246

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND EDUCATIONAL

TECHNOLOGIES (ONLINE) - ISSN: 2717-7130

Vol:2, Issue: 8 pp: 246-254

JEL Codes: A1, A10

AL-KURAITY E.A.J. , ZABOON A.A., MIKLIF, H.Z. (2021). “Empowering Women Economically and Politically
and its Relationship to Sustainable Development (Iraq and Saudi Arabia Case study)”,
Vol: 2 Issue: 8 pp: 246-254
Keywords: empowerment of women, economic empowerment, political empowerment, sustainable development
Article Type Research Article

Empowering Women Economically and Politically and its Relationship to Sustainable

Development (Iraq and Saudi Arabia Case study)
Arrived Date Accepted Date Published Date
14.09.2021 12.10.2021 31.10.2021

Eman Abdalkadhem Jabbar Al-Kuraity 1 *, Amal Asmar Zaboon 2 , Huda Z. Miklif 3

ABSTRACT
Women are considered one of the important parties and an essential axis in achieving sustainable
development. It is noted that this axis did not receive sufficient support despite the efforts and
energies made by women, but it is noticed in the Arab region that women face many challenges at all
political, social and economic levels, and that the issue of empowerment Women and achieving gender
equality is important for accelerating sustainable development, and providing women and girls with
equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic
processes and decision-making will revitalize the economy. Sustainable and beneficial to society.
Despite the efforts made by women to guarantee their right to political participation, 23.7% of all
parliaments worldwide do not exceed. Therefore, such a study has taken upon itself to be guided by
Arab governments and decision makers, especially in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, to integrate the gender
equality component and women's empowerment into decisions and policies taken within the
framework of achieving the 17 goals of sustainable development to empower women economically
and politically.

INTRODUCTION
Women are the mirror reflecting the growth of societies, a fact that society claimed and the reality
have imposed it by time, the status of women is an important criterion that clarifies the degree of
progress of any society and measures the movement of its interaction with the data of the modern era.
Empowerment was economic, political or social, because the process of empowering women It is a
fundamental key to achieving sustainable development. Achieving comprehensive and sustainable
development in society can only be achieved with the existence of a true and fair partnership between

[email protected] , Assist. Prof., College of administration and Economics, Kerbala

University / IRAQ

[email protected] , Assist.Prof., College of administration and Economics, Al-Qadisiyah University /

IRAQ

[email protected] , Assist. Prof., College of administration and Economics, Kerbala University /

IRAQ

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women and men in which women can participate in setting development plans and bring about
changes in their outputs, because the marginalization and exclusion of women from political, economic
and social life makes them a disrupted energy and an untapped resource.
Therefore, working to empower them will lead to their active participation in political and economic
decision-making and an active element in the process of change that guarantees sustainable
development.
Problem Statement
Women in Iraq and Saudi Arabia constitute half of the society, as we note that the process of involving
women in economic and political terms for both countries is still limited due to the social heritage
based on the policy of exclusion and marginalization, and therefore it is necessary to empower them
and activate their participation in both Iraq and Saudi Arabia in all aspects of life, whether economic or
political.
Significance of the Study
The importance of the study lies in the international attention given to women through the principle of
empowerment, because the process of empowering them economically and politically achieves their
economic and social independence and represents fairness for women and works to make them an
active partner for sustainable development.
The Hypothesis of the Study
The lack of the principle of equality between men and women is a major obstacle to achieving
sustainable development goals in both Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which made them seek to empower
women and activate their role in the economic and political aspect in particular
LITERATURE
The Theoretical Rooting of the Concept of Empowerment and Sustainable Development
Many definitions have been made about the concept of empowerment. The World Bank has defined
empowerment as “a process that aims to enhance the capabilities of individuals or groups to present
certain options and turn them into procedures or policies aimed at the end of raising the efficiency and
organizational integrity of an institution or organization. A dynamic process that seeks to eliminate all
forms of discrimination and inequality between members of society. According to this definition, the
success of the empowerment process can only be achieved by removing all obstacles that place
marginalized groups in lower ranks (Yusuf & Hussein, 2010 :20-21).
In view of the great importance achieved by empowerment, the term women empowerment emerged
in the 1980s and became a central concept in gender studies, and the World Bank considered it one of
the basic elements of the development process and combating poverty, and the process of
empowering women and improving their living conditions and their equality with men and their
participation in the decision-making process in its various economic, social and political aspects, and
this is necessary to achieve sustainable development (Abdul Karim & Shatha , 2015:102). Because
gender inequality is a barrier to achieving sustainable development. There are three types of
empowerment, which are (economic, political and social empowerment).
Our study will be limited to two types, namely, economic and political empowerment for the great
importance achieved by these two types, as for economic empowerment, which is raising the ability of
women to work in key and leadership positions and self-employment, for example, the ability of
women to invest Or borrowing to do various projects (Shawq, 2019:5).
The empowerment of women from the economic point of view is of great importance because their
economic participation is a fundamental pillar for achieving sustainable development and a means to
advance economic growth rather than merely seeking to remain dependent on society. In addition to
woman's access to the field of Economic activity and her participation in the process of production

