穆斯林產油國的性別不平等及其對馬來西亞婦女地位之意涵 - 政大學術集成

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(1)International Master’s Program in International Studies National Chengchi University 國立政治大學國際研究英語碩士學位學程. 學. ‧ 國. 治政 Gender Inequality in Muslim大Majority Petro立 States: Implications for Women’s Status in Malaysia. ‧. 穆斯林產油國的性別不平等及其對馬來西亞婦女地位之意涵 n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Jan Juhas Advisor: Yung-Fang Lin, Ph.D.. June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(2) Table of Contents List of Figures, Maps and Tables Abstract Chapter 1. Introduction. 1. 1.1 Research Motivation and Purpose. 2. 1.2 Theoretical framework. 7. 1.3 Methodology. 9. 1.4 Literature Review. 15. 1.4.1 Oil and Gender Inequality. 15. 1.4.2 Religion and Gender Inequality. 25. 政治大 1.4.3 Gender Inequality in Malaysia 立. 31. ‧ 國. 學. 33. 2.1 Dutch Disease and its consequences on gender inequality in MENA. 33. ‧. 41. y. Chapter 2. Oil, Islam and Gender Inequality in Middle East and North Africa. 49. 2.2 Religion and its consequences on gender inequality in MENA. al. n. 3.1 Malaysia as a Petro-state. Ch. engchi. 3.2 Diversification of Economy and Women’s Status 3.3 Conclusion Chapter 4. Islam and Women´s Status in Malaysia. er. io. Chapter 3. Oil and Women´s Status in Malaysia. sit. Nat. 2.3 Conclusion. i n U. v. 51 52 54 63 65. 4.1 Malaysia as a Muslim Majority Country. 67. 4.2 Cultural Pluralism and Women’s Status. 70. 4.3 Conclusion. 93. Chapter 5. Conclusion. 95. Appendix. 100. Bibliography. 102. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(3) List of Figures, Maps and Tables. Figure 1.1 Development of Gender Inequality Index in Malaysia and MENA Table 1.1 Muslim Majority Petro states – Oil Income per Capita Ranking 2010 Table 1.2 Gender Inequality Index 2016 – The bottom countries out of 144 countries Figure 2.1 Share of Total GDP and Employment in MENA – 2014 Figure 2.3 Overall Islamicity Index Ranking for Muslim Countries (2000, 2005, 2010, 2016) Map 2.2 Countries´ Commodities Dependency – 2016. 政治大 Map 2.3 Percentage of Muslim Population in Individual Countries – 2014 立. ‧ 國. 學. Map 2.4 Gender Equality Index Map – 2014. Table 3.2 Percentage Distribution of Women Labour Force (over Total Labour Force) by. sit. Nat. Map 4.1 Redistribution of Muslim Population across Malaysia. y. ‧. Sector (1970 – 2000). Figure 4.1 (first page). er. al. v i n Ch U Analyzing Questionnaires: e n g c h iComponents n. and MENA. io. Figure 3.2 Comparisons of Economic Complexity Index Developments of Malaysia. of Islamic Beliefs and. Traditional Views Influencing Women´s Status. Figure 4.2 (second page) Analyzing Questionnaires: Components of Islamic Beliefs and Traditional Views Influencing Women´s Status Figure 4.3 Correlation of Islamist religiosity vs. Percentage of non-Muslim in Malaysia Figure 4.4 Statistics: Regression of Islamicity and Percentage of non-Muslims. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(4) Abstract Admitting the complexity of the issues, some religious norms and traditions together with the inflow of oil revenues might contribute to the subordination of women in the society. This thesis uses qualitative research methods to elaborate the variables influencing the status of women in Muslim majority Petro-states. The extraordinary wealth flowing from mineral and natural resources mixed with Islamist religion can contribute to the formation of gender inequalities in Muslim majority Petro countries. The study is analyzing the effect of oil revenues and Islam on gender inequality in order to answer why women in some of the. 政治大 where women suffer from highest 立 gender inequality indexes. Research provides a complex Muslim oil abundant countries are doing better than in the Middle East and North Africa,. ‧ 國. 學. analysis of the case of Malaysia, as a country rich in natural resources, having Muslim majority population, but still considered as a relatively gender equal society. The case of. ‧. Malaysia serves as the counter-argument, proving the existence of counter variables,. Nat. sit. y. mitigating the negative influence of oil revenues and Islam religiosity in Malaysia, causing. n. al. er. io. deep gender gaps in countries of MENA. This analysis identifies to what extent oil revenues. i n U. v. are causing gender inequality, answering why Malaysia as a Muslim country, rich on natural. Ch. engchi. resources, can enjoy a lower level of gender inequality compared to the Middle East and North African region; in order to identify not quantifiable variables impacting the status of women in Muslim majority countries. Key Words: Gender inequality, Oil revenues, Islamic Religion, MENA, Malaysia. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(5) 摘要. 大多數石油產出國的社會內都有性別不平等的現象。考慮到問題的複雜性，一些宗教規範和傳統以及石油收入都可能是造成這些國家的婦女社會低位較低的原因。本文採用質性研究方法來闡述影響穆斯林世界中石油產出國的婦女地位之變因。礦產等自然資源帶來的巨大財富以及伊斯蘭教信仰可能是導致穆斯林世界中大多數石油國家性別不平等的原因。中東和北非的性別不平等指數位居全球首位，但是一些盛產石油的穆斯林國家的婦女地位較中東和北非的婦女來得高，本研究分析了石油收入和伊斯蘭教對性別不平等的影響，並針對此現象作一回應。本研究對馬來西亞為例，深入分析自然資源豐富且國內多數人口信奉穆斯林的馬國，是如何被視為一個性別相對平等的社會。馬來西亞的案例是一反論證，造成中東和北非地區性別鴻溝的是產油收入以及伊斯蘭教，不過這兩者在馬國卻沒有明顯的作用。根據研究的分析結果確定了石油收入. 政治大. 是造成一定程度上的性別不平等之因，也為自然資源豐富的穆斯林國家──馬來西亞，相較於中東和北非地區，性別不平等程度較低的現象找到解答，藉以確定影響大多數穆斯林國家婦女地位非量化的變因。. 立. ‧ 國. 學. 關鍵字：性別不平等、石油收入、伊斯蘭地區、中東及北非、馬來西亞. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(6) Chapter 1. Introduction. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as region with highest number of Muslim majority countries holding over half of the world oil resources is a very extraordinary example where enormous wealth flowing from mineral and natural resources failed to bring the expected socio-economic development, closing the tremendously deep gender gap. However, there are successful stories of countries which are oil abundant Muslim majority, where women can enjoy relatively gender equal status in comparison to men as case of Malaysia is proving.. 立. 政治大. Women represent half of the world population; therefore, from pragmatic point of. ‧ 國. 學. view, they possessed with strong labour and economic power, which could be a highly. ‧. beneficial contributor in order to lift many countries above the poverty and underdevelopment. sit. y. Nat. line, yet there are still not integrated fully into value creation process. 1 Bringing women into. io. er. the workplace should not only improve women empowerment, but according World. al. Economic Forum, it should significantly contribute into the world economy, causing domino. n. v i n C hcan be applied notUonly inside of MENA, but also in effect of positive developments, which engchi. the other Muslim majority Petro-states and other economically underdeveloped countries. 2 The recent report “Women, Work and the Economy,” reveals that closing gender gaps in the labour market would raise GDP in the United States by 5 percent, in the United Arab Emirates by 12 percent, and in Egypt by 34 percent.3. 1. Paul Saba, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” World Economic Forum, “Why gender equality makes business sense,” WEF, (January 20, 2016), Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/why-gender-equality-makes-business-sense/ 3 Devex, “How gender equality can boost economic growth,” Devex (October 21, 2013), Available at: https://www.devex.com/news/sponsored/how-gender-equality-can-boost-economic-growth-82130 2. 1. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(7) This thesis can further serve as to call for action for governments to strike gender inequality in order to not only close the gender gaps in the society, but also boost economic performance of the countries suffering from highest gender inequality indexes to diversify their economies and provide infrastructure for both genders equally, reducing massive gender gaps by creating more economic opportunities for women. Therefore, knowing the causes of gender inequality could lead to proper policy implication to not only improve women´s status in the society, but bringing many improvements with itself.. 政治大. 1.1 Research Motivation and Purpose. 立. Common sense would predict that the possession of one of the greatest oil reserves in. ‧ 國. 學. the world will make the region one of the most developed, not only politico-economically, but. ‧. also socio-economically. This logic of development should be progressing towards higher. sit. y. Nat. levels of gender equality as it happened in Western countries, where economic development. io. er. provided opportunities for women to work, serving as important leverage for women´s status. al. as improvement in the society. However, the opposite is a reality, in many states in the Middle. n. v i n Cnot the oil did the expected socio-economic development; h ebring ngchi U. East and North Africa,. unfortunately, the regions’ stereotypes of underdevelopment, poverty and highest levels of gender inequalities still prevail. Therefore, the main focus of following chapter of this thesis is to evaluate the role of oil and Islamist religion as variables responsible for keeping dexterously deep gender gap in Muslim majority Petro-states. Muslim majority Petro states are stereotypically composed out of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries; however, on the other hand, there are countries of. Kazakhstan, Brunei, and Malaysia, which are labelled as Muslim majority countries as well, possessing with enough of oil reserves, adding them into focus group of Muslim majority 2. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(8) Petro states. Although, the negative forces of oil revenues and Islamist religiosity are having supposedly different consequences on gender inequality index in MENA region and outside of this region. The main puzzle of this thesis is to examine why women in Malaysia can enjoy higher gender status compared to women living in MENA region. Table 1.1 Muslim majority Petro states – Oil Income per Capita Ranking 2010 majority Muslim petro states according oil income per capita located outside of MENA 1. Qatar. 7. Oman. 13. MALAYSIA. 2. Kuwait. 8. Kazakhstan. 14. Syria. 3. United Arab Emirates. 9.Iraq. 6. Libya. 16. Yemen. 11. Algeria. 17. Egypt. 12. Iran. 18. Indonesia. 學. 5. Saudi Arabia. 立 10. Bahrain. ‧. ‧ 國. 4. Brunei. 政治大 15. Nigeria. Source: World Bank, “Oil Income per Capita (% of GDP),” The World Bank (Available at:. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. y. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PETR.RT.ZS). Ch. i n U. v. A woman living in one of MENA countries has a high chance to suffer from the. engchi. highest index of gender inequality in comparison to other Muslim or non-Muslim countries outside of the region. As the latest World Economic Forum´s Gender Gap Report indicated, that from the bottom of 25 countries marked as the worst in gender equality index around the world, 16 of them are from Muslim majority MENA region. 4 The Report´s the highest possible score is 1 (equality) and the lowest possible score is 0 (inequality). The best country. 4. World Economic Report, “The Global Gender Gap Report 2016,” WEF, (2016), Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF_Global_Gender_Gap_Report_2016.pdf. 3. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(9) performing in 2016 was Iceland (0.874), Malaysia ranked 106th (0.666) before Japan (111th) and South Korea (116th).5 Table 1.2 Gender Inequality Index 2016 – The bottom countries out of 144 countries. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Source: World Economic Forum, “The Global Gender Gap Report – Rankings 2016,” The World Economic Forum, Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report2016/rankings/. 5. World Economic Report, “The Global Gender Gap Report 2016,” WEF, (2016), Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF_Global_Gender_Gap_Report_2016.pdf. 4. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(10) Due to slight improvement of MENA´s gender inequality index, they still ranks at the bottom against the other regions across the globe. However, on educational attainment countries located inside of MENA are doing better compared to South Asia, but the region ranks the lowest on women´s economic and political participation.6 Malaysia fully closed its gender gap in educational attainment, but also experienced only slight improvement of women´s status comparable with MENA region, as visible on figure 1.1 indicating gender inequality development over one decade in Malaysia and average index of MENA region. 7 Figure 1.1 Development of Gender Inequality Index in Malaysia and MENA. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Source: own graph based on variables retrieved from World Economic Forum, “The Global Gender Gap Report – Rankings from 2006 – 2017,” The World Economic Forum, Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/. 6. World Economic Forum, “The Global Gender Gap Report – Rankings 2016,” Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/rankings/ 7 Ibid.. 5. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(11) Defining the effects of oil revenues and Islam religiosity on women´s status will initially help this thesis to understand, why do some oil abundant Muslim majority states suffer from worst gender inequality rates, while the other countries are doing relatively better. Malaysia will serve as a counter-argument to explore mitigating variables, which are reducing negative consequences of oil revenues and Islamist religion. As Literature review suggests a high correlation of both, Islam religiosity and oil dependency on gender inequality index, directly affecting women´s status in majority Muslim. 政治大. Petro-states. Thus, this thesis also analyses the variables mitigating negative consequences of. 立. oil and religion in case of Malaysia, which are making Malaysian women relatively more. ‧ 國. 學. gender equal. Malaysia poses with significant reserves of crude oil, where women are relatively equal to their male counterparts based on gender equality index, bringing up the. ‧. question, why Malaysian Muslim women are more empowered than their Muslim sisters. y. Nat. al. v i n C hcoming from oilUrevenues wealth engchi. n Why the enormous. er. io. more gender equal compared to women from MENA region?. sit. living in MENA region? What are the variables allowing Malaysian women to be relatively. did not bring gender. improvements? Can wealth coming from oil resources be responsible for this phenomenon of the deep gender gap? All these questions are important to be elaborated before turning to the main research question why do some oil abundant Muslim countries empower their women, while others do not; allowing us to examine variables which have mitigating power to counter role of oil and Islamist religiosity outside of MENA region.. 6. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(12) 1.2 Theoretical Framework. Paradoxically, the MENA region, possessing the largest commercial quantities of crude oil, turned out to be a region with the highest gender inequality index across the globe. 8 On the other hand, incoming wealth from natural resources did not bring positive fortune for women status in predominantly Muslim majority countries. Therefore, this paper will make a theoretical link between oil and gender inequality throughout Islamist perspective to draw a correlation between these variables to find out how oil can negatively influence women’s status in the society, allowing us to examine the different counter variables, mitigating. 政治大. negative consequences of oil revenues in Malaysia, keeping society relatively gender equal.. 立. To provide a solid ground for a research, the aim of theoretical part is to uncover the. ‧ 國. 學. connections between oil, Islam, and other variables influencing gender inequality in Muslim. ‧. majority Petro states also, explaining how and to what extent oil revenues and Islam are. sit. y. Nat. causing greater gender inequality to happen. In order to discover the connection between oil. io. er. and the greater gender gap in relatively Muslim majority countries, thus economic model, Dutch Disease Theory, will explain the phenomenon of the negative correlation between oil. al. n. v i n dependency and gender inequality.C Onhthe other hand, explaining the way of how religion engchi U affects the society in the Muslim majority Petro states, thesis is going to use a theory of religious impact on the society in order to uncover the effects of religion. The purpose is to describe the way of how oil revenues and Islamist religiosity can negatively shape gender inequality in Muslim majority petro-states.. This thesis seeks to provide a brief analytical account of the correlation between oil, Islam and gender inequality in MENA to measure the scale of significance of both 8. U.S. Energy Information Administration, “International Energy Statistics,” (accessed: October, 2017), Available at: http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=5&pid=57&aid=6&cid=regions&syid=2010&eyid=20 14&unit=BB.. 7. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(13) independent variables to validate their impact, causing gender inequality in the region and to measure the significance of oil towards other variables, providing comparison scale. This thesis also argue that oil is not only one and the most powerful variable explaining gender gap in Muslim majority countries as Michael Ross is claiming, but on the other hand there is Islamic religion, traditions, role of governments and other variables which might potentially negatively shape gender equality in the Muslim majority petro states as we are going to observe in the case of Malaysia. The author believes that forces of religiosity are more powerful than the countries´. 政治大. dependency on oil exports causing gender gaps in the societies, especially in MENA. 立. countries. However, by the examination of Malaysian case, we might find other potential. ‧ 國. 學. variables, which might be more significant rather than oil and Islam combined together. By addressing basic hypotheses, this work aims to verify these assumptions quantitatively and. ‧. qualitatively by choosing the case study of Malaysia to compare and address the issue of. Nat. sit. y. gender gap caused by oil and religious beliefs. In the case of Malaysia, as Petro state with. n. al. er. io. majority Muslim population with higher geographical proximity from the MENA region. i n U. v. makes a good example to observe variables influencing gender inequality in Muslim majority Petro states.. Ch. engchi. In order to more effectively assess and describe the complexity of the effects of oil and religion on women´s subordination in Muslim majority countries to understand the link between oil, Islam and gender gap, it is important to put it into theoretical perspective, explaining the role of oil and its negative economic consequences in Muslim majority countries, and how it directly affects women’s status in society. It is essential to choose the theoretical approach which will offer us an explanation of how oil can be correlated with gender inequality index and what are the negative consequences of countries´ dependence on. 8. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(14) oil. The Dutch Disease theory would be the most suitable theory in order to observe the process of negative consequences of oil revenues on women´s employment, causing the gender inequality index to rise; as low participation of women in labour, education, and politics is decreasing their status as whole in the society, subsequently deepening gap between genders.. 1.3 Methodology This thesis is divided into two main sections. The first section is providing a theoretical framework of consequences of oil revenues and Islamist religion on the status of. 政治大. women in MENA. The second provides a qualitative platform of the case study of Malaysia,. 立. trying to provide validity of previous research results drew from a literature review. Essential. ‧ 國. 學. will be to find to what extent oil revenues and Islamist religiosity are responsible for causing gender inequalities in Muslim majority countries. On the other hand to overview why MENA. ‧. countries suffer from the lowest levels of gender equality and why some oil abundant. y. Nat. n. er. io. al. sit. countries are doing relatively better than the others.. v. Objectively point out the strengths and weaknesses of the previous researches, if the. Ch. engchi. i n U. oil revenues and Islamist religion are powerful independent variables to sweep the gender equality away. The author is going to examine literature review of previous quantitative and qualitative studies in order to provide a correlation between oil revenues, Islamist religiosity, and gender inequality index, applied inside of the MENA region. The following chapters will provide an overview, where the case of Malaysia will be examined, if the results of previous literature can be applied in MENA countries, furthermore if the findings can be implemented in the case study of Malaysia. This study is going to provide a good base for examination of why Malaysian women can enjoy higher gender equality ranking, than women living in. 9. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(15) MENA region. The second section of the case of Malaysia will provide further analyses of counter variables mitigating negative consequences of the oil revenues and Islam.. Dutch Disease or Resource curse theory—is used in order to explain how the possession of oil resources can often have negative consequences on the economic and political development of oil-producing states, affecting women´s status to a high extent, applied in MENA. Therefore, knowing the way of how oil revenues are causing gender inequality could lead to further examination of other variables closely associated with negative workings of oil. It will help to find mitigating variables in the case study of. 政治大. Malaysia, which are lessening negative effects of oil, allowing Malaysian women to enjoy. 立. higher women´s status.. ‧ 國. 學. Chapter II will provide empirical case studies in order to support the theory and. ‧. hypothesis of negative correlation of oil, Islam on gender inequality in MENA region. This. sit. y. Nat. chapter will characterize MENA countries in order to support the credibility of Dutch disease. io. er. and negative workings of Islam on gender inequality inside of countries of MENA. The second part of the chapter will also provide a visual representation of various levels of. al. n. v i n C h allowing us to U variables impacting gender inequality, e n g c h i find potential mitigating variables, which their credibility can be tested in the case of Malaysia.. To compare the different levels of significance of oil, Islam and other variables, which are theoretically affecting gender inequality index. The previous results can be drawn out of literature review. Oil revenues and the percentage of Muslim population are theoretically causing gender inequality to happen, as literature review suggests; therefore, the second chapter will examine the variables and compare their significance of correlation with the gender inequality index, in order to provide the most objective answer to what extent are oil exports and Islam responsible for the low gender status in Muslim majority countries. 10. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(16) This thesis also focuses on economic growth and development, since literature review suggests the negative correlation of oil revenues and economic development in majority Muslim petro states; suggesting that oil revenues cannot bring economic development, creating more opportunities for women to seek employment, but on the other side, economic growth caused by oil booms are unstable, therefore reviewing literature review and building up connections side by side with theoretical framework can uncover the effects of oil revenues, impacting economic development, furthermore influencing women´s opportunity to work, causing gender inequality to happen.. 政治大. The second part of the thesis is consisted out of two chapters. It provides support. 立. through a qualitative platform for conclusions drawn out of literature review, by the. ‧ 國. 學. examination of the variables affecting gender inequality in Malaysia, uncovering the potential variables, which differ from MENA variables, mitigating negative consequences of. ‧. independent variables of oil and Islamist religion in Muslim majority countries. The First. Nat. sit. y. chapter provides a comparison of similarities and differences between MENA countries and. n. al. er. io. Malaysia serving as a valuable tool for explaining the difference in women´s status in two. i n U. v. different regions. It identifies the mitigating variables of the negative consequences of oil and. Ch. engchi. Islam not causing such a deep gender gap in Malaysia in comparison to MENA region. The first chapter is going to help us to explain, why Malaysia is a relatively gender equal country, even due to the fact of being Muslim majority country, possessing significant reserves of oil.. Before turning to the examination of the case of Malaysia, it is important to analyze the effect of oil revenues and Islamist religion on the gender inequality by looking at the historical development of the position of women in Muslim majority countries and to analyse effects of Islamist beliefs on traditions and everyday life of women in Muslim countries. The oil in relation to gender inequality can be examined by Dutch disease theory to find. 11. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(17) applicability within Muslim majority countries. This part of work will closely explain the role of both, oil and religion impacting gender inequality in Muslim majority Petro countries, providing us a base for further comparison of the case of Malaysia and other majority Muslim countries in MENA. The comparison above explains why Malaysian women can enjoy higher gender equality privileges towards males compared their Islamist sisters located in MENA region.. Chapter III will measure the effect of oil revenues on gender inequality in Malaysia, as the country posses the significant oil resources, but enjoying considerably better values of. 政治大. women´s status. This chapter will evaluate, if oil revenues can have a negative effect on. 立. gender inequality, proving the validity of Dutch disease in Malaysia. As chapter II provides. ‧ 國. 學. the differences between MENA and Malaysia, this chapter is going to evaluate the variables, which significantly differ, potentially having a counter mitigating effect on Malaysia women,. ‧. causing lower gender inequality.. sit. y. Nat. io. er. The brief historical review of the political and economic situation of Malaysia will be a valuable asset to find variables which are mitigating negative consequences of oil. The. al. n. v i n C h levels of economic author will compare and examine different e n g c h i U complexity index which might. have a positive effect by lessening negative causes of Dutch disease. The author assumption is that more diverse economy of Muslim majority country is causing an overall percentage of female labour force growing, making Malaysian women more empowered. In order to prove this assumption, an author is going to examine if rising economic complexity index improved women´s status in Malaysia in comparison with MENA countries.. Chapter IV will measure the impact of different level of Islamicity on local women in individual parts of Malaysia, explaining why these independent variables are not having such an impact on dependent variable as gender inequality index in MENA countries is pointing 12. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(18) out. Therefore, the author will examine the mitigating variables, which are reducing the impact of religion on the Malaysian society. As the second chapter pointed out different levels of religiosity in various Muslim majority petrostates, therefore this chapter will observe if religious pluralism in the sense of Muslims and non-Muslim´s population living together can have an impact on gender inequality.. The analysis of variables affecting gender inequality in Malaysian society can be done through direct observations, or field work to test the assumptions of variables which might be theoretically responsible for affecting women´s status as literature review is suggesting.. 