Islam, Women, and Politics: The Demography of Arab Countries Author(s): Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer Reviewed work(s): Source:

Population and Development Review, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Mar., 1992), pp. 33-60 Published by: Population Council Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1971858 . Accessed: 23/10/2012 02:35
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Islam, Women, and Politics: The Demography of Arab Countries

CARLA MAKHLOUF OBERMEYER

in the Arab regionis commonin the literature. Arab countries said to are have fertility levels that are higher,and health statusindicators that are worse,than mightbe expectedon the basis of socioeconomicindicators. Some researchers have arguedthat"a unique fertility model existsin the Arab World" (Omran, 1980: 97), while othershave foundan overrepreachievers" sentation Arabcountries of amongtheworld's"poorhealth (Caldare to bewell, 1986). Arab demographic patterns thought be exceptional cause "instead of decliningwith development accordingto the Western a correlation model,Arabfertility demonstratesweak and sometimes positive withdevelopment indicators" (Omran,1980: 97). Thus,the"correspondence between epidemiologic thefertility the and transition notseemto apply" does (Nagi, 1984: 196). of have been attributed to These unusual features Arab demography Islam and to the low statusof women in the region.One of the strongest as statements about the statusof Arabcountries negative"outliers"comes takenby from Caldwell'sanalysisoftheexceptional routesto low mortality in countries have achievedsubstantial that thoselow-income improvements health.His analysiscontrasts healthachievers"with"poor health "superior ratesare higherthan would have been achievers"whose infant mortality predicted thebasisofpercapitaincome.Ofthe11 "poorhealthachievers," on sevenare Arabcountries, nineare whollyor largely Muslim.In "trying and to decidewhat determines a country that shallbecomea superior a poor or health achiever," Caldwell finds that "the firstcontrastto strikethe
reader . . . is the religion of the two groups" (1986: 175). Contrasting

THE IDEA THATTHERE IS SOMETHINGPECULIARabout the demographic situation

Islam with Buddhismand Hinduism, arguesthatthe poor healthperhe

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is formance Islamiccountries the resultof the influence their of of religion on the societalvalues relatedto women and children. To evaluate the extentto which these analysesof the demographic and useful, article this evidenceare accurate examines three the propositions thatunderlietheseinterpretations: Arab countries poorlyin terms that do of demographic indicators, thisis due to Islam,and thatthe impactof that Islamoperates through way in whichitdefines low status women. the a for First, reviewthe available data on fertility healthin Arab countries. I and Second, I critically examine the claim thatIslam is a pronatalist religion. Third, summarize evidenceon the statusofwomen in theArabworld I the and consider whether one can ascribeto it specific demographic outcomes. I argue thatthe "fateful triangle" model thatsees a pernicious association between Islam,women,and demographic is outcomes inappropriate because itoverlooks crucial factors variability ignores ambiguities of and the inherent in thenormative structure a society. proposethata better of I understanding of demographic change mustinclude attention the politicalcontextof to and and I sketch dimensions thatcontext the in of fertility healthbehavior, the region.

The demographyof Arab countries

Arab countries discussedhere are those in which Arabicis the official as language.'Thiscriterion chosenbecauseitconstitutes reasonable was a basis for a culture area. Thesecountries delineating relatively homogeneous cover thegeographic area ofNorth Africa and WestAsia (see Figure1).2 Predominantly Muslim,3 theyaccountforabout one-quarter theworld'sMuslim of population. The totalpopulationof Arab countries estimated 220 millionin is at 1991. The mostpopulous country Egypt, is whichhas 52.4 millioninhabitants; thereare threecountries about 25 millioneach (Sudan, Morocco, of and Algeria)and fourcountries 10-20 million:Iraq (18.9), Saudi Arabia of 1 ( 14.1), Syria( 12.5), and Yemen(now united, 1.7); theremainder under are 10 million, withsixcountries 2 million less.As a group, thesecountries of or have veryhighratesof populationgrowth, averaging just under3 percent and of withabout40 percent inhabitants annually,4 very youngpopulations, underage 15 years. the Table 1 presents latestavailabledata on incomeper head, urbanand ization,education,totalfertility rates,infant mortality, lifeexpectancy is the in Arab countries. in The diversity levels of development striking: have verydifferent bases-rich oil producers, economiesof thesecountries there great are and middle-income countries, extremely countries5-and poor Levelsofurbanin and disparities GNP per capita,urbanization, education. in izationare about 75 percent countries theArabianpeninsula(withthe of exceptionof Oman), as well as in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,and Libya; they

CARLA

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FIGURE 1 The Arab countries

NISIA

LEBANON

YI

MOROCC
ALGERIA

IRAQ JORDAN KUWAIT

BAHRAIN

Western"
Sahara

LIBYA

EGYPT

QATAR

SAUDI ARABIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

MAURITANIA SUDAN YM

OMAN

SMALIA

are around 50 percent Algeria, in Morocco,Syria,and Mauritania, Egypt, in Tunisia; and between22 and 40 percent Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. enrollment have primary Statistics educationshow thatmostcountries on Morocco,Saudi Arabia,Somalia, ratios closeto 100,butseveral(Mauritania, is and Sudan) stilllag behind. Secondaryschool enrollment much lower. school in are On averageaboutone-half theage groups enrolled secondary of (WorldBank, 1991, 199la). are levelsof fertility high,and in over halftotal In all thesecountries ratesare above 6 childrenper woman. Analysesfromthe World fertility in out in the 1970s (summarized Farid,1987) docFertility Surveycarried childbearing beginsearly is umentthatmarriage earlyand quasi-universal, use the years,and contraceptive is and continues throughout reproductive rates thattotalfertility fortheperiod1985data indicate low.6More recent 90 average5.6 children woman,comparedto an averageof 3.9 forless per as developedcountries a whole (UnitedNations,1990, 1991). Lifeexpectancy averages64 years are Levelsofmortality morediverse. or more in Bahrain,Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, but and theEmirates, 59 yearsorlessin thepoorand predominantly Tunisia, for rural countries Somalia,Sudan,and Yemen.The rangeis similar infant of in mortality rates,whichare near or below 50 per thousandlive births the and Tunisiabutexceed 100 in MauGulf Lebanon,Syria, Jordan, countries, ritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. indicaand betweendemographic socioeconomic Simplecorrelations between tors (see Figures2 and 3) show a moderatenegativecorrelation

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38

ISLAM,

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rates in Arab countries,

FIGURE 3

Relationship between total fertilityrates and infant mortality

1985-90
-

140 120100 *80

6040*

20 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8

rate Total fertility

SOURCE OF DATA: United Nations, 1991

on school enrollment the one and primary GNP per head, urbanization, variance of percentage explained the on mortality theother; hand,and infant school is lowest forGNP per capita (38 percent)and highestforprimary of the By enrollment percent). contrast, correlation thesesame indicators (59 withtotalfertility is veryweak, as evidencedby thealmosthorizontal rates correlational explained.Such simple of linesand thelow percentage variance analyses have been carriedout in several studiesof Arab demography.7 the theseand otherstudieshave been used to support claim from Findings in thatthedemographic transition theArabworldis a uniqueprocess.Given and bothhistorical contemporary, transitions, the diversity demographic of to to however,thereis no reason to expectcountries conform a uniform that socioeconomic model of change,and it should come as no surprise correlation Clearly, indicators. accountfordemographic factors not fully do when atdata are of limitedusefulness analysesbased on cross-sectional to change,and itis necessary consider to demographic tempting understand trends overtime. over and Tables2 and 3 providedata on fertility mortality thelastfour Table 2 shows thatbetween 1950-55 and 1985-90, totalfertility decades. per 6.9 ratesdecreasedfrom children woman to 5.6 children-a declineof more has by about 19 percent average.Mortality contrast been changing on

