AMIRA EL-AZHARY SONBOL, Women of Jordan: Islam, Labor, and the Law, Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East Series (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2003). Pp. 311. $45.00 cloth, $24.95 paper

Extract

In an Arab country that boasts the highest female literacy rate in the region (79.4% in 1998) and arguably the best educational system, how is it that Jordanian women's participation in the economy falls so terribly short of the hopeful expectations generated by these facts? In her study of women in Jordan, Amira El-Azhary Sonbol provides answers to this question. First, while the Jordanian constitution proclaims equal rights for women, specific legal codes limit these rights. Second, school curricula and classroom practices are gendered, encouraging early marriage for girls, not the pursuit of a career. Third, social attitudes continue to be patriarchal. While all the chapters of the book are written with the aim of addressing Sonbol's central concern, they are also intended to stand individually. The format serves a practical purpose: to facilitate discussion and promote legal change in Jordan and elsewhere.