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would contribute to her economic liberation, because women involved in economic activity are more
able to participate in decision-making.
Therefore, economic empowerment seeks to achieve a set of objectives, namely (Longwe ,1998 : 19):
1. An increase in the size of women's participation in the labor market.
2. The extent to which women benefit from the return on participation in development.
3. Working to empower women and increase their capacity and self-reliance, in order to
contribute to economic life.
It is noted that there are many reasons behind the weak economic empowerment of women, which are
as follows: (United Nations Development Program, 2011 :7)
1- The low rate of participation in the labor market due to the societal culture based on
discrimination based on gender.
2- The low rate of women's participation in the private sector due to the dominance of traditions
and social customs and the weakness of the labor law enforcement in addition to the limited
loans granted to women.
3- Weak knowledge and skill building for women and high school dropout rates for girls.
As for political empowerment, it is another type of empowerment of women, which is crystallized in
supporting the political participation of women, by increasing their representation in decision-making
positions, and increasing their membership in political parties, professional associations and civil
society organizations (Abdul Karim & Shatha,2019:109). As for sustainable development, this concept
and its theoretical origination goes back to the Pakistani researcher Mahboob Al Haqq and the Indian
researcher Amartya Sen during their work within the framework of the United Nations Development
Program, which considered sustainable development to be (economic- social) development, not just
economic (Medhat & Yasmine, 2017:85).
A report on the United Nations, which emphasized that development must meet the current urgent
needs without compromising future needs, and in 1992 the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, where the concept of sustainable development has become a general concept that has a large
part in the formulation in contemporary environmental policy (Adnan,2018 :3) and after that the
Copenhagen Conference was held in 1995 and the Women’s Summit in Beijing in 1995 which
emphasized the need for sustainable development In 2005, the Arab Ministers of Social Affairs and
Planning in the League of Arab States approved the new development trend related to sustainable
development and the development goals of the new millennium for the purpose, especially those
aimed at empowering the groups that should be more involved in achieving development, such as
women and youth, and this was confirmed at the third conference of the Arab Women Organization in
Tunis In 2010, under the slogan women are a basic partner in the sustainable development process
(Medhat & Yasmine, 2017: 87).
The Relationship of Empowerment to Sustainable Development
Women are considered half of society, and it is not possible to achieve development in any country if
this half of economic, political and social life is excluded or marginalized, because the exclusion
process makes them an idle energy and an untapped resource 11. Where interest in women came in
many conferences, including the Mexico Conference in 1975 and others in Copenhagen from 1980 and
another conference in Nairobi in 1985, in addition to the results of the Fourth International
Conference on Women in Beijing 1995, where these meetings reached new development concepts
such as the approach to empowering women. The concept of empowerment is a new concept that
shows the need for women’s participation as an active element in development, as it is defined as “a
holistic process that begins with a woman’s self-awareness and sense of control over her private life