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TABLE 2

Trends in total fertilityrates in Arab countries, 1950-90 Percent decline

1950-55 1955-60 7.3 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.2 6.2 7.0 6.5 7.2 7.2 7.0 7.2 6.6 6.7 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.6 7.0 7.0 1965-70 7.5 7.0 6.6 7.2 8.0 7.4 6.1 7.5 6.5 7.1 7.2 7.0 7.3 6.6 6.7 7.8 6.8 6.8 8.0 7.0 7.0 1975-80 7.2 5.2 5.3 7.0 7.4 5.9 4.3 7.4 6.5 5.9 7.2 6.4 7.3 6.6 6.7 7.4 5.7 5.7 8.0 7.0 6.3 1985-90 5.4 4.1 4.5 6.4 6.2 3.9 3.8 6.9 6.5 4.8 7.2 5.6 7.2 6.6 6.4 6.8 4.1 4.8 8.0 6.7 5.6

1950-55 to 1985-90 26 41 32 11 16 46 33 0 0 33 0 20 0 0 4 4 41 31 -8 4 19

Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen, YAR (North) Yemen, PDRY (South) Regional weighted
averagea

7.3 7.0 6.6 7.2 7.4 7.2 5.7 6.9 6.5 7.2 7.2 7.0 7.2 6.6 6.7 7.1 6.9 7.0 7.4 7.0 6.9

Weightedaverage calculated using femalepopulationaged 15-49. SOURCE: United Nations (1991).

rates mortality the the rapidly. During same period, averagedeclinein infant had infant was 58.5 percent. Whereasin the 1950s, 16 out of 20 countries for ratesabove 175 deathsper thousandlive births, the period mortality 1985-90 only seven countries above 75 per thousand (Table 3). As are as as mortality ratesforArab countries a group recently the 1970s, infant werehigher thantheaverage lessdeveloping countries 13 perthousand for (1 rate mortality fortheregion comparedto 106), buttodaytheaverageinfant is 78, equal to the averageforless developed countries(UnitedNations, 1991). in investments health accompanied substantial The declineofmortality in A has countries. healthinfrastructure been care,especially oil-producing as where none existedas recently the 1970s, and developedin countries infant rates down mortality are40 perthousand, todayin Omanfor example, froma rate of well over 200 in 1950-55. Table 4 summarizesdata on

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TABLE 3 Trends in infant mortality rates in Arab countries, 1950-90

Percent decline 1950-55 Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen, YAR (North) Yemen, PDRY (South) Regional weighted average'
a

1955-60 175 150 183 148 145 101 73 170 196 170 220 160 180 180 175 145 163 160 220 220 173

1965-70 150 78 170 111 102 55 52 130 173 138 180 85 140 162 156 107 138 85 186 186 147

1975-80 112 38 131 83 65 34 48 107 149 110 105 46 100 149 131 70 88 38 149 150 113

1985-90 74 16 65 69 44 18 48 82 127 82 40 31 71 132 108 48 52 26 120 120 78

1985-90 60 91 68 58 73 86 45 56 39 54 83 83 65 31 42 70 70 86 48 48 56

1950-55to

185 175 200 165 160 125 87 185 207 180 231 180 200 190 185 160 175 180 231 231 188

Weightedaverage calculated using numberof births. SOURCE: UnitedNations (1991).

that countries arepoorand predominantly of care.Although indicators health immunization, per for statistics population physician, rural have unfavorable in and the provision medical care at birth, more than halfof the Arab of im75 countries percentof the populationhas access to health services, and at least three-quarters of or munization coverageis 80 percent higher, that thesestatistics It births attended medicalpersonnel. appearsfrom are by the support notionof"poor careindicators neither mortality levelsnorhealth an in Nor do thesedata suggest incomachievement" the area of health.8 to health. and vigorousefforts improve betweenIslamicreligion patibility fits In short, declinein mortality well withprevalent whiletheregional The fact trends appearto be lagging. change,fertility modelsofdemographic and mortality after indicators improve thatfertility remainshigh economic decertainly beginsto decline,while by no means a unique phenomenon, that offered The serves further investigation. explanations aremostcommonly and the low statusof women. to accountforit are the Islamicreligion

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TABLE 4

Health and family planning indicators in Arab countries, most recent data
Percent of births attended by medical personnel (2) 85 98 24 50 75 99 88 76 23 26 60 90 78 2 20 37 60 96 12 10 42 Percent of population having access to health careb (5) 88 100 93 97 100

Percent of women using contraception (1) Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen, YAR (North) Yemen, PDRY (South) Weighted averagec
a

Number of persons per physician (3) 2,340 770 1,740 1,120 640 540 690 11,900 4,760 1,700 740 16,080 10,190 1,260 2,150 1,020 6,010 4,370 1,424

Percent of one-year-olds immunizeda (4) 65 89 87 86 98 69 91 62 28 61 88 80 89 25 29 58 91 71 29 35 63

36 38 14 26 35 53 <15 1 36

30 70 91 97 27 51 76 90 90 35 30 73

<15 2 5 20 50 31 1 <15 26

Percentof one-year-oldswho are immunizedagainst poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. Percentof the population thatcan reach appropriatehealth servicesby local transportation no more than one hour. in See note 4. for SOURCES: Column 1: figures Bahrain,Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Qatar,Tunisia,and YAR are from World Bank (1991); figures forAlgeria,Kuwait, Libya,Saudi Arabia,UAE, and PDRY are fromPopulationCrisisCommittee(1990); figures Iraq, Jordan, for UnitedNations (1 989b); figure Somalia is from for Lebanon,Mauritania,Sudan, and Syriaare from WorldBank (1989). Columns 2 and 3: World Bank (1991); figures Algeria,Bahrain,Morocco, Qatar, and the Yemens are fromUNICEF (1989); column for 2 figurefor Lebanon is fromZuraykand Armenian (1985); column 3 figuresforthe Yemens are fromWorld Bank (1990). Columns 4 and 5: UNICEF (1990); column 4 figures Bahrain,Libya,Qatar,and Sudan, and column 5 figure Bahrain are for for fromUNICEF (1989).