政治大. Therefore chapter III and IV will examine variables which might be responsible for. 立. counterbalancing and meditating the negative effects of oil and Islam on gender inequality. ‧ 國. 學. index. The analysis of the effects of the mitigating variables can provide the solution for the main puzzle of why Malaysian women can enjoy higher levels of gender inequality than. ‧. women in MENA.. sit. y. Nat. io. er. The author will measure the Islamist religiosity in individual states inside of Malaysia, directly comparing it, to each other and also make a comparison with countries located in. al. n. v i n MENA. In the case of oil revenues,C thehdifference comesU e n g c h i with the different amount of drilled oil and overall economic and political situation of different entities, having various impacts on. Malaysian and MENA societies. Further on, the author will review the existing literature in order to build up causality, between oil revenues, Islamist religiosity and gender inequality in majority Muslim petro states. The review is going to help to find the significance of other variables causing mitigation of negative causes of oil and Islam in Malaysia.. Malaysia, by its diverse multicultural society, provides a good case study for observation of various levels of religious pluralism by measuring the percentage of nonMuslim population living together with Muslims, since 61.7% of Malaysians are Muslims and 13. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(19) rest of population are non-Muslims. Therefore, Malaysia is most suitable case study compared to other Muslim majority Petro states, located outside of MENA region. (Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Brunei). Malaysia has different states possessing with various levels of a religious plurality (% of non-Muslims living in particular state in Malaysia) therefore it is possible to observe how different level of religious pluralism is affecting the level of Islamicity. Since there are no existing data of Islamicity measured across various states of Malaysia, the author constructed questionnaire in order to capture different levels of Islamicity based on the different location of respondents.. 立. 政治大. Judging from the hypothesis of an author, linear regression should point to the. ‧ 國. 學. negative correlation of % of a non-Muslim and Islamicity level, meaning that religious. ‧. pluralism is indirectly affecting gender inequality index. As a higher level of Islamicity is. sit. y. Nat. leading towards a more conservative perception of women in the society; therefore, Malaysia. io. er. as a country with the highest index of liberal Islamicity should enjoy higher gender equality. Before this thesis will move to the literature review, it is important for whole research to. al. n. v i n C h index and explain review components of gender inequality e n g c h i U why women´s employment is a key dimension of this index to take into consideration for this thesis.. 1.3.1 Gender Inequality Index Gender inequality index is consisted of many variables in order to result in as most objective way as possible to identify equal opportunities within society between men and women. This index has been selected because it is one of the most commonly-used indicators of the status of women and addresses gender inequality in the economic, the political, and also 14. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(20) the social sphere.9 The value ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 represents the ideal type of gender equality, whereas on the other side close proximity to 1 indicates severe inequality. The index represents the extent to which a state’s progress, in terms of human development, is disrupted by gender inequality.10 In United States, Europe or East Asia, not long time ago, these countries were facing strong patriarchal cultures; globalization of the markets and economic revolutions caused rapid economic rise and access to job opportunities lifted women´s status above severe gender inequality that is the reason why this thesis take analyzes of female labour participation into. 政治大. consideration towards men employment as one of its variables.. 立. Access to employment improves women´s lives and is listed among the top five priorities for. ‧ 國. 學. promoting gender equality in the 2012 World Development Report. 11 The higher the percentage of women in the adult labour force, the more independence women have to. ‧. conduct their economic affairs and to contribute to the development of their countries, that is. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. why this variable is vital part of dependent variable as well as gender inequality index.12. 1.4 Literature Review. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Literature review is an essential part of this research in order to understand and identify all the variables, potentially having influence on the status of women. Reviewing existing literature provides a good base for further research of what extent the mixture of oil 9. Sarbajit Chaudhuri, “Foreign capital, non-traded goods and welfare in a developing economy in the presence of externalities,” International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, (published: 2014) Kamila Klingorova and Tomáš Havlicek, “Religion and gender inequality: The status of women in the societies of world religions.” 10 United Nations, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World,” Human Development Report 2013, (New York, 2013) 11 The World Bank, “Gender Equality and Development,” World Development Report 2012, (Washington DC, 2012) 12 Kamila Klingorova and Tomáš Havlicek, “Religion and gender inequality: The status of women in the societies of world religions.”. 15. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(21) revenues and religion causing gender inequality in Muslim majority Petro states. The literature review provides a theoretical platform supported by quantitative and qualitative researches of how particular variables affecting gender inequality index.. 1.4.1 Oil and Gender Inequality The discovery of precious mineral resources across the underdeveloped regions brought hopes for many people living under the line of poverty; but there are long-standing fears that resources will be a curse rather than a blessing.13 The sceptics predict that discovery. 政治大 of natural resources; especially oil will affect negatively gender equality across the region. As 立 oil´s dependency will cause local economy to fluctuate according to global oil prices;. ‧ 國. 學. therefore, the lack of economic diversification will have a negative impact on the whole. ‧. society and economy of the country, indirectly influencing women´s position in the society.14. Nat. sit. y. On the other hand, empirical case studies in oil booming countries suggest that oil. n. al. er. io. revenues are mostly followed by rapid investments into economy having positive effect on. i n U. v. socio-economy, indirectly influencing status of women as well. 15 Sachs and Warner are. Ch. engchi. claiming that some oil abundant petro-state countries can have high or low economic growth rates and low level investments based on fact of management of resources. 16 The cases of many corrupted countries with low rule of law enforcement are still suffering even after oil boom. Moreover, the oil revenues are not the only one variable which has to be taken into. 13. Andreas Kotsadam and Anja Tolonen, “African Mining, Gender, and local employment,” World Development Vol. 83, (New York – 2016) p. 325–339 14 Andreas Kotsadam and Anja Tolonen, “African Mining, Gender, and local employment” 15 Hassana Khalid and Azrai Abdullah, “Effect of Oil Revenue and the Sudan Economy: Econometric Model for Services Sector GDP,” Global Conference on Business & Social Science, (published: Elsevier, 2015), p.15-16 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281500395X 16 Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Wamer, “Fundamental Sources of Long-run Growth,” Amer. Econ. Rev, (1997), p. 184–188.. 16. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(22) consideration. Recent economic growth points on the fact that half of the world’s population nearly every decade has doubled its income. Observations of empirical cases indicate that countries with the highest economic growth have relatively few natural resources, but on the other hand, they posses with relatively a lot of people feeding the economic booms.17 In recent decades, countries richly endowed with valuable resources have had a worsen their economic development than countries lacking valuable resources; indirectly impacting women´s status in the society as Dutch disease is moving job opportunities away from women in countries rich on resources.18. 政治大 Norway, 立where oil revenues brought. There are also couple of successful examples in which resource course was overcome, as for instance in case of. ‧ 國. 