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and her ability to make decisions. On the collective level, it is the ability of women to participate in the
development process” (Mounira, 2016 :186).
The term empowerment of women has been associated with development, and it went through three
approaches the first approach related to the integration of women in development (IFD) in 1973,
which emphasized the need for support for the integration of women to work in many sectors and the
necessity of their assigning her positions. This trend also tried to bring about legal and administrative
changes to ensure better integration of women in the economic system, and given the lack of its base
in the first approach, came the second approach This approach focused on thinking about how to
develop technology that contributes to reducing the burden of the family so that women have more
time to be directed to productive work.
The emergence of many negatives in this approach has led to the emergence of the role conflict that
resulted from women assuming multiple roles simultaneously and their inability at the same time to
benefit from the fruits of their work in light of the prevailing gender relations that distinguish between
men and women. That there be an actual repercussion for this burden as a result of the prevalence of
customs and traditions that many societies, especially Arab societies, could not get rid of. In view of
this approach neglecting the economic role of women and limiting them to the traditional role, the
third approach of Gender and Development (GED) came, which emphasizes the concept of sustainable
development and social justice (Mounira ,2016 :186).
Because women are a fundamental key to achieving sustainable development. If we want to achieve
sustainable development in the long term, the necessity to empower women and achieve gender
equality because it forms the basis of the foundations necessary to achieve sustainable development
goals (Iraqi Ministry of Planning, 2018 :9). Because gender inequality is an obstacle to achieving those
goals, because Women are the category with the least access to resources, and they are the weakest
link in development. If we compare the performance of the two sexes within each indicator, we notice
their lowest share without exception. Therefore, the improvement in the developmental performance
in general is related to the improvement in the status of gender equality.
With reference to the performance of the gender equality index, we find an increase in the rate of
inequality in the Arab world (0.535) compared to the countries of Europe and Central Asia (0.279) as
well as the global average (0.443), because the role of Arab women in achieving sustainable
development faces multidimensional challenges that include the gender dimension. Social- age- social
class - economic level - educational status - and other matters (Arab Women Organization,15).
It is noted that women may play a direct role in achieving the goals of sustainable development, and
sometimes an indirect role in achieving those goals, and at other times in enhancing their participation
in achieving those goals. Below is a table that shows the aforementioned talk about the role of women
in achieving sustainable development goals.
Table 1. The Role of Women in Achieving Sustainable Development
Fundamental Goals of sustaining Goals complementary to Additional goals to enhance women's
Women's Role to achieve the human women's participation in participation in achieving sustainable
Development achieving sustainable development goals
development goals
1- Achieve gender equality 1- End hunger, provide 1- Ensuring the provision of water and
2- The eradication of poverty in all its security and good nutrition, sanitation services for all.
forms and everywhere and value sustainable
3- Ensuring that everyone enjoys solid agriculture. 2- Ensuring that everyone has access to
lifestyles and well-being 2- Reducing and inequality affordable, documented and modern
4- Ensuring quality, equitable and within countries.
inclusive education for all and enhancing 3- Take urgent action to energy services.
opportunities for lifelong education for all. address climate change and 3- Establishing infrastructures capable of
5- Promoting the progressive, stir.
comprehensive and sustainable economic 4- Strengthening the means of resilience and stimulating comprehensive

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right for all, full technical employment and nutrition and revitalizing the industrialization for all and the forefront
the provision of decent work for all. global company for
and encouraging innovation.
6- Sustaining societies sustainable development.
7- Peace, justice and institutions. 4- Ensuring the existence of sustainable
consumption and production patterns.
5- Conserve and sustainably use the
oceans, seas and marine resources to
mitigate sustainable development.
6- Protecting and restoring the terrestrial
ecology, promoting its sustainable use
and management, managing forests in a
sustainable manner, combating
desertification, halting and reversing land
degradation and halting the loss of
biological diversity.

