Name:______________________________________________ Date:________________________
Middle East Women DBQ
Directions:
1. Read the essay question.
2. Then, read and analyze the following documents using the guided questions, keeping in mind the essay question.
3. Categorize the documents into Graphic Organizer #1, and create a thesis statement.
4. Finally, answer the essay question in a typed four or five paragraph essay using a minimum of 6 documents. (There should
be 3 documents per body paragraph in a 4 paragraph essay and 2 documents per body paragraph in a 5 paragraph essay).
Essay Question: Describe the different freedoms and limitations women experience in the Middle East.
Document #1
Document 1
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase
here).
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people
in the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Source: “Muslim Woman at Computer." Image.
http://www.istockphoto.com. World History: The Modern
Era. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
Caption: Fully covered Muslim woman works at a computer
in Oman. The worldwide focus on the Middle East in recent
years, has spurred
the women's rights movement in the region.
Document
2
Omani women gained the right to vote and the right to hold
office in 1997.
Document 2
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Document 2
Source: “Saudi Arabia: Advisory Council Urges Vote for
Women.” New York Times 7 June 2011: A8. Global Issues in
Context. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
Date
____________________________________
The advisory Shura Council said Monday that women should
be allowed to vote and run as candidates in future [community]
elections. Saudi authorities announced in March that half the
seats in municipal councils would be elected in the future, but
they ruled out female candidates or voters. The council said the
government ''should take the necessary measures to include
female voters in municipal elections, in accordance with
Islamic Sharia.'' A council spokesman said the recommendation
''has nothing to do with the current elections but is rather a
recommendation for future elections.”
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase
here).
Type of Document
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people
in the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Document 3
Source: Heather Sharp, “Dubai Women Storm World of
Work,” BBC News, 2 Aug. 2005.
Document 3
Author (s) or source
“With the job opportunities of a booming economy, a
government drive to empower and educate women and
exposure to other cultures, Dubai's [located in the UAE]
women are moving in increasing numbers into a wide
range of professions. The newspapers proudly tout the
achievements of women firefighters, police officers,
[and] business leaders. Among UAE nationals it is
generally considered inappropriate for women to speak
to men they are neither married nor related to in public.
All government universities are single-sex. But contact
with male work colleagues is increasingly seen as
acceptable. Amna Mazam, a UAE national, is a student
counselor at Dubai Women's College. She says 50-60%
of their 2,300 students are likely to continue into
employment. The majority of the others do not work
because of pressure from their parents or husbands, she
says, although some choose to stay at home to raise
children full time. However, among Dubai students I
meet a stream of highly ambitious, determined young
women with supportive families. Several, like business
marketing student Maria Hanif Qassimi, 20, say they
would refuse to marry a man who would not allow them
to work. "I've worked very hard to have a career, and I
don't want to just blow it off," she said. Few, like IT
graduate Salama, would accept a future husband's
demands to stay at home: "It's our religion - what he
says, I must do," she says. Others like Bushra
Mohammed Roken, 19, the leader of the student council
at Zayed University, would work around such views…If
he doesn't want me to go out, it's not like I'm in prison,
because I could set up my own business from home..."
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Document 4
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Document 4
Type of Document
Source: Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, “Women
in the UAE,” UAE Embassy, 18 April 2013.
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
“The Constitution of the UAE guarantees equal rights for
both men and women. Under the Constitution, women
enjoy the same legal status, claim to titles, access to
education and the right to practice professions as men.
They are also guaranteed the same access to
employment, health and family welfare facilities. The
rights of women to inherit property are also guaranteed
and ensured.”
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Document 5
Source: Mohammed Jamjoom and Laura Smith-Spark,
“Saudi Arabia Women Defy Authorities over Female
Driving Ban,” CNN, 26 October 2013.
“In an extraordinary display of civil disobedience, women
in Saudi Arabia on Saturday defied their nation's…ban on
women driving by getting behind the steering wheel.
After a campaign for change gathered pace on social
media, numerous women filmed themselves behind the
wheel Saturday in various cities and uploaded those
videos to YouTube. Several Saudi supporters of the
October 26th Women's Driving Campaign told CNN that
at least 25 women drove Saturday. Authorities stopped
five women who were spotted driving in the Saudi capital
and "each case was dealt with accordingly," Col. Fawaz
Al-Meeman of Riyadh police told CNN. Al-Meeman, an
assistant spokesman for that city's police department,
explained that the women weren't taken to police stations.
