Summary and Conclusion

Abstract

Gender-discriminating norms, especially those rooted in sacred texts and teachings, have been exploited for centuries and even millennia to impose assigned identities and roles on women. This is especially in the gender-discriminating collectivist societies, such as many countries in the Arab world, with varying degrees of collectivism and impositions of such norms. Gender discrimination is treated with varying degrees of normalcy in different Arab countries; most discrimination is internalized by Arab women. The formalization of sacred beliefs and social norms have detrimental effects on women’s capabilities and functionings, which, in turn, violate women’s rights and freedom—rights that are sanctioned in universal human rights declarations, protocols, and conventions.

Community-based strategies can focus on empowering women, reaching out to men, and changing the beliefs and attitudes that permit abusive behaviors. CHANGE (1999: 2)