The Islamic hypothesis

The relevanceof Islam foran understanding populationpatterns the in of in the demographic Arabworldhas been a recurrent motif literature. a In statistical and Lutz comparative analysisofculture, religion, fertility, (1987) findsthatwhereasin the UnitedStatesthereis no effect "culture"on of

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in of fertility separatefrom effect socioeconomic the factors, Arab countries religiousfactors significantly are associatedwith fertility, even when socioeconomicstatusis controlled. Nagi (1984) draws similarconclusions about theroleof Islam as a factor highfertility. a studyof women's in And healthin Saudi Arabia findsthatof the crucialelementswhich influence healthbehavior,"Islam is the mostbasic, givinglegitimacy and direction to the others"(Gallagher and Searle, 1983: 86). The proposition that the demography Arab countries of can be explained withreference the strength Islam has an obvious appeal. It to of offers broad explanationforpatterns a thathave otherwise resisted fitting prevailing models. It is also in line with the increasedattention recent in literature cultural to demographic factors. However,some ofthe statements Islam's importance cast in terms are thatunwittingly concerning conform to a long "Orientalist" tradition or that,implicitly explicitly, Islam presents as militantly and pronatalist, also characterized ignoranceand fatalism by (cf.Said, 1978; examplesof Orientalism appliedto demography as include Baer, 1964; Hamady,1959; Kirk,1968; Patai, 1973). But even apartfrom generalimplications thesestudies, the of one of the problems withthe "Islamic" explanationis thatit treats monolithic as a trait thatis sharedby close to a billionpeople worldwide,and thathas adaptedto, and been affected diverseregionalcontexts. by, Historically, as Islam spreadfrom Arabianpeninsula,it encompassedpeople withdifthe ferent and religions, encountered variety legal and a languages, customs, of in systems. Giventhelack ofa hierarchical clerical structure Islam,no effort was made to changethesecustomary laws, as long as theydid not conflict withshari'a (Islamic law). Today as a result, the more than 300 directly ethnic different groups considered be Muslim(Weekes,1984) exhibit to very lifestyles. Moreover,like all religioustexts,the Koran and the collected and actionsof the Prophet Muhammad (the Hadith)are variously sayings interpreted theschoolsofIslamiclaw and bythepolitical leadersofIslamic by nations,in ways ranging fromliberal-reformistpuritan-fundamentalist. to The manyschools(madhahib) Islamicjurisprudence of to varyaccording the degreeto which theyemphasizeqiyas (analogy), ijma' (consensusof the and the hadith(traditions the Prophet), dein of of community believers), 9 in riving shari'a. Thediversity thedoctrine thecultural and context Islam'0 of calls intoquestionthe recourse Islam as an explanation demographic to for trends. The diversity religious of manifestations, however, does not invalidate all generalizations. Islamis notmerely spiritual a but principle thefoundation a for way oflife, and itis important consider to are whether there behavioral wherefertility healthare concerned, beingMuslim.The and of correlates, first thingto note is thatIslam does not share the asceticideals of other has within religions, a generally positive attitude towardsexual enjoyment

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" a and encouragesall believers marry. Moreover, clear conto marriage, sensusexistsamong all schoolsof Islamiclaw thatfamily planningis permissible. This is based bothon the absence ofany prohibition againstbirth control the Koranand on generalstatements theKoranthatGod does in in his not want to burdenman but wishesto improve life.More specifically, in in statements the Hadithindicatethatwithdrawal('azl) was practiced fromthe Muhammad'stimeand thathe did not discouragehis followers practice. The Sunni and Shi'a positionson birth controlare in substancethe same.Theyderive from writings Al-Ghazali, mostcelebrated of the mainly the medieval of established five the reasons which for theologian Islam.Hisworks witha of birth controlmay be allowed: the affliction one of the partners of be a disease thatmight transmitted the offspring;disposition the wife to concernforthe healthof the wife to have too closelyspaced pregnancies; from frequent the too pregnancies; husband'simpecunious condition; and, concernforthewife'sbeauty(see Musallam,1983).12 perhapssurprisingly, in Thereare some qualifiers the Hanafi, Maliki,and Hanbalischoolsas well as among the Shi'a concerning the relativeimportanceof seeking the woman's permission practice to withdrawal, because of her right sexual to and if enjoyment to have children she wishes.On abortion, some differences relateto establishment the pointat which the fetusis considered be of to but formed, exceptfortheprohibition the Malikismostschoolsallow it by up untilthe timewhen the fetusis seen as being "ensouled" (variously defined day 40, 80, or 120 ofpregnancy) as and prohibit thereafter it (Musallam,1983; Omran,1980; Roudi,1988). Thesetraditional positions, which were developedin responseto medievalways of limiting births, have been reiterated applyto modern to methods well,as is clearfrom published as the legal opinions (fatwas)issued by severalprominent Muftisallowing birth control conditional mutualconsent thespouses (see excerpts on of from the fatwas theMufti Egypt 1937, 1953, and 1959 in Omran,1980; the by of in compilationof statements Schieffelin, by 1967; and the proceedingsof the conference Muslimleaderson family of planning, IPPF, 1974). in still Thelackofexplicit to objections family planning leavesthequestion and to whatextent highnatality thisworldregionderives the of ofwhether is the from doctrine. One lineofargument that pronatalist indirectly religious but orientation Islam is based not on direct of injunctions, on the ways in which Islam supportsthe conditionsthat are conducive to high fertility and of (Fagley,1965). Thisleads us to consider patterns marriage, polygyny, divorce. betweenIslamand Christianity, Fromtheearliest daysofconfrontation a certain has to fascination attached thewayin whichIslamcondonedsexual men wivesand tofather enjoyment, permitting totakemultiple largenumbers of children. a certainextent,images of the harem stillcolor Western To

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perceptions Islamicmarriage, of withan emphasis theman's right take on to up to four wivesand on his unilateral arbitrary and right divorce wife to his (Baer, 1964; Kirk, 1968; Patai, 1973). In fact,in the Koran, polygyny is limited the obligation treat wives equally,and it has actuallybeen by to all the privilege the few who could afford support of to more than one wife. The levelofpolygyny been foundto be as low as 1 percent Damascus has in in and 2 percent Cairo (Ghallab,1984), withmostestimates it putting at no morethan 10 percent(White,1978). In a reviewof the levelsof polygyny small minority Arab Muslimmen,i.e. probably no more than tively of by 12 percent, and in mostinstances nearerfivepercent"(1986: 56). In any thattheyare not morefertile case, studiesofpolygamous marriages suggest than monogamousunions (Burch, 1983; Weeks, 1988; Garenneand van de Walle, 1989; Borgerhoff as Mulder,1989), and we can dismiss polygyny a contributor highnatality. to As for divorce, frequency the withwhichithappensvarieswidely.The proportion divorcewithin20 yearsofmarriage of a rangesfrom highof 20 in Moroccoto 11 percent Egypt in in and only4-6 percent Jordan, percent to Syria,and Tunisia (White, 1978; Farid, 1987). According Farid,"This wide rangeofdivorcelevelsindicates thatdivorce notreadily is linkedwith religion"(1987: 347). In any case, the relationship between the rate of divorceand fertility levels is not uniformly positive:while a high divorce ratecan be seentoencourage becauseit"redistributes higher fertility infertile, but not necessarily sterile it partners," also means thatwhile a woman is divorced she is not exposed to the riskof childbearing (Fargues,1989).'3 It follows from preceding the discussion thatIslamicdoctrine does not observedin the region.But is it possible directly explain the highfertility thatIslam's impacton fertility indirect, althoughthe doctrine not is is that its conditions encourage that explicitly pronatalist, application provides high natality? Underlying questionis the idea that,through effect the this its on statusof women, the influence religionis translated of into demographic Thisis the hypothesis thatwe examinenow. patterns.
in Arab countries, Chamie findsthat "polygynyis practiced by a compara-

