim studies at The Gallup World Poll, said the new data provide fresh insight into the Muslim world, where Western perceptions generally cast women as victims. âWomenâs empowerment has been identified as a key goal of US policy in the region,â</b> said Mogahed, adding that Muslim womenâs rights have generated a lot of interest without much empirical information on âwhat Muslim women want.â