ABSTRACT
The degree of inequality between men and women varies significantly within the region, and in some cases the situation looks quite self-contradictory. Most countries have universal suffrage, but in Lebanon women may vote only if they have had elementary education, and in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia only men may vote. Yet Kuwait, despite that institutionalized discrimination against women, is one of the Arab countries where there have been great advances in recent decades and the literacy rates for men and women are similar. The Arab Human Development Report has identified three key deficits in Arab societies, deficits of freedom, knowledge and empowerment of women. The recognition that the lack of gender equality is one of the key issues defining the region's development prospects could mark a major step forward in thinking about the dilemmas of development in the Arab world.