Instead, they were kept in their vehicles until their male
guardians arrived, at which point the women were
released after signing pledges not to drive again…”
Document #6
Document 5
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase
here).
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Source Citation: “The Global Gender Gap Report,” World Economic Forum, 2011.
Kuwait’s Gender Gap Index Scores
Document 6
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________ Date _____________________________________________
Type of Document _______________________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Document 7
Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for
Statistics, "Literacy Statistics" (www.uis.unesco.org,
accessed March 11, 2003).
Literacy Rates Among Young Women in Selected
Countries, 1970-2000
Document 7
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Document 8
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Document 8
Source: Katy Watson, “Dubai Dress Code: ‘Cover
up,’ UAE Women Tell Foreigners,” BBC News, 5 July
2012.
“Fed up with what's seen as a lack of respect for the
local culture, two young Emirati women started a
twitter campaign called #UAEDressCode, urging
foreigners to cover up in public places. And hundreds
of people have weighed in - with one tweet suggesting
setting up a police department where you could
complain about inappropriate clothing. "An extra few
inches of cloth won't kill you," said another. Twentythree-year-old Asma started the campaign with a
friend. Greeting me, and wearing a low-cut tunic and
leggings in the privacy of her own home, she told me
why she got involved. "The way some people dress
here is offensive to our beliefs," she told me. "Malls
are public places and there are families and children."
A sundress, she says, is good for a beach, but not for
shopping.
All the malls here have notices at the entrances asking
shoppers to cover their shoulders and knees but Asma
says that is not enough. She wants a law to be
introduced to ensure the dress code is adhered to…”
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Document 9
Source: “Leaders Hail Kuwait Women’s Votes.”
BBC News, 17 May 2005.
Document 9
Author (s) or source
“The United States and the United Nations have both
welcomed Kuwait's decision to give full political
rights to women as an important advance…The
result, announced by the speaker of parliament, was
greeted with thunderous applause from the public
gallery where backers of the amendment were
gathered. Outside, drivers hooted their horns, people
danced and cheered and lit fireworks.
"We made it. This is history," said suffrage activist
Roula Dashti."Our target is the parliamentary polls in
2007. I'm starting my campaign from today."
Islamist MPs [Members of Parliament], who foiled
past suffrage moves, added a clause on Monday
saying women must abide by Islamic law when
voting and campaigning…Some Islamists accused
the government of pressurizing MPs to pass the
amendment to the electoral law, saying the change
goes against religious teaching and serves US
interests. Kuwait becomes the fourth Gulf country
where women as well as men can vote in elections
after Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Saudi Arabia holds
strictly limited, male-only elections.
"Thank God we finished with this issue," Prime
Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said.
"I want our womenfolk to help us build our beloved
country and our future."
Title
_______________________________________________
Document 10
Source: “Viewpoint: Saudi Women Should Not Drive,”
BBC News, 3 October 2011.
The vast majority of women do not drive in [Saudi
Arabia] and there remains much opposition to female
drivers. A 25-year-old Saudi man, Nawwaf, told BBC
Radio 4's World at One program why he does not want to
see women driving in Saudi Arabia. "I think women
driving is the key to a lot of things. In Western countries,
100 years ago women's clothes were different but now
you can see they are a little bit naked. "If you start now
to let women drive, let them go wherever they want, let
them do whatever they want, we will be in the same
position some day. Then Saudi Arabia will be like New
York. "It's not good for some girl to show her body, wear
very short skirts. This is not about Saudi Arabia, it's about
Islam. We've got a generation who were raised watching
Gossip Girls and other [similar] series. They only want to
be like that, dress like that, drive like that. It's not about
need. "Now it's driving [women want]. After five years it
will be taking off the abaya [all-covering veil and gown],
after 10 years they will ask to be allowed to wear short
skirts. This is how it's going, that is how I feel…”
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?
Document 10
Author (s) or source
Title
_______________________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Type of Document
_______________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of the document? (Paraphrase here).
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Think about point-of-view. How does the author or people in
the article feel about women in the Middle East? Why?