Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

The most obviousexample of the gapbetween the statusof Arab womenand men in theknowledge societyis the high illiteracyrate among girlsand women, as wellas the low rate offemale educationalenrolmentBOX 1-8of the knowledge society. Its current realitynot only requires growth and development,but the building of new languages withinthe language as well, as with all languagesthat play a creative and interactive role inthe knowledge society. This issue may alsohave a political dimension, in addition tothe historical and structural givens that withthe passage of time have become part ofthe structure of the language itself. Thesecall for serious critiques that can move usfrom language to ideas, or, in other words,to a critique of petrified ways of thinking(see Chapter 4).Linking the Arabic language withthe knowledge society strengthens itsposition and enables it to develop itsmedia, symbols, and systems (Nabil ‘Aliand Nadiya Hijazi, 2005, in Arabic). Thehistory of the formation of Arabic tells ofinnate capacities that we must now releasein order to tear down the barriers that thelanguage has tended to turn into absolutenorms. These two facets—the language’sinnate capacities and the technologiesof the knowledge society—provide theopportunity for Arabic to overcome thestagnation that dominates it. Both call forconscious effort, inspiring vision, and aWomen’s Freedom is a Key to Many DoorsGiving women the same opportunitiesas men is basic for women’sinvolvement in the knowledge society.It poses the empowerment of womenas an integrated system includinglaw, politics, society, economics, andculture, as a way to end the multidimensionaldigital divide and toestablish the conditions needed forthe assumption of citizenship on thepolitical, economic, social, and culturallevels. That we recognise educationas a fundamental driving force of theknowledge society should not lead usto restrict empowerment of women tothis critical sector. Education can in factplay that role only if we deal with it asa right and a freedom that expands toand intersects with, not only economic,social and cultural rights, but also civiland political freedoms. It is preciselySource: Ruqayya al-Musaddaq, background paper for the Report, in Arabic.these expansions and intersectionsthat open the door to the enjoymentof education as a right, one that is ineffect a debt owed to the individual bythe state under the rubric of “rights andobligations,” and a freedom to be enjoyedat the same level as those of choice andconduct and that falls under the rubric“freedom—independence.” This canonly happen through empowermentconsidered as a societal act in whichthe legal, political, economic, social,and cultural aspects of life intermingle.The active parties in this effort cannotbe limited to civil society organisationsconcerned with women’s issues butmust include all institutions, be thesepolitical parties, trade unions, or evengovernment bodies and internationalorganisations.comprehensive strategy. This is a politicalissue and, at the same time, a technicalchoice to be confided to specialised andqualified people, who are required to put inplace new rules and mechanisms in keepingwith the requirements of the knowledgeage. There can be no doubt that success inthis realm is possible, so long as attentionis paid to the exigencies of the age and theissues of change posed by the knowledgesociety (see Chapter 6).THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETYAND ARAB WOMENIn comparison to their situation in societyin the early part of the second half ofthe twentieth century, Arab women haveregistered advances. These gains are stillnot commensurate, however, with theactual role required of them in society.Nor are they fully in accord yet with thevalues of the knowledge society.The most obvious example of the gapbetween the status of Arab women andmen in the knowledge society is the highilliteracy rate among girls and women, aswell as the low rate of female educationalenrolment compared with that of males,especially in higher education (UNDP,2005, in Arabic).It is a fact that the Arab presence inthe knowledge society is still in its infancyand lacks a unified, concrete strategy, andthat much energy is squandered because ofpoor management and the lack of a clearvision and goal. This said, the positionof women on this unsteady ladder is stillunquestionably lower than that of men. Itis vital that a multi-pronged approach beadopted that seeks to bring women furtherinto the knowledge landscape, with effortson multiple fronts of empowerment toovercome the many problems that leavewomen at a lower level in society thanmen.The 2005 UNESCO Report TowardsKnowledge Societies raised the subject ofthe relationship between women andscience and revealed the issue of theunderrepresentation of women and that48 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT 2009