Facing barriers : Palestinian women in a Jewish-dominated labor market

Why are Muslim and Arab women less likely to be part of the modern labor force? A popular answer claims that it is the unique cultural and religious heritage of these women that leads them to choose or to follow options other than participating in the labor force. In many Muslim countries legislation is explicitly based on the Shari'a (Islamic law), and "family laws and practices treat women as inferior to men" (Hajjar 2004). Many Muslim countries also deliberately avoid labor laws that ban gender discrimination, do not provide maternity leaves, do not legislate affordable child care, and formally resist the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW; Sonbol 2010; cf. Afkhami and Friedl 1997; Anwar 2009; Sadiqi and Annaji 2011)