The role of woman in Egypt can partly be derived from the Islam religion they adhere to in most cases. However, Madiha El-Safty of the department of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Egyptology of the American University in Cairo, Egypt, writes that in order to understand the predicament of Muslim woman in Egypt, one should look beyond the religion. Whereas the Islam mostly is blamed for discriminatory practices against woman, it has also to do a lot with strong social and cultural forces which shape their position in society. Over the years woman have gained more rights, but they often continue to suffer as these rights are often not put into practice because of social and cultural influences (1).
However, the Egyptian leader has imposed (nearly tyrannically) a non Muslim system by strong means. Likely that could also explain that it is changing slowly.
An interesting article about gender-role attitudes among Egyptian Adolescents, written by Barbara S. Mensch, Barbara L. Ibrahim, Susan M. Lee, and Omaima El-Gibaly(2), shows us that the role and behaviour of woman indeed still is an integral part of the Egyptian culture. In their article they refer to research done by El-Kholy in 1997 under young adolescents (16-19 years) about gender-role attitudes. When it comes to statements whether wives should defer to their husbands, a fairly patriarchal view of relations between husband and wife emerges. The vast majority of both boys and girls agree that the wife “must have her husband’s permission for everything.” A smaller, though still substantial proportion believe that a wife must accept a husband’s opinion if she differs with him, that a wife must defer to the husband when it comes to spending “money left over after household’s needs are met,” and that a wife must comply with the husband’s views about childbearing.
Children are as you raise them. The child period in life can be characterized as the period wherein the personality is developed. In this case it explains that the majority still has the same values. Why changing if your frame of reference is not favourable for changing? Looking back in history from this point of view we can refer to the Hitler youth or the many civil wars in Africa where many indoctrinated children where taught to fight.
(1) Madiha El-Safty – http://www.springerlink.com/content/u316170473t21144/
(2) http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/councilarticles/sfp/SFP341Mensch.pdf