Yemen and patriarchal societal structure
In most Middle Eastern nations, patriarchy plays a large role in cultural norms, which affect women’s access to education in the region. The male-centered and male-dominant cultural tradition ensures that women have a subordinate place in society, and policies that empower women are normally not a priority. Patriarchy is evident as a large part of everyday life in Yemen, and this is manifested in education.
In Yemen’s “conservative, male-dominated society […t]he school curriculum perpetuates the traditional values of social injustice, and Yemen is in the last place among 142 countries for gender equality” (Al-Arashi 4). This nation’s case typifies the status of many Middle Eastern nations, in that women in urban areas have had relatively easy access to education since the 1960s, compared to women in rural areas. Rurally, females still face many obstacles to their schooling: “almost three-quarters of the Yemeni population [are] living in small remote rural communities, and despite basic education being free as well as compulsory for all children aged 6–15, many girls are not sent to school” (Yuki 47). In rural areas, coeducational schools are a major problem from a social perspective, since many conservative families will not support sending their daughters to school with males (Beatty 9). Only five percent of the available schools are for females only; the other 95 percent are coeducational, or for males only (Al-Arashi 50).
In 2011, the World Economic Forum found that the male literacy rate was 79 percent, while the literacy rate for females lagged at 43 percent. Though the amount of female teachers has increased since 2000, “the female share in total basic education teachers was still as low as 27 percent in 2010/2011 [according to Yemen’s Ministry of Education], and the rural share is even less, negatively affecting girls’ enrolment and retention” (Yuki 47).
Another obstacle to equal access to education in Yemen, as well as much of the region, is poor quality of education. This includes both the teaching methods in Yemen, as well as the curriculum. Yemeni schools primarily rely on lectures, memorization, and busywork, and lack activities, games, resources, field trips, and technology. There is no early childhood education before the primary level except for wealthy families (Al-Arashi 32). Class sizes also present an issue, since an average of 50 students prevents one-on-one time with the instructor, as well as hinders group discussion (Al-Arashi 32).
However, the main obstacle is the belief that women’s education is basically unnecessary, and so there is a “[l]ack of desire on the part of parents to invest in the education of their female offspring. Where families are large, boys are almost certain to get priority. The expense of schooling for boys is often perceived to be more ‘justified’ in terms of material investment since they are to be the breadwinners” (Beatty 10). This is because it is normal in Yemeni culture for women to marry at a young age; more than half are married before age 18, and the average age of marriage is 14 (UIS). This leads to a high female dropout rate, as girls leave school when they get married to be caretakers of their husbands and families. UNICEF also reported in 2012 that out of all the dropouts in two major cities in Yemen, 74.48 percent were girls. This phenomenon is also prevalent in Syria, which will be examined more closely later in the study.