學. improvements together with lowering gender gaps.. expected socio-economic. The existence of vast majority of literature reveals the findings, why Norway does not. ‧. suffer from Dutch disease. Since exploitation of Norway´s oil reserves is going side by side. y. Nat. io. sit. connected with overall economic growth rate. This case points out that there are winners and. n. al. er. losers within natural resource abundant countries, because of the different dimensions. Ch. i n U. v. between them. It is vital for this thesis to have a discussion why different oil abundant. engchi. countries and their different dimensions can lead to positive or negative socioeconomics developments. However, Norway, Botswana, Malaysia and countries of MENA are diametrically different; therefore it is difficult to measure significance of every variable mitigating negative consequences of oil income, impacting women´s status. We are still lacking sufficient knowledge along which dimensions the resourceabundant countries differ from each other, having different effect on the economy and indirectly influencing status of women inside of petro states. However, Muslim majority petro 17. Ragnar Torvik, “Why do some resource-abundant countries succeed while others do not?” (Oxford University Press, 2009), Available at: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/iso/Ragnar.Torvik/OXREP.pdf 18 Ibid.. 17. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(23) states is very specific group of countries providing great example where we can control religion, giving us group of countries which are culturally and traditionally influenced by Islamic religion. In that case, this thesis can focus on other variables which are mitigating negative consequences of oil and Islam on women´s status to unveil differences within majority Muslim petro states, respectively between MENA and countries outside of this region. Labour as a vital variable for economic growth of every country might be extended by giving women opportunity to work, and to join socio-economic life outside of the household.. 政治大 because “the failure of women立 to join the non-agricultural labor force has profound social. As the academics of development studies point on the importance of women to join workfare,. ‧ 國. 學. consequences: it leads to higher fertility rates, less education for girls, and less female influence within the family. It also has far-reaching political consequences: when fewer. ‧. women work outside the home, they are less likely to exchange information and overcome. Nat. n. al. er. io. rights; and less likely to gain representation in government.”19. sit. y. collective action problems; less likely to mobilize politically, and to lobby for expanded. Ch. i n U. v. This vicious cycle is keeping the status of women low with strong patriarchal. engchi. supremacy. One of the leading researchers and academics in the field of oil curse in the Middle East – Michael L. Ross claims that the extraordinary export of the crude oil is overvaluing domestic currencies in the MENA region, driving massive imports, and killing local exporting manufacturers, consequently leaving women subordinate in the society.20 Ross argues that oil is keeping women stuck inside a vicious cycle of poverty and under educated, impacting their position in the household and society. “According Gary. 19. Thomas L. Friedman, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America,” (New York: Picador, 2009), p.136 20 Micheal L. Ross, “Oil, Islam, and Women,” American Political Science Review 102, (New York: February 2, 2008). 18. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(24) Barker based on his survey; the most significant factor of how people viewed equality was their wealth, level of education, and the example set by their parents. Both men and women were more likely to hold equitable views on gender if their mothers had more education and fathers were more involved in domestic tasks.”21 The variables as education level and wealth of particular household also vary on countries political and economic development level. Therefore, the quantitative research will deal with various variables in order to analyze their impact on status of women in Muslim majority petro countries. Academics realize that gender equality and the emancipation of women as important. 政治大 development of human society, 立adding on to the importance to this research. Ross believes factors for the economic, social, and democratic progress of the world’s regions and for the. ‧ 國. 學. that oil industries are undermining traditional manufacturing sectors, which served as a hopeful place for less educated women to seek employment in order to escape vicious cycle of. ‧. under education and poverty. This process would accordingly increase the position of women. Nat. sit. y. through participation in workfare in sectors other than agricultural, leading more women to. n. al. countries´ better aggregate economic performance.22. Ch. engchi. er. io. seek higher education and serve not only for the emancipation of women, but also for a. i n U. v. The question of whether the discovery of natural resources is a blessing or a curse for the economy and for a country´s citizens is a contentious issue, and natural resources dependence is linked to various outcomes at national level as other researchers have been already done at: institutions, corruption, civil war and conflict, rent appropriation by an elite, democracy, and for our research most important female labor force participation. 23 Ross. 21. Thomas L. Friedman, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America.” 22 Micheal L. Ross, “Oil, Islam, and Women,” American Political Science Review 102, (New York: February 2, 2008) 23 Halvor Mehlum , Karl Moene, Ragnar Torvik, “Institutions and the Resource Curse,” The economic Journal – 2006 Micheal L. Ross, “Oil, Islam, and Women,”. 19. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(25) claims that women have made less progress toward gender equality in the Middle East than in any other region, and he suggests that it is not caused due to Islamic religion as many observers would claim.24 Ross suggests, that “women in the Middle East are underrepresented in the workforce and in government because of oil—not Islam,”25 judging from the empirical case studies of other societies, where patriarchal traditions in recent times were as strong as in Middle East, but due to diversification and openness of economy they had a chance to experience an economic boost, bringing more democratic regimes, and giving women opportunity to seek employment due to grow of employment market supply as in case of America and Europe mainly in 20th Century, where economic demand brought women into. 治政大women more independent out of work force, subsequently lowering gender gaps by making 立 their husbands. ‧ 國. 學. Similarly, Ross claims that exploitation of natural resources hurts women´s. ‧. employment via both demand and supply channels.26 In his model, female labour supply is. Nat. sit. y. reduced via household income effects, spurred by higher male incomes and/or government. n. al. er. io. transfers, keeping women out of the workfare and inside of their homes, especially pointing. i n U. v. on the case of MENA region. The demand for female labour decreases as oil export-oriented,. Ch. engchi. mainly at countries with high dependence on oil export, causing female dominated manufacturing crowded out by Dutch disease effects – making them less competitive at international markets.27 This massive industrialization resulted in the fact that the economic growth performance of the Middle East in the 1960s reached one of the highest labor force. Tolonen Kotsadam, “African Mining, Gender, and local employment,” World Development 24 Micheal L. Ross, “Oil, Islam, and Women,” American Political Science Review 102, (New York: February 2, 2008) 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. p. 109-110 27 Michael L. Ross, “The Oil Curse: How the Petroleum Wealth Shapes Development of the Nations.” (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012) p.124. 20. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(26) growth rates in the developing world.28 “And the economic growth performance of the Middle East in the 1960s was the highest in the world at 6.0 percent per worker per year.” 29 The rational logic would predict that the higher prices of oil would bring economic growth to the region at that time, but in the next decade in early 1970s productivity growth actually turned negative as is the example of Dutch disease observed before in Netherlands would suggest.30 Existing literature revealed many limitations of missing work providing direct linkage of oil revenues and gender status. There is only couple of existing scholars who are dealing with issues of oil and gender inequality; and all of them are claiming that oil has a negative. 政治大 where countries managed to 立 escape resource course phenomenon and managed to score. impact on gender equality. However, indirectly we can examine some of the positive cases,. ‧ 國. 學. positive economic growth side by side with growing revenues from oil incomes managed to fulfil the gender gap as we can observe in cases of Norway and Botswana. Thus, it would be. ‧. incorrect to claim that the women´s statuses in all petro-states are negatively affected by oil. Nat. sit. y. exploitation. However, on the other hand empirical cases studies indicate that countries. n. al. er. io. possessing with more oil income flowing into aggregate GDP have tendency to have the highest gender inequality indexes.