The women's statushypothesis

It is often allegedthatthelow statusofwomenis a central feature Islam. of Women's statusis assumed to be uniform throughout regionand to the constitute crucial the causal linkbetweenreligious doctrine theobserved and levels of fertility mortality and (Caldwell, 1986; Kirk,1968; Roudi, 1988; Nagi,1984). Yet,as an exhaustive reviewoftheliterature indicates, idea the ofArabwomen evokes two contradictory of images: sets
On the one hand, thereis the imageof the exoticand mysterious odalisque, thecreature theharemwhose existence dedicated a lifeofluxury of is to and

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sensuouspleasurein theservice theman,herlordand master. theother of On hand, thereis the image of the silentand invisible "beast of burden,"born and nurtured suffer twinburdens childbearing heavyhousehold to the of and chores.(Rassam, 1984: 1)

In theliterature, while orientalists contributed theexoticimage, have to and have emphasized exploitation degradation the of Christian missionaries women (Rassam, 1984). Chapterheadingsin books on women in Islam female regularly includeveiling, mutilation, sexualabuse,virginity, abortion, circumcision (see, e.g., Saadawi, 1980),14 concubines, harem,aphrodisiacs, of and slavery(Gaudio and Pelletier, 1980).'5 Thus, descriptions Muslim in womenin thepopular-and sometimes thescholarly-literature illustrate a polarization views:thosewitha more"Western" "liberal"perspective of or whileapologists Islam attack inequality unfairness thesystem, the and of for chargethat such opinions are part of a generalattempt the West to by In in their societies. defense subjugate theypointto statements Islamictexts in fairness dealingwithwomen,and to examplesofwomen recommending Muhammad and in latercenturies, who, both in the days of the Prophet achievedpositions power.'6The statusofwomen is a controversial of issue, betweenIslam and the one thatis oftenat the centerof the confrontation means.Itis important, henceunlikely be resolved purely to scientific West, by deunderstand extentto which it affects the however,ifwe are to better that dimensions. mographic patterns, we clarify multiple its In a thorough reviewoftherelationships betweenthestatus women of and demographic Mason ( 1984) finds theconcept women's outcomes, that of status often is as measured ifitwereunidimensional, the ignoring multiplicity of rolesthatwomen play. She cautionsthatthe conceptis complexand its indicatorsare heavily context-dependent. argues that the status of She women has threedistinct, and not necessarily dimensionsoverlapping, prestige, power,and autonomy-thatneed to be measuredseparately. The is difficulty compoundedby a pervasiveconfusionof two aspects of inequality:those relatedto class and those relatedto gender.Caldwell and in Caldwell(1988) have pointed a degreeofcircularity defining to autonomy as the ability make decisionsabout education,employment, health to and to women's autonomyis relatedto care,and thenproceeding testwhether levelsof education, employment, health. and The linkbetweenlowerstatus and highfertility/poor is believed health to operatein two mutually lower statusmeans rereinforcing ways. First, stricted access to educationand employment, the two major deallegedly terminants improved of healthand lowerfertility. Second,a woman's legal and economic dependenceputs her in a precarious positionvis-'a-vis her husbandand his relatives, makes the threat divorceand polygyny of more and hence limits alternatives childbearing. is because menacing, her to This herone chance to improve bargaining her powerand to insureagainstrisk

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is to producesonswhomshe can influence rely for and on support. Although theseexplanations the have made significant contributions understanding to 17 they institutional context highfertility, of are in largepartbased on studies of South Asia. Given the differences marriageand residencepatterns in betweenthatregion it these and theArabworld,'8 is notclearto whatextent explanations applicableto thelatter are context. Moreover, presumption the thatmenalwayswantlargefamilies are lessinclined seekgood health and to care fortheirchildren fortheir of or wives is a grossoversimplification the motivations decisionsofbothsexes (Clelandand van Ginneken, and 1988; Mason and Taj, 1987). It is also noteworthy there no one-to-one that is relationship between
higher female status on the one hand and "good" health and low fertility

in on the other.In the courseof industrialization Europe,majorimprovements thehealthofinfants children, well as in reproductive in and as health, at and occurred a timewhenwomenwereeconomically dependent theideal Western family evidencedmuchgenderinequality (Mason, 1984). And alof thougheducationand employment, standard the components any scale ofwomen'sstatus, thought lowerfertility improve are to and healththrough theireffect the statusof women, "clearlyfemaleeducationcan affect on of fertility several by routes, thesemaynotbe directly and indicative women's if status":educationmay not lead to a changein status, the girlswho are sentto school in the first place come from families withless discrimination (Satharet al., 1988). Moreover, wherefewwomen workout ofchoice and thosewho do have stringent is economic needs,employment often associated withlowerstatus, and even withworsehealthoutcomesfortheirchildren in (Basu, 1988, 1990). Studies women'sstatus of and fertility outcomes Arab countries have notalwaysyielded expected the inverse associations between and fertility education,employment, (Cornelius,1988) and have in fact the and measuresofboth"patriarchy" women's emphasized need forbetter status. Thus before offering women'sstatusas an explanation a variety for of and demographic outcomes,one mustexaminethe different, often contrais We the dictory waysinwhichwomen'sstatus defined. now review evidence in on definitions women'sstatus theArabworld, of three sources considering ofinformation: doctrinal the a statements theIslamictexts define lower (do statusforwomen?), thehistorical of data (how did the emergence Islam in theArabianpeninsulachangethestatus women?),and thecontemporary of and situation seen through statistics social scienceanalyses). (as summary attribute lowerstatusofwomen in Islam to the influMany observers ence of religious texts.Differences betweenthe sexes as theyare discussed in the Koran and the Hadithpertain threemajor areas: men have been to in sons are to receivetwiceas greatan givena preeminent position religion, in as and twicethat inheritance daughters, a man's testimony courtis worth ofa woman. Judged the standards individual of by autonomyand equality