Source: Arab Women Organization, Women and the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in
the Region, Pilot Study - 2030, without Age, p. 15
Analyzing the Economic and Political Reality of Iraqi and Saudi Women in Light of the
Sustainable Development Aims
For a period of time, Iraqi women have been suffering from economic and political marginalization
and exclusion. This is due to the historical roots of male authority that used coercive methods against
women to consolidate their authority and place women under the command and behavior of men. But
after 2003, the situation changed, as Iraq began to restructure its institutions that specifically concern
women, to harmonize with all areas of the Beijing Platform for Action.
The laws and legislations included in the Iraqi constitution for the year 2005 to guarantee women
many rights, and affirms justice and equality for all without discrimination on the basis of gender, as it
guaranteed her right to own property and her right to education, health care, economic participation
and to occupy positions, as the quota system guaranteed her.
Her right to occupy parliamentary seats in parliament and in provincial councils (Malik ,2012 : 107)
and since Iraqi women constitute about (49.7%) compared to (50.3%) for men of the Iraqi population
for the year 2008, meaning that women constitute half of the society numerically, this means that
women are affected by economic and political changes.
All of them, without depriving them of effective participation, and not enabling them means wasting
and squandering the energies of society (Malik ,2012 :126).
It is noticed from Table (2) that the rate of women's participation in economic activity in Iraq is
compared to the rate of male participation and for all years of schooling, and the unemployment rate
for females is also characterized by increase compared to the rate of male unemployment, which
means that there are still differences between males and females in terms of participation in the
activity. Economic and unequal access to employment opportunities.

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Table 2. The rate of economic activity and unemployment rate for individuals aged 15
years and over by gender in Iraq for selected years (percentages)

Average of Economic Average of

Activity Unemployment
Total Economic Average of
Years
activity in Iraq Unemployment in Iraq
Male Female Male Female

2008 74,95 18,04 46,84 14,33 19,64 15,34

2012 73,60 13,48 42,86 9,87 22,59 11,92
2014 72,45 13,54 42,74 8,44 21,92 10,59
2016 72,09 14,44 43,15 8,49 22,22 10,82

Source: Ministry of Planning, Central Bureau of Statistics in Iraq, Statistical Abstract for 2017, multiple
pages.
In the political field, we find that the size of Iraqi women's participation in the House of
Representatives depended on the (quota) system, where Iraqi women participated in the general
legislative elections to choose the House of Representatives in January 2006 and the share of women
in the quota was (37) seats out of (275) that is, a percentage (28.4%) according to the single-district
and closed-list system.
In the second legislative elections in 2010, the list was open, while the multi-district system was
followed, which included all the governorates of Iraq. Of the total number of members of the House of
Representatives, and in the third legislative elections that took place in 2014-2018, women won (38-
87) seats out of a total of (328-329) seats in the House of Representatives, respectively, 25% -26%
(Ministry of Planning ,74-75).
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we find that the period of the fifties and sixties spread many
statements that reduce the status of women as a result of the customs and traditions that followed in
these societies, but in the nineties there was a major shift represented in the entry of women into the
labor market in many Arab countries as a result.
When the circumstances imposed by the education of women and the urgent need for them, as Saudi
Arabia set development plans that contribute to clearing the way for Saudi women to participate in
economic activity, as the Ninth Development Plan (2010-2015) focused on developing Saudi human
resources, and especially the female component, because Saudi women constitute half of the society
and constitute (49%) of the total number of Saudis, and it also emphasized the need to develop the
contribution of women in economic and political activity, and among the steps taken by Saudi Arabia
in this field is to appoint thirty women as members of the Shura Council that is, equivalent to 20% of
the council members (Shuq , 2019 :5).
As for the level of economic activity, we find that the number of new entrants to the labor market of
university-level graduates is one thousand male and female graduates, of whom 83.9 thousand female
graduates, and these constitute 90.4% of the total number of university graduates and above.
As for the number of new entrants to the labor market of diploma stage graduates, about 83.5
thousand male and female graduates, of whom 69.5 thousand female graduates, and they constitute
88.8% of the total number of graduates of the diploma stage.