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. In order to interconnect oil revenues and gender inequality, it is important to understand how economic development can affect status of women in the society. The causality of oil revenues would predict that oil revenues will raise economic development followed by improvement of gender gap. However, the previous section of literature review suggests negative correlation between oil revenues and economic development is negative, causing Dutch disease happens. “The relative status of women is poor in the developing 28. The World Bank, “Economic Growth in 1990s: Learning from Decade of Reform,” (Washington D.C: The World Bank, 2003) pp.156 29 Thomas Yousef, “Development, Growth and Policy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa since 1950,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 18, No 3 (Summer, 2004), p. 91 30 Thomas Yousef, “Development, Growth and Policy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa since 1950”. 21. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(27) world, compared to developed countries.”31 Most of the studies suggest that countries could raise their respective GDP levels by giving a chance for women to enter the labour market or vice versa, because both variables have mutual impact on each other. 32 They found out significant impact of gender inequality on economic growth.33 On the other hands our graph suggest that many MENA countries already reached high levels of economic development as GDP and GDP per capita are indicating, but they struggle with social development, therefore it is important for this thesis to explain why oil revenues are not capable of meditating gender inequality through economic development.. 政治大 in order to expose themselves 立to international markets, pushing forces of democracy to. Furthermore, economic development is promoting the openness of domestic markets. ‧ 國. 學. penetrate with trading of foreign goods at international markets.34 Strong evidence suggests that economic development and democracy are to a high extent correlated, as democracy is. ‧. seen as important tool to push women emancipation to close the gender gaps. 35 However, it. Nat. sit. y. seems that even economic development is not capable to push democracy forward to penetrate. al. n. region.. er. io. into MENA countries nor can it directly promote higher levels of gender equality in the. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. On the other hand other group of academics, including Michael Ross argue that oil revenues and high prices of oil can stabilize authoritarianism and authoritarian regimes, which are dominating in the most of the MENA countries´ politics. 36 This complex network of. 31. David Dollar and Roberta Gatti, “Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women?,” World Bank, (May 1999), Available at: http://darp.lse.ac.uk/frankweb/courses/EC501/DG.pdf 32 Meera Kaul, “The Role Of Gender Equality In Ensuring Economic Growth,” Entrepreneur, (April 11, 2016), Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/273825 33 Stephan Klasen, “Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions” Collaborative Research Center, (April 5, 2007), Available at: https://epub.ub.unimuenchen.de/1602/ 34 Esther Duflo, “Gender Equality and Economic Development,“ (Bocconi Lecture: 2010), Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIB8DlmaKh8 35 Barbara Geddes, “What Do We Know about Democratization After Twenty Years?,” Annual Reviews, (June 1999), Available at: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.115 36 Micheal L. Ross, “ Oil, Islam, and Women”. 22. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(28) aspects are putting many Muslim majority countries as extraordinary example where wealth is flowing from natural resources and bringing very limited economic development, which cannot have a positive effect on gender equality due to persistence of authoritarian politics in the region, which is not relocating resources to counter attack gender gap in their societies. Therefore, the examination of gender budgeting would be needed to distinguish the different efforts of governments of particular Muslim majority countries. The figure above visually points out that developed countries with higher gross domestic product per capita are doing better in terms of gender equality. As economic. 政治大 these gaps are particularly dramatic 立 in developing countries.. productivity of a particular country rises, the gender gap is becoming less and less visible and 37. However, some countries. ‧ 國. 學. mostly consisted out of MENA states are indicating that high GDP growth will not always bring positive socio-economic consequences for a country. 38 Even due to the fact that. ‧. employment gaps are closing much faster in developing countries rather than developed, but. Nat. sit. y. the gender inequality is still visible to high extent, especially in South East Asia and the. n. al. er. io. MENA. 39 Moreover, women are mostly considered as family workers and often not paid,. v. which does not significantly support women´s position in the region´s societies.40 This might. Ch. engchi. i n U. be also reason why some academics claim negative correlation between economic development and gender inequality. Khayria Karoui and Rochdi Feki were debating the impact of these two variables in African countries; they found out that results can be biased by multiple factors, what we can 37. David Dollar and Roberta Gatti, “Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women?,” World Bank, (May 1999), Available at: http://darp.lse.ac.uk/frankweb/courses/EC501/DG.pdf 38 Stephanie Seguino, “Gender Inequality and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis,” Science Direct, (July 2000), Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X00000188 39 David Cuberes and Marc Teignier-Baque, “Gender Inequality and Economic Growth,” World Bank (Washington, DC: 2012), Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9117 Stephan Klasen, “Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions” Collaborative Research Center, (April 5, 2007), Available at: https://epub.ub.unimuenchen.de/1602/ 40 David Cuberes and Marc Teignier-Baque, “Gender Inequality and Economic Growth,” World Bank. 23. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(29) also apply into the MENA region. 41 “In addition, economic growth is indirectly affected through the impact of gender inequality on investment and population growth,” 42 causing variance of variables, possibly explaining the MENA region as outlier in our graph. Therefore, the importance lies on explaining causality of variables (gender inequality, economic growth, level of democracy and oil revenues) affecting each other to find out why MENA countries are not fitting into the hypothesis of many scholars which try to explain the correlation between gender inequality and economic development through quantitative studies methods.. 政治大 available opportunities for women, 立 which increases returns to education.. Economic development and diversification of the economy increases the set of 43. On the other hand,. ‧ 國. 學. following the logic in previous section, the Dutch disease of oil producing countries is making it impossible to diversify the economy and subsequently hindering the opportunity for women. ‧. to seek employment.. y. Nat. io. sit. Moreover, the oil revenues serve as blocking point for democracy to penetrate into. n. al. er. political systems of the most of the countries in the region, strengthening autocratic regimes.. Ch. i n U. v. As the prices of oil are set up high, autocratic regimes in the region are providing relocation. engchi. of oil revenues to keep themselves empowered, reducing chances for women to exit household since it is not needed. Oil revenues allowing governments to conduct direct transfers are hurting women chances to seek opportunity outside of their households. The money are not spent into the diversification of economy, but rather for the strengthening of the ruling regimes, in what could otherwise provide chances for women to seek employment.. 41. Khayria Karoui and Rochdi Feki, “The Effect of Gender Inequality on Economic Development: Case of African Countries,” (Springer: December 23, 2015) 42 Stephan Klasen, “Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions” Collaborative Research Center 43 The Republic of Rwanda, “Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy II 2013-1018,” (May, 2013), Available at: http://www.rdb.rw/uploads/tx_sbdownloader/EDPRS_2_Main_Document.pdf. 24. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(30) In addition, gender inequality in education and health can also be explained to a considerable extent by religious preference, regional factors, and civil freedom. These systematic patterns in gender differentials suggest that low investment in women is not an efficient economic choice, and we can show that gender inequality in education is bad for economic growth.44 Thus, societies that have a preference for not investing in girls, they pay a price for it in terms of slower growth and reduced income, but MENA countries pay a price in order to keep power within the elites rather than transferring oil money into households.45 Therefore, Dollar and Gatti suggest that economic development is highly correlated with. 