I've been doing a lot of research on women in the workforce in Egypt and am surprised at how interesting statistics are. Not only for the information that it gives you, but (at least in this UN report discussing social statistics in Egypt (2003)) in the information that it knows that it lacks. There are so many factors here that no one can actually put numbers on. Whether it is just impossible to get the numbers (like in how many street children are out there) or the numbers are incorrect because some families do not find it necessary to inform surveys (as in disabled family members).
The most interesting thing that I found was that Egypt seems to be promoting women in the workforce and has begun to pave a way for women of all social statuses to be culturally accepted in these settings. This is so refreshing since I am reading Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks and her book gives flesh to some of the most conservative and fundamental parts of the Middle East - in reference to women.
Even though Egypt seems to be progressive here, there is still the problem of not having enough jobs. (My host family went down to Luxor over Christmas and had a felucca driver who had his BA in English literature. And, another friend of theirs told us he just hired an accountant to be a playground attendant.) So many people are qualified for the open positions it is difficult to secure a position.
If you have access to JStor, there is also a really interesting article (yet verrrry academic) by Judith Tucker, Egyptian Women in the Work Force: An Historical Survey. I mean, if you're interested.
I'm kind of reading a lot. If you've got any interesting suggestions, let me know!
Oh, also, read these if you're interested in the border conflict.
(from NY Times and Reuters)
Pictures of what happened
Egypt putting back up blockade
Stopping the block of Supplies
2 comments:
It's also possible that Egypt suffers from the common Arab problem of credential inflation. The way someone explained it, speaking of Iraq: If someone says he's an engineer, he's likely a handyman. If parents boast that their son is a doctor, he probably did well on a science test in high school.
dang girl!!!!
I really like your blog as always and its nice to hear about what you are reading and where your head is from time to time. I know that your mental space is a big part of living abroad and its nice to get a little window into yours. I want your cheese~.
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