Women and development in Muslim Middle East and North African countries

The world has been amazed by social movements taking place in the Muslim Middle East and North African (MMENA) countries since 2010, particularly a large presence of young men and women in street demonstrations. These social movements have in part been attributed to high unemployment rates and poverty among young people who constitute a large share of the population. Some countries in East Asia and South America have made substantial socio-economic progress by particularly investing in education, reproductive health and economic activity of young women. This paper uses a range of data sources to investigate the extent to which women's status is associated with the level of socio-economic development in the MMENA countries in the year 2009, just before the recent social unrests began. There is a considerable diversity in development and women's status in the region, yet the level of development is found to be associated with women's higher access to education, better reproductive health and labour force participation. This suggests that the demographic changes taking place in the region and the power created by the current age structure of women can be guided and used to speed up the process of development within a favourable socio-political environment.