治政大 On the same note, economic benefits in investing into boys´ education rather than girls. 立 development (capita income), there are other functions affecting gender equality such a civil gender equality; however, stereotypes are a threat in terms that parents are expecting direct 46. ‧ 國. 學. liberties, religious preferences, and economic policies implemented by governments.47. ‧ y. Nat. er. io. sit. 1.4.2 Religion and Gender Inequality. al. On the other hand as our study focus on the majority Muslim countries, the objectivity. n. v i n Ch lies on the necessity of the evaluation and identification of e n g c h i Uhow significant is the influence of world religions on gender inequality, and the social status of women come as the vital part of this thesis. Many scholars argue that status of women in society is an outcome of the. 44. David Dollar and Roberta Gatti, “Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women?,” World Bank, (May 1999), Available at: http://darp.lse.ac.uk/frankweb/courses/EC501/DG.pdf 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. Esther Duflo, “Gender Equality and Economic Development,“ (Bocconi Lecture: 2010), Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIB8DlmaKh8. 25. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(31) interpretation of religious texts penetrating deeply into society even nowadays, and of the cultural and institutional settings of religious communities.48 Gender inequality as the form of social inequality between genders is visible not only in Muslim majority countries, but no different extent in whole world. According to Inglehart and Norris, these differences are primarily due to cultural legacies, historical development, geographic location, and, last but not least, the religious norms which are predominate in the society.49 Therefore, in the second part of this thesis, it will be important to keep in mind that these forces influencing women´s status in order to choose two Muslim majority countries. 政治大 However, both disposing with 立 significant amount of oil for observation of different effects on with respect of the different cultures, historical development, and geographical location.. ‧ 國. 學. gender inequality indexes will be important to preserve.. Religious beliefs are deeply rooted in peoples’ experiences, directly influencing the. ‧. socio-economic and political direction of societies.50 In this sense, the importance also lies on. y. Nat. io. sit. the distinguishing of different political system, which might potentially lead to greater gender. n. al. er. inequality or equality. All world religions today maintain male social dominance within. Ch. i n U. v. societal structures, but empirical research on developments in the individual religions,. engchi. especially in the case of Islam; indicate a negative shift in society towards a decreased status of women.51 In most of the cultures and religions, conservative traditions prevailing regarding faith, prevailing multiple centuries are applied more strictly to women rather than men, especially 48. Kamila Klingorova and Tomáš Havlicek, “Religion and gender inequality: The status of women in the societies of world religions,” Moravian Geographical Reports 2/2015, Vol. 23 (Prague: February, 2015), p.3-5 49 Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris, “Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World,” (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003) 50 David P. Stump, “Book Review: Evolution and Religious Creation Myths: How Scientists Respond,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, (December 29, 2009) Kamila Klingorova, Tomáš Havlicek, “Religion and gender inequality: The status of women in the societies of world religions” 51 Jean Holm, “Women in Religion,” (Bloomsbury Academic – 1994). 26. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(32) coming to places of worship or other places of religious importance, allowing and supporting women segregation in mosques, or even some temples and places of worship are restricting women to enter holy places. 52 These facts possibly having negative consequences even outside of places with religious importance, spreading religious beliefs into everyday interactions, impacting women´s status in the society. “Religious people are more intolerant and have more conservative views of the role of women in society.”53 Therefore, according to conservative traditions based on religiosity, religion is the tallest barrier for women to climb over in order to achieve equal opportunities and reduce current gender gap, as some components of Islam being gender discriminatory.54. 政治大 Speaking about status 立 of women in Muslim countries, “Majority of men in Middle. ‧ 國. 學. East believe a woman's place is in the home.”55 This old conservative views in the MENA countries, according co-author of the study and president of equality campaign Promundo,. ‧. Gary Barker, “There is a long way to go for men to fully accept and support equality for. sit. y. Nat. women in the Arab region, as in many parts of the world,” viewing gender inequality in the. n. al. er. io. region of Middle East and North Africa as a mixture of long traditions and possible fault of undermining women opportunities. 56. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. “Across all four countries used in Promundo´s sample (Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine), it is observable that one of the best way to reduce gender inequality is when men involve themselves into more of the activities in the home previously perceive as women’s. 52. Ankita Singh, “Why Religion Is The Hardest Barrier Women Must Overcome For Gender Equality,” Elite Daily, (March 9, 2016), Available at: http://elitedaily.com/women/religion-women-barrier-equality/1412604/ 53 Luigi Guisoa, Paola Sapienzad, Luigi Zingales, “People’s opium? Religion and economic attitudes,” Journal of Monetary Economics 50, (September 6th, 2002) 54 Ibid. 55 Kate Lyons, “Majority of men in Middle East survey believe a woman's place is in the home,” The Guardian (May 2, 2017), Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/02/majority-of-menin-middle-east-north-africa-survey-believe-a-womans-place-is-in-the-home 56 Ibid.. 27. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(33) roles.”57 Disrupting this old conservative tradition or religious beliefs, nowadays can equalize gender gap. In the most of Middle Eastern and North African families, men are the one who are bringing financial resources into household, paralyzing participation of the women in social and public life outside of household.58 Therefore author beliefs that increasing women´s labor participation can also increase gender equality across the whole MENA region and other Muslim majority countries. Based on the quantitative research of doctors Hlavicek and Klingorova, by comparison of status of the women in the societies of world religions, they asserted that there is the. 政治大 gender inequality in countries 立affiliated to Islam. As Khaled Hroub disagreeing with highest level of gender equality in states without a dominant religious affiliation and highest 59. ‧ 國. 學. statement that adherence to faith as general, providing the base for superior moral standards; as his research found out that in Muslim countries located in MENA, considering to be some. ‧. of the most religious societies in the world having highest rates of bad practice as a sexual. io. sit. y. Nat. harassment of women and lack of respect for public order, deepening gender inequality.60. n. al. er. On the other hand, Michael Ross is arguing in his book, The Oil Curse, that the. Ch. i n U. v. countries in the region have a common religion, and broadly speaking common culture, so. engchi. according him if these variables would be source of the problem, then women in the MENA countries should have about the same low economic and political status. 61 He is adding that states with higher revenues flowing from oil drilling have the fewest women employed in non-agricultural workforce and therefore are less likely to grant female suffrage; on the other. 57. Kate Lyons, “Majority of men in Middle East survey believe a woman's place is in the home,” The Guardian Ibid. 59 Kamila Klingorova and Tomáš Havlicek, “Religion and gender inequality: The status of women in the societies of world religions,” p.3-5 60 Khaled Hroub, “The Curse of Religiosity,” Islam in the Middle East, (June 30, 2017), Available at: https://en.qantara.de/content/islam-in-the-middle-east-the-curse-of-religiosity 61 Michael L. Ross, “The Oil Curse: How the Petroleum Wealth Shapes Development of the Nations,” (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012) p.124 58. 28. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(34) hand states possessing with non significant amounts of oil were among the first countries in the region to grant female suffrage and tend to have more female in the workplace.62 The impact of religiosity on gender attitudes and gender inequality posses with a vast of existing literature, indicating the strong correlation between Islamic religiosity and gender inequality. There is missing part of literature supporting religiosity as a positive variable for women´s status improvement; however, on the other hand all the reviewed literature is suggesting that religion has negative impact on women´s status. According to literature review and empirical observations, it is assumable that in all. 