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in legislation Western counthatconstitute principles contemporary the of But emphasize tries, theseare clearly inegalitarian statements. thesame texts the equalityof all believersbeforeGod, and theyassertthat everyoneis judged accordingto merit.Thus thereis a certainambivalencewhereby, betweenthesexesare governed not thoughall believers equal, relations are of bytheprinciple absolute of equality bytheprinciple complementarity.19 but Another pointto notein passingis thatmanyofthekeyArabicwords in theKoranicstatements thisis true, aboutwomenhave severalmeanings:
for instance, of the word that refersto men's "preferred"position relative

have men'ssuperior while towomen(sometranslations emphasized position, In othershave stressedtheirresponsibility). this and a numberof other provided justifications divergent for instances, religious texts have historically conceivable, positions.Withrespectto the statusof women, it is entirely thatstatements taken traditionally giventhe relative flexibility the texts, of in a to justify subordinate reinterpreted a more positionare subsequently bothhistormanner.Indeed reformist feminist and movements egalitarian this.The need forsuch icallyand in contemporary Islam have done exactly a processof reinterpretationnot unique to Islam: all threemonotheistic is the context of religions includeinegalitarian elements thatreflect temporal in patriarchy whichthe religions emerged. context the emergence Islam of of To what extentdoes the historical and Information socialconditions on illuminate issueofwomen'sstatus? the in In Muslimthinkrelations pre-Islamic Arabiais sketchy. orthodox gender the ing,pre-Islamic timesare referred as al-jahiliyya, age of ignorance, to as and and all thatcame before Islam is "interpreted infidelity chaos" (Ob1981: 366). Islamic tradition claims thatthis was a time when ermeyer, and was sexual unionswere capricious femaleinfanticide widelypracticed, and of normshad left widows and promiscuous, thebreakdown traditional men's responsibilities toward orphans without recourse. By redefining of the women, Islam is seen as protecting rights women and raisingtheir focuses examples on status. theother On perspective hand,an Arabfeminist on of independent and outspokenwomen in thejahiliyya, evidenceof the and of century,20 on early opposition some women to Islam in the seventh in Arabia socialevolutionist claimsfor existence matriarchy pre-Islamic the of a societyrepresents genuine (Smith,1903). For the feminists, pre-Islamic tradition freedom of and equalitywherewomen could be priestesses, warthat riors, nurses, poets,and caravanowners-a tradition is seen as having been thwarted Islam. Each of theseopposingviews is in factbased on by has idealizednotionsof thejahiliyya period.Some progress been made in and the betweenthepre-Islamic theIslamicelements analyzing relationship thatdefinethe statusof women (Mernissi,1985; Ahmed, 1986). In any of of event,the development Islam meantthe articulation a new religious of Arab society. ideologywiththe politicalsystem traditional and civicspheres Much has been written the overlapof religious on

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as of have includedthe definition religion a way of in Islam. Explanations life that extendsto the politicalsphere,the absence of a clear religious reinforcing and structures, the mutually of hierarchy, centrality kinship the ideology of The of and family. articulation thereligious authoritarianismstate in of be system better understood light the can ofIslam withthepatriarchal of at that socialconditions prevailed theemergence Islam.In seventh-century economybased on the caravan tradewas mercantile Mecca, the thriving structure (Watt,1953, 1956). The communal traditional tribal undermining of which had ensuredthe protection the weak, was ideologyof the tribe, left down and the riseofmercantile individualism manyinsecure. breaking in The successof Islam was a function Muhammad'sability connecting of
conand channelling theseotherwise communaland self-serving tendencies trends intothemostcohesivesocial orderArabiahad everknown. tradictory for intowarfare Pax Islamica, and were channelled The communaltendencies ventedin theinstitution thefamily. of theself-serving tendencies weremainly 1985: 80) (Mernissi,

sanctionedthe reThis dynamicprocessshaped the Islamic family, male authority. of sponsibility men to provideforwomen,and legitimated thatcontradict In defining Islam put in place elements theserelationships, to ideology.These elementsare antithetical Koranicrulings its egalitarian of economicindependence and the relative about the equalityof believers and own property). Indeed,"It is only to women (right inherit to keep their thatthe of in thematter therights responsibilities males and females of and so intrinsic the Koran, seems to notionof equal human worth,otherwise momentarily suspended" (Ahmed,1986: 678). On Arabsocieties. the Thisambivalence also foundin contemporary is aspects are quite apparentfromcomparative one hand, the inegalitarian on The lowerlevelsofeducationand employment statistics women'sstatus. the status.Throughout region,the ratioof forwomen suggestan inferior below unity.Labor force girlsto boys enrolledin school is considerably with becauseoftheinconsistency which are figures lessreliable, participation with and workis reported becausethejobs thatwomencombine agricultural and (Shorter householdchoresare mostoften includedin the statistics not of are showrates female 1985). Butwheresuchfigues available,they Zurayk, between5 and 16 percent (Omran,1980; WorldBank, 199la). employment In a widelycirculated on compilation statistics women,"Poor,powerless, of and pregnant"(PopulationCrisisCommittee, 1988), about half of those that countries are rankedeither poor" areArab.2' "verypoor" or "extremely low On the otherhand, the notionof uniformly statusthatemerges
is fromsuch aggregatecomparative statistics contradictedby anthropological

and sociological fieldstudies womenin theArabworld.One ofthemajor of in of developments theanthropology theArabworldhas been to document

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to in the richvariation women's lives and theirrelationships one another, espeand to men. Fromthe accumulatedethnographies, to theirchildren, of is out ciallythosecarried bywomen,a complexpicture emerging relations (see environment the reviewsby changing betweenthe sexes in a rapidly fieldwork anthropological Rassam, 1984 and Abu-Lughod,1989). Careful of has questionedthe mythof the passive subordination women and has authority legitimated betweenthe ideologically revealedthe contradiction have despite-or because thatwomen ofmenand thepowerand autonomy sexual segregation.22 of of-the verysystem male dominancewhichdefines of A consideration trends indicators women's positionconfirms of in and the rapidchangesover the among Arab countries both the variability thanformen by for last two decades. Lifeexpectancies women are higher two yearsor more,whereas in the 1960s and even the 1970s therewere 1991). Morespecifically, (United Nations, disadvantage of indications female showed ratios sexclearly by mortality belowage five, to withrespect mortality is this but a male advantagebefore the 1980s,23 thereafter inequality much (see figures DHS, 1987, nationalmortality attenuated even absentfrom and school, to 1990). The ratiosofgirls boysenrolledin primary 1988; Al-Jem, in whichwere low in mostArabcountries the 1960s and 1970s,now range Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, to the from for YemenArabRepublic over90 for 27 counwithmostother ArabEmirates, Lebanon,Libya,Qatar,and theUnited tries havingratiosin theupper70s to low 80s (UNICEF, 1989; WorldBank, the indicators suggests onset of a Moreover,a closerlook at fertility highformost rates,which were uniformly downwardtrend.Total fertility in Arab countries the 1950-55 period,began to divergein the 1960s and a 1970s,and now rangefrom low of about 4 in Lebanon,Kuwait,Tunisia, Yemen (Table and Bahrainto a highof 7.2 in Saudi Arabiaand 8 in North substantial rateshave remainedhigh in mostcountries, 1). While fertility in declineshave occurred some: between 1965 and 1985 the totalfertility Kuwait,Lebanon, or ratedeclinedby two births more in Bahrain,Egypt, Morocco,Tunisia,and the UnitedEmirates(Table 2). In fact,one of the decline in the thirdworld is Tunisia, with the steepestfertility countries 7 rate from in 1960 tojustover4 in 1988 (DHS, whosetotalfertility declined with major fertility declinesare also Islamic: 1988). Two othercountries Indonesiaand Malaysia (Weeks, 1988). In an analysisof recentdata from determinants: threemajorchangesin fertility Arabcountries, Farguesfinds the large an increasein the age at marriage, reducing traditionally steadily an betweenspouses;24 increasein women's education;and age difference Wheredetailed the womenentering labormarket. of cohorts younger larger are data are available,analysesindicatethatthesethreefactors associated withreducedfertility (Fargues,1989). of the In sum,neither indicators women's statusnor itsdemographic
1984, 1989, 1990, 1991a).

