Who is the enemy of Arab women By Joyce Chediac Who is the Arab woman?
What are her concerns and problems? To hear it from the Clinton administration, Arab men-especially leaders like Saddam Hussein-are the Arab woman’s problem. And the U.S. government is the Arab woman’s friend. But in the two Arab countries where women have made significant gains-Iraq and Libya-U.S.-imposed sanctions are eroding these gains. And in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, whose governments are U.S. allies, women have few rights and little economic opportunity. U.S. sanctions target women Between the 1958 revolution and the Gulf War, the Iraqi nationalist government used its oil wealth to build modern cities for 70 percent of the people. Iraq’s model medical system, probably the most advanced in the region, was free. Food was readily available and affordable. Overall health was among the best in the entire Arab world. Such gains made life better for all classes of Iraqis, and met many of the special needs of women concerning child-bearing and rearing and managing the home. But in 1991 th