政治大. the Muslim majority petro states, Islamist religiosity and oil dependency are dragging down. 立. gender equality as observable in the case of MENA. However, there are four other Muslim. ‧ 國. 學. majority petro states outside of this region, which are possessing with vast oil reserves having majority Muslim population and their women can enjoy relatively higher women´s status.. ‧. Therefore, the main purpose of this thesis is to solve this puzzle why women in some of the. y. Nat. io. sit. oil abundant majority Muslim countries can enjoy higher gender equality and in some Muslim. er. majority petro countries cannot.. n. al. Education and Religion. v i n areCtwo important variables h every ngchi U. affecting and changing. behaviour of societies for hundreds years, therefore the relationship between them, more preciously correlation between the level of religiosity and the level of education has been studied long time ago. These studies provide valuable sources of literature building causality between these two variables. However, different studies show contrasted conclusions. Western countries indicate that the intensity of beliefs decreases with education, surprisingly attendance and religious practice increases. Moreover, it is important to add that research of Sacerdote and Glaeser was 62. Michael L. Ross, “The Oil Curse: How the Petroleum Wealth Shapes Development of the Nations,” (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012) p.124. 29. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(35) conducted before new millennium. 63 Smith is claimed before Sacerdote and Glaeser that religious people are having higher education than non-religious, which is not fitting into concept of countries located inside of MENA region.64 Recent scholarly works are pointing on the positive correlation with low religiosity and education has been changing in the past few decades. 65 Recently, many countries, including MENA states are doing good job in closing gender educational gaps, logically from Western perspective leading into lowering levels of Islamist religiosity, consequently improving women´s status in MENA. Voas and McAndrew in recent years regressing a. 政治大 relationship between education立 and religion. A vast majority of studies in recent years are. measure of religiosity on a set of individual controls have found a surprisingly positive. ‧ 國. 學. suggesting a positive relationship between religion and education.66 Therefore, closing gender educational gaps in countries of MENA are most likely will not improve women´s status in. ‧. the region by educating women to higher extent. However, the equal chance for education can. Nat. sit. y. increase the chances of women, seeking chance at labour market, what at certain scenarios. n. al. er. io. might have a positive effect on emancipation of females in MENA region.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 1.4.3 Gender Inequality in Malaysia. Table 1.1 pointed out that Malaysia is considerably behind leading countries in terms of gender inequality ranked 104 out of 144 countries. However, it is relatively better ranked 63. Bruce Sacerdote and Edward Glaeser, “Education and Religion,” National Bureau of Economic Research, (January, 2001), p.29 64 Christian Smith, “American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving,” (University of Chicago Press: 1998), p. 76–77 65 David Voas and Siobhan McAndrew, “Three Puzzles of Non-religion in Britain,” In Arweck, Elisabeth; Bullivant, Stephen; Lee, Lois. Secularity and Non-religion, (Routledge Press, London: 2014), p.28-30 66 J. Gruber, “Religious market structure, religious participation, and outcomes: is religion good for you?,” Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, 5 (2005). 30. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(36) compared other Muslim majority Petro states. Why are Malaysian women relatively doing better than women in MENA region? There is missing existing literature to answer this question, therefore further analysis is needed. However, there are many indicators that Malaysian Muslim´s women are starting to play key roles outside out their households. Introductory part already unveiled facts that Malaysia is slowly progressing in terms of gender inequality. In 1982, Malaysia was still heavily depended on oil reserves and only 1.8 million women were employed. However, a couple of decades later when Malaysia´s government implemented policies to boost the economy by diversification of various sectors,. 政治大. in statistics of 2013, the number of women employed tripled.67. 立. However, gender pay gap in terms of employment of both genders is still unequal.. ‧ 國. 學. Recent studies pointed out that unmarried woman without ambition of having kids continues to earn a similar amount of money as a man.68 On the other side, Malaysian Muslim´s women. ‧. er. io. sit. Nat. more difficult to keep income equality within both genders.. y. are socially pressured by religious beliefs to marry early and have kids. Therefore, it is much. al. In terms of political empowerment, Malaysia still suffers; the patriarchal composition. n. v i n C h inequality indexUas Malaysia is missing women in of parliament is pulling down the gender engchi. politics. National parliament is composed out of only 11% of women.69 This fact might be caused by religious beliefs, as Islam is putting women into the heart of household, taking care of a house and its family.. 67. Aminah Ahmad, “Women in Malaysia,” Asian Development Bank, (December 1998), Available at: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/32552/women-malaysia.pdf 68 Goh Wei Liang, “Gender inequality and women in Malaysia,” Malaysiakini, (March 8, 2015), Available at: https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/291333 69 Ibid.. 31. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(37) Malaysia scored best in a subsection of educational attainment and access to health care. 70 An increase in job opportunities and women´s budgeting brought pushed for equal access of women to education and healthcare services. Economic growth and Malaysia´s focus on providing services and encouraging manufacturing sector helped to increase educational attainment for girls, equalizing chances for both genders.71. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 70. Aminah Ahmad, “Women in Malaysia,” Asian Development Bank, (December 1998), Available at: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/32552/women-malaysia.pdf 71 Ibid.. 32. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.

(38) Chapter 2. Oil, Islam and Gender Inequality in Middle East and North Africa. This chapter is going to further examine the relationship between oil revenues, Islamist religiosity and gender inequality in Middle East and North Africa. Examination of literature review provided a solid foundation, proving correlation and causality between variables. The theoretical framework in this chapter describes the way how oil and religion are affecting gender inequality index inside of MENA countries. The results of quantitative researches reviewed from existing literature will serve for the implication of case of Malaysia,. 政治大. which will be studied as a counter-argument, mitigating negative consequences of oil and religion in the next chapters.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. As was indicated in introductory part of this thesis, MENA has suffered to reach. ‧. socio-economic improvements even due to the fact that oil reserves in the region represent. sit. y. Nat. more than 60% of whole global oil reserves. 72 The term of MENA covers an extensive. io. er. region, extending from Morocco all the way to Iran; the population of the region is estimated to be overreaching 381 million people, constituting approximately 6% of world population.73. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Middle East and North Africa is often defined and consisted out of Muslim countries; all the countries in the region except Israel, are Muslim majority states.74 “The acronym is sometimes analogous to the term “Greater Middle East”, coined by the second Bush administration to refer to the area of the Middle East and also other majority Muslim countries such as Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan.”75 However, for purposes of this thesis, the selection of. 72. PEW Research Centre, “Middle East-North Africa Overview,” PEW, (October 7, 2009), Avaialble at: http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population10 73 PEW Research Centre, “Middle East-North Africa Overview,” PEW 74 Dan Donovan, “Politics and Islam in Central Asia and MENA,” International Policy Digest, (April 24, 2012) Available at: https://intpolicydigest.org/2012/04/24/politics-and-islam-in-central-asia-and-mena/ 75 Istizada, “MENA Region Countries List 2017,” Istizada, (2017), Available at: http://istizada.com/menaregion/. 33. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMPIS.006.2018.A06.