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A contrast the striking are throughout Arabcountries. very correlates uniform of generation womenthat todayis thatbetweena younger in mostcountries thatis for and an oldergeneration schooling has achievedat leastprimary the towarduniversal schooling To themostpartilliterate. whatextent trend the will spreadthroughout regionand how it will affect reprothe forgirls are questions,both for ductivechoices of the next generation important research and policy.But the answersto thesequestionscannotbe sought level: theymustinclude in-depth analysesat the aggregate only through and aboutfertility healthare in investigations thecontext whichdecisions of made. affects fertility context the To understand waysinwhichtheinstitutional in patterns the Arab world,we must develop more complexmodels that and contribute an explanation how changesin broad structures ideas to of arecorrelated withindividual decisions. Thisarticle arguedthatsimplistic has Islam and the statusof women cannotprovidea satishypotheses linking The triangle" patterns. "fateful for demographic factory explanation observed associationbetweenIslam, women, ill-fated model thatsees an inevitably the of and demographic outcomesis inadequatebecause it ignores diversity Islam and the variationsin the statusof women in the region; equally to because it is inattentive the important, such a model is inappropriate and to the ambiguities within betweennormsand behavior, contradiction sucha modelis not,however, thenormative structure a society. criticize of To ideologyand women's status.On the to deny the importance religious of and genderrelations crucialto an underare contrary, religiousdoctrine is a but interplay notmerely mechof behavior, their standing demographic I In of anistic association. theremainder thisarticle, arguethatto understand thisinterplay of requiresa consideration the politicalcontextin which it operates.

The political contextof health and fertility behavior

of discussions demographic The politicaldimensionis usuallyabsentfrom as form "political will") ithas somechange,although(in itsquasi-mystical in timesbeen invokedto accountforunexpected progress health(Halstead, of Walsh, and Warren,1985; Caldwell, 1986). The influence politicshas in been underplayed most studies,yetthe "analysisof politicaleconomy in an element understanding healthtransitions" (Reich, constitutes essential are lessthedirect ofexplicit concerns product processes 1991). Demographic or for about numbers desiredchildren, of preferences healthcare services, and decisions religiousrules,and more the resultof individualstrategies Hencetheneed to focuson the of reflecting structure powerin society.25 the context healthcare" in theMiddleEast (Morsy,1981) of "ipolitical-economic and to developa "politicaleconomyof fertility" 1990). (Greenhalgh,

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changeredemographic for framework analyzing Defining political a approachon the partof towarda multidisciplinary efforts quiresconcerted Political and historians, anthropologists. politicalscientists, demographers, science researchon the Arab world has mainlybeen concernedwith the and theirability respondto demandsand stresses.26 to of stability systems charIt does not readilyprovidea methodthatwould link the structural bepolicyand reproductive to of acteristics politicalentities demographic and of analysesof populationprograms demographic havior.Conversely, process tell family planning"effort"27 us littleabout the decisionmaking intothe how suchpoliciesfit policiesare defined, whichpopulation through leaders,and how leadersmake politicalagendas of local and international On healthand reproduction. balance,few affecting and implement decisions strategies ideas to the reproductive efforts have been made to linkpolitical and groups.While thisbroadertask is beyondthe scope of of individuals the thisarticle, following the discussionsketches linkagebetweenpolitical and demographic changein the Arabworld. statusof women is commonto all patriarchal While the subordinate 1974), in (see Rosaldo and Lamphere, be societies, theyIslamicor Western and relations political Islamicsocieties linkbetween the gender contemporary than it is elsewhere.This is most draseems more inextricable structures in the resurgence veilingthataccompaniesthe deof illustrated matically sentiment theappearanceoffundamentalist and of velopment anti-Western of in movements the region.But althoughthe persistence the social and patriarchy (Mernissi,1985) and are inthat ideologicalstructures support regimemay be associatedwith demographic dicativeof a pretransitional a this of fundamentalist interpretations religion, is notnecessarily particular the defines role played of the Rather, politicalcontext function Islam itself. defined tensions whether concerning and determines historically byreligion in demographic the statusof women persistand are reflected particular elitesarticulate theirideologyof developThe way in whichpolitical in of mentin relation Islam is a crucialdeterminant differences thestatus to leaderstowardfemale of women. The ambivalenceof manyArab/Muslim demands stemsfromtheirneed to addresstwo conflicting emancipation29 and identity, in theirsocieties:prosperity, which means modernization; of The whichis partly rootedin tradition. satisfaction bothdemandsmakes in to a it necessary define nationalidentity relation two sourcesthatare to of and theWest.Wherethedefinition a often odds: theIslamictradition at poissue in the struggle betweencompeting is nationalidentity the central option, appearas theleastrisky ideologiesoften conservative liticalgroups, and and fundamentalism reassurance againstthe crisisin aspirations offers demonstrated and religion, culture, of "The elitedefense thefamily, identity. of may serveas evidenceof untraditions, by the reactivation patriarchal
outcomes.28

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interpretation of swerving nationalloyalty"(Marshall,1984: 513). A strict the religious tradition also favored thosewho have reason to be disis by satisfied withthecentral hope forimprovement government have little and from existing development policies. In such situations, issue of genderrelations eitheravoided or is the in authenticity against dealt withdefensively termsof the need to protect encroachments hostilepowers. Traditional roles may thus come to be by endowed with a positivepoliticalsignificance, when veilingis used to as is to or manychildren a forceful express opposition a regime whenproducing in statement a political Womenmayfreely choose such traditional struggle. points out,they be caught can rolesand behaviors, as an Algerian or, feminist between twoconflicting fellow-women to their and nation loyalties-totheir as (Helie-Lucas,1987)-and may sacrifice some of theirrights women to reaffirm identity Arabs,Muslims,or nationalsof a givencountry.30 their as in Some Arabfeminists fact questiona "women's issues" approachto probfeelthatitis morepressing lemslikepolygyny wifeabuse,3'because they or to deal withthebroader and relationcountry's issuesofdevelopment their shipwiththe West. in The progress setbacks and thathave been observed theArabregion withrespect the statusofwomen reflect dilemmas nationaldevelto the of is in successful responding nato opment.Wheredevelopment not entirely tional aspirations, where, as in some of the oil-richcountries, has or it seemsoverwhelming threatening, and happenedso fastthatitsincongruity The basesofidentity leaderslacka soundbase ofpopularsupport. traditional to present themselves the safestchoice,and religionis used selectively as the cope with politicalexigenciesand to legitimate power of individual leaders.The balancing betweentraditional structures modernization and act the is perhapsmoststriking Saudi Arabia,but the outcomethroughout in has beena record timid of of reforms havefallen that short realpolitical region have been made to givewomenmorechoice change.For instance, attempts in matters marriage makingit easierforthemto initiate divorceproof by the and by requiring intervention thecourtin orderto limit the of ceedings, husband'sright divorceand polygyny to 1978). (Coulson and Hinchcliffe, the of But in the absence of broad politicalreforms, enactment small legal in changescan produceonly slow improvements the statusof women and a limited expansionof the optionsopen to women outsideof childbearing. In addressing have populationissues the variousArab governments adopteda rangeofpolicies,withvariousdegreesof success.Such countries aim at increasing their as Iraq, Kuwait,and the UnitedArabEmirates populationby raising levelsare rapidly declining fertility levels,thoughfertility in Kuwait. Othercountries such as Oman, Qatar,and Saudi Arabiaseek to maintain levels (which is equivalentto increasing theirpopulation fertility show different at a rapidrate).Countries have policiesto reducefertility that

