Womens Rights in the Middle East Timeline

1907:

Nabawiya Moussa becomes the first Egyptian

girl to earn a high school and college degree. She was one of
the few pioneers for womens rights and education in the
Middle East during that time period.

1920s: Iraqi women move for equal rights and

education. They began to demand proper schooling, the

dismissal of strict public dress codes, and recognition as full
citizens.

1934-1956: Women in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and

Egypt gain the rights to vote in the respective order.

1975: Only 3% of women in Yemen are literate.

1996: The Taliban begin to restrict the rights of

women in Afghanistan. They ban women from the workforce,

forbid female education, prohibit women from leaving their
homes without male company, and require women to wear a
face covering garment called a burqa at all times.

1998:

Turkeys parliament allows husbands to be

convicted for domestic abuse. Later on in the year, adultery

for women was no longer considered a crime. While men had

the right to commit adultery without punishment for many

years, women had faced up to three years in prison for the
same offence.

1999: The Israeli Defense Forces send a women to

serve under a combat unit for the first time.

2002:

Female education reaches an all time high in

the United Arab Emirates. Around ninety-eight percent of all

eligible females attend school.