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The number of high school graduates is estimated at about 39.9 thousand male and female graduates,
of whom 8.2 thousand female graduates, and these constitute 64.2% of the total secondary school
graduates.
Whereas, the number of new entrants to the labor market, including middle and primary graduates, is
about 19.4, whereas the number of female graduates is 2.4, which represents 42.0 out of the total
graduates of middle and primary school.
As for the number of illiterate persons in the labor market, it was estimated at about 3.5 of them,
which constitutes 0.6 of females, which is equivalent to 13.7 of the percentage of males out of the total
number of illiterate craftsmen, as is evident in Table (3).
Table 3. The economic participation rate of Saudis aged 15 years and over by gender and
educational level for the year 2016

Educational Level Males Females Total

Illiterate 17.3 0.6 3.5
Below Secondary school 42.0 2.4 19.4
Secondary or equivalence 64.2 8.2 39.9
Diploma below University 88.8 69.5 83.5
University and above 90.4 64.9 78.2
Total 64.6 19.3 42.2

Source: General Authority for Statistics, Labor Force Survey 2016, pg. 22.
As for the number of unemployed Saudis, according to the results of the labor force survey for the year
2016, we find that the total unemployment rate for the population (15 years and over) reached
(5.6%), and the unemployment rate among males (2.6%) and among females (21.3%).
The survey results also indicated that the highest rate of unemployment for Saudis was (4.5%) among
individuals between (15-24) years of age, for individuals aged between (25-39) at a rate of (14.8%),
while the results showed that the unemployment rate was the lowest for individuals those aged from
40 years and over, at a rate that ranged between zero and (1.3%)
This means that the percentage of Saudi women's participation in economic activity was low, and the
high unemployment rates among females indicates the lack of opportunities available to them.
Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has sought within its vision for 2030 to involve Saudi women
in working life more and effectively by assuming leadership positions in many fields or increasing
their participation rates in the labor market from 22% to 30%, and to achieve this, it has issued many
decisions in various Ministries to appoint a number of distinguished female employees in leadership
positions, including the appointment of three women heads of three sub-municipalities in Jeddah
(www. alriydh.com).
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
1- Empowering women means achieving equity between both sexes and helping women to have a
full role and contribution in setting policies and decision-making for all aspects of economic,
political and social life.

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2- The active participation of women and empowering them politically and economically is far
from the basic goals that countries seek to achieve in order to achieve sustainable
development.
3- The process of empowering women in the economic, political and social fields cannot be
achieved by virtue of the laws and legislations issued only. Rather, it must be accompanied by
an increase in women's awareness of all of their rights and the conviction that they are able to
integrate into the labor market and reach important and critical positions in the state.
4- Both Iraqi and Saudi women suffer from the existence of social legacies based on gender and
push towards prejudice in favor of men, which hinders the process of their economic and
political participation.
5- That Iraq and Saudi Arabia are trying to put women in the position they deserve through
individuals important paragraphs and projects in development plans in order to highlight the
vital role that they can play in the economic and political sides.
Recommendations
1- Establishing information, research, training and investment centers and associations to
develop women's skills, raise their administrative and technical capacity in the field of project
management, and integrate them into development plans in order to enable them from the
economic side.
2- Activating the laws regulating women's work, defining their rights in the field of political
participation, and protecting them from exposure to injustice.
3- Increasing women's awareness of the important role they can play in achieving development
through educational and media programs.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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