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and in in ratesofdecline:substantial Tunisia,moderate Moroccoand Egypt, have countries theregion in in inconsequential Yemen.Whiletheremaining planning on no statedpopulationpolicy,theyplace no restrictions family can (UnitedNations,1987, 1989, 1990a).32This diversity be analyzed in program, contraceptive and planning setting, family terms socioeconomic of make remain whysomegovernments but prevalence,33 thecrucialquestions to outsidethe government operatein thisarea), to efforts allow forces (or and programs, how into are theseefforts translated functioning whatextent leveland to reproductive to are theseprocesses related policiesat thenational to attention the politicalcontext decisionsat the householdlevel. Without research both comparative Through to it is difficult addressthesequestions. it of levelofnationsand at themicro-level households, may at theaggregate by suggested the available evidence:that be possibleto testthe hypotheses have declinesin fertility takenplace,theyhave invariably wheresubstantial to changes;and wheresetbacks wompolitical been associatedwithbroader theytoo have accompanieda re-traditionalization en's statusare observed, of definition of of politicalstructures the abandonment an egalitarian and society. mustalso takeintoaccountthe fertility transitions Analyses lagging of definepopulationpolicies. in regionalcircumstances which governments thatincludemorethan in states are Mostofthecountries theregion pluralist between thesegroups interaction or group.The dynamic one religious ethnic for has implications a within stateand acrossnationalboundaries profound are unappealing strategies clearly thebalanceofpower,and fertility-limiting In withtheirneighbors. the to statesand ethnicgroupsthatare in conflict case ofwar,numbers represent power,and thisinpartexplains mostextreme and of the thepersistently fertility Iraq,Jordan, Palestinians, Syria.But high for betweenminorities resources even in timesof peace, the competition a can numbers outsiders constitute of and the anxiety caused by increasing for decline.In the absence of a moreegalitarian majordisincentive fertility regimeappears pointless, then,the call fora "modern" fertility system, and are that to suggesting some observers demography democracy inevitably linked.34

Conclusion
will on that, balance,Arabcountries condiscussion suggests The preceding but in modestreductions totalfertility, thatdeclineswill tinueto experience be neither The rapidnoruniform. pace ofchangewillbe slowerin thecontext between of the ofthefailure economicdevelopment, persistence tensions of of reinterpretationthereligious Islam and the West,and thefundamentalist of the maynotnecessarily tradition concerning status women.Such setbacks in decline,inasmuchas investments healththatincrease halt the mortality

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women's legal, altering can be achieved withoutradically lifeexpectancy to are Thesesetbacks morelikely be reflected and social position. economic, planningpolicyand because changesin family high in persistently fertility relations. and of a use contraceptive require redefinition thefamily ofgender behavior in rapidtransformations fertility and in whichcountries Whether allows climate to willoccurdependsin parton theextent whichthepolitical
of of a redefinition gender roles and the structure the family.

Notes
The authoracknowledges helpful comments fromDavid Bell, Joseph Chamie, Lincoln Chen,Allan Hill,RobertLeVine,Karen OpMichael penheim Mason,GeraldObermeyer, Reich, FredericShorter, and Rachel Snow. She also thanksRosario Cardenas forhelp withthetablesand figures. population size as the weight for annual urban,lifeexpectancy, GNP,percent growth, of The per and population physician. number women aged 15-49 has been used in averof rates,percent women agingtotalfertility of and usingcontraception, proportion births The number by attended medicalpersonnel. per ofbirths yearhas been used in averaging 1 The countries thatare includedon the infant of ratesand the proportion mortality are of basisofthiscriterion also members the one-year-olds The who are immunized. popArabLeague. (The WestBankand Gaza have ulation5-14 has been used in averaging pribeen excludedbecause of lack of data, and maryschool enrollment ratios. mostfigures North for and SouthYemenare econanalysisof the political 5 A recent separately.) Although Arabicis the presented omy of the Middle East (Richardsand Wathere nativelanguagein all thesecountries, a thatdis1990) suggests taxonomy terbury, within Morocco,Soare populations Algeria, tinguishesthe "coupon clippers," whose malia, and the Sudan forwhom the mother (Bahon is economy basedsolely oil revenues criterion tongueis not Arabic.The linguistic rain,Kuwait, Libya,Oman, Qatar, and the has been selected, whilerecognizing comthe UnitedArab Emirates);the "oil industrializplexity the associationbetweenlanguage of ers" (Algeria,Iraq, and Saudi Arabia); the and religion and the sometimes tumultuous resources who have limited "watchmakers," of entanglement nationaland supra-national on and concentrate human capitaland skillallegiancesthat has (pan-Arab/pan-Islamic) SyLebanon, (Jordan, manufactures intensive the of characterized history the region. ria, Tunisia); the "newly-industrializing" 2 Thisareacorresponds thetworegions countries (Egypt and Morocco); and the to Africa of North and WestAsia as defined by "agro-poor"(Sudan and Yemen). includes, theUnited Nations. (TheUNdivision out werecarried Surveys 6 WorldFertility in addition,the threenon-Arabic-speaking Tunisia, and Syria, Morocco, inEgypt, Jordan, of countries Cyprus, Israel,and Turkey.) rates Yemen.At thattime,totalfertility were of 3 The proportion the populationthat above8 for and Jordan Syria; Yemen;7-8 for is Muslimis 95 percent morein all Arab and justunder6 forEgypt, or Morocco,and TuJor- nisia.Theproportion teenage withthe exceptionof Egypt, countries, was marriage of whereit 60 percent Yemenand about22 percent dan, and the UnitedArab Emirates for in is between90 and 94 percent; Syriawhereit Egypt, Morocco,and Syria.ContraJordan, is 87 percent;Sudan, 72 percent; and Leba- ceptive was 1 percent Yemenand 20in use non, 60 percent (estimatesfrom Weeks, 25 percent theother fivecountries (Farid, for 1988). and 1987). In the 1980s,Demographic Health Morocco,and Tunisiahave in 4 Throughout this article,averages are Surveys Egypt, rates weighted. They have been calculatedusing foundtotalfertility of 4.5, 4.5, and 4.1

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55 14 It is worthnoting thatthe sensationalistliterature not limited Western is to authors. 15 For a composite-and implausiblepicture manyofthesefascinating of practices in a novel set in Arab countries, Accad see (1982). 16 Muhammad's wifeKhadijawas a suctrader cessful and one of his daughters, Fatima, was an important figure religious in and life. the political In fact claimbytheShi'a that Fatima's husband, shouldhavesucceeded Ali, theProphet emphasizes importance the the of link Muhammad to through daughter. his This in importance reflected thegreater is shareof inheritance in givento daughters Shi'a than in Sunnijurisprudence. 17 See Cain's (1984) "safety first" model in ofhighfertility patriarchal societies. 18 The two keydifferences relateto resIn idence patterns and marriage payments. mostof South Asia, marriage exogamous is and residence neolocal,whichmeans that is thenew bridemovesto herhusband'svillage and is completely off cut from female all networks:she is thus,vis-a-vis in-laws,in a her similar thatofhouseholdservant. to position In theArabworld, contrast, by there a prefis erence for endogamous marriage and a womanretains linkswithherfamily stronger of origin. Moreover,whereas in the Arab worldthe groommakes marriage payments in to the bride'sfamily, mostof South Asia is marriage accompaniedby the payment of a dowry,whichmakes it a heavy economic burdenforparentsto have manydaughters and mayconstitute important an in factor the devaluation daughters. of 19 See forinstance statements the the by MuslimscholarAhmad Galwash (1945) reprintedfromAl-Azhar University's Official Islamwithregard man and woman is that to thehusband andwife shouldsupplement each other." 20 The famousrevoltof the "harlotsof is Hadramaut" one suchinstance. thedisSee cussionof thiseventin Memissi (1985) and Ahmed(1986). 21 Althoughthey are not precisely the same countries thosethatwere rankedas as

respectively (DHS, 1987, 1988). Additional DHS surveys plannedor beingcompleted are in Jordan, Sudan,and Yemen. 7 For example, Omran (1980), Nagi (1984), and Caldwell(1986). Omran'sstudy found thatfertility notcorrelate did well with measures economic of development (GNPper capita and energyconsumption), social development (percent literate, percent laurban, in borforce agriculture), health and indicators (population physician, per energy consumption). Nagi's studycoveredall of the Arab discussed hereand, in addition, countries six African countries and seven Asian countries (different partsof the studyfocusedon different combinations these countries).He of foundno association betweenfertility levels and nationalscoresbased on education,life and expectancy, nonagricultural labor force. Caldwell used correlations between infant and mortality GNP to label nine Arabcountries"poor healthachievers." 8 Caldwell's "poor achiever" argument was based on figures to 1982,just before up substantial declinesin mortality became apthe parent throughout region. 9 On the manyschoolsof Islamicjurisprudence, theirlocation,and theirdoctrine, see Watt(1961), Weekes (1984), and Goldziher(1981). 10 Thereare numerous historical soand cial studiesof thisdiversity. forinstance See the comparison betweenMoroccanand IndonesianIslam (Geertz,1968). 11 Bouhdiba (1975) argues that Islam provides synthesis sexualenjoyment a of and faith. religious 12 Musallam's discussion, which covers sources diverse jurisprudence, as as medicine, materiamedica, belles-lettres, erotica,and indicates popularliterature, that,in the medieval Middle East,contraception sancwas tioned Islamic by law and supported moral by and aesthetic attitudes. 13 Fargues(1989) finds thatin the early phaseofthe"stabilization themarital of famin ily,"thedeclinein divorce theArabworld is associatedwitha risein fertility, although in a laterphase lower divorceratesare associatedwithhigherage at marriage and a rate. dropin thebirth

Magazine: "The ruling idea in the teaching of

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poor achieversaccording Caldwell'sclas- as citizens in conflict to is withtheir duty obeof sification, althoughCaldwellwas trying dienceas believers and (Memissi,1988). To some, to explainhealthindicators terms wom- thistension even manifested thepsychoin of is in en's status, whilethePopulation Crisis Com- logicaldisorders womensuffer that in from a mitteewas trying measure the statusof transitional to situation (Chelhi,1988). women by using healthand fertility indica29 Mernissi (1985) suggests thisamthat the is tors, report another exampleof 'fateful bivalenceis due both to the anxietycaused triangle" reasoning. by "ghostsof the women in the pre-Islamic 22 See for exampleDavis (1983), Dorsky aristocracy" to the disturbing and imagesof (1979), and "liberated" Westemwomen. (1986), Dwyer(1978), Makhlouf Memissi (1985). Memissipointsout thatin 30 Women may willingly resort such to fact,unlikethe ideologyof women's inferi- traditional symbols theveil,whichbecomes as thatpervadedWestern ority societiesin the endowed withnew meanings:the rejection past,theassumption be- ofWesternization theneed to rely traunderlying relations and on tween the sexes as defined Islam is that ditionalsources of identity by (Touba, 1985). womenare powerful and dangerous. Thisphenomenon often is overlooked reby 23 The female disadvantagewas espe- searchers, who tendto see theveil as a static cially pronouncedin certaincountriesand expression women's subordination. reof In subgroups (Cook and Hanslip,1964; Kimm- ality, veil is a symbol the thatcan be manipance, 1972; Tekce and Shorter, 1984; Mak- ulatedtoexpress complex realities (Makhlouf, inson,1985), and it is possiblethatitpersists 1979). among some groupseven thoughit can no 31 Joubeharguesthatwhilesuch an apbe longer discemedin aggregate statistics. proachmay be valid in developedcountries, 24 See Cain (1984, 1988) foranalysesof "for women in developingcountries, is it theassociation betweenlargeage differencesclearly pressing tackle less to suchspecific phebetween spouses, patriarchal and nomenathanto try changethewholeconstructure, to thepersistence highfertility. of textin whichtheylive.Womenwho liveuneconomic,or racial oppression 25 On thistopic,see for instance Kreager der political, believethattheir as oppression womenis part (1985) and Handwerker (1990). of their oppression people" (1987: 53). as 26 For typologies Arab politicalsysof 32 As for mostcountries abortion, permit see tems, Hudson(1977), Curtis (1981), Carr6 medicalreasons,while Algeria, (1982), Tuma (1987), and Richards and Wa- it forlimited Egypt, Jordan and allowiton broader grounds terbury (1990). and Tunisia makes it available on demand 27 See the summaryin Lapham and (Faour, 1989; Roudi,1988). The legalaspect, Mauldin (1985). is however, onlyone dimension thereality of 28 In contemporary Arab societiesthe of abortion,and its true prevalenceis uncontradiction between egalitarianand ine- known. elements conceming womenin Isgalitarian 33 Faour (1989) appliestheLaphamand lam is reflected the legal sphere.In all the in Mauldin (1985) framework the Arab to nation-states the region except Tunisia, world.While of it offers usefuldetailson indi"personalstatus" laws derivedfrom shari'a vidual countries,its conclusion that "inprinciples gender of differences regulate mar- creased use contraceptive is the outcomeof riageand family while civilcodes improvedsocioeconomic relations, conditions well as based on thenotionofequality all citizens of as stronger is effort" notparticularly program regulate economictransactions. This duality enlightening. has been called a "constitutional chasm" or 34 See Memissi (1991). legal "schizophrenia"(El-Saadawi, 1988), because thenotionofequal rights women for

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Ielerences
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