Women in Oman now pursue careers and professional training, moving from their previous and traditional role at home to the public sphere.[3] In Oman, 17 October is celebrated every year as the Omani Women's Day with various pro-female events.[4]
While article 17 of Oman's Basic law bans discrimination on the basis of gender, Omani law does not provide equality or protection to women in several areas. Domestic violence and marital rape are not criminalized in Oman. Polygamy is legal for men and wives owe their husbands obedience. Fathers are the sole guardians of children and husbands can divorce their wives by repudiation, whereas wives require specified grounds for divorce or forgoing of financial rights. Women do not have equal rights in inheritance or in passing Omani nationality to their children. Under article 80 of Omani Labour law men and women are required to be paid equally for the same work and article 84 prevents termination of employment on the basis of pregnancy. Abortion is prohibited by Articles 315–318 of the Penal Code, including for women who have been raped.[5]
Politics
In 1970, the political and social atmosphere of Oman changed with the advent of a new ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, son of the conservative and rigid Said bin Taimur. After decades of stagnant to non-existent growth, Qaboos overthrew his father in a palace coup and immediately began numerous social programs, commissioning hospitals, clinics, schools, etc. Many Omanis who had been living abroad to get a proper education returned to participate in the construction of a new nation. The abroadees also brought with them the liberal and open attitude of their host countries, including the idea of equal gender relations.[6]
Sultan Qaboos introduced many reforms funded mostly by the oil revenue, targeting development and social services. He also appointed the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), a body of representatives elected by the people that review legislation. This act gave the people more control in their government which had been previously in complete control of the royal family and his appointed cabinet. In the September 2000 elections, 83 candidates were elected for seats in the Majlis al-Shura, including two women. In 1996, the Sultan issued "The Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman" to serve as a form of written constitution. This document gives the Omani people their basic civil liberties as well as guaranteeing equality and protection under the law. In 2002, universal suffrage was granted to all Omanis over the age of 21.[7]
More recently, the Sultan's Royal Decree in 2008 gave women the equal right to own land as held by their male counterparts.[8] Sultan Qaboos also recently signed the Decent Work Country Programme, a service dedicated to increase job opportunities for women as well as stand for justice, equality, and freedom. The program is supposed to be implemented from 2010 to 2013.[9]
Education
Modern education was foreign to Omanis before 1940.[10] Before the reforms made by Sultan Qaboos, there were only three primary schools serving 900 boys, focusing mainly on reciting the Quran and learning basic math and writing skills.[11] In 1970, Sultan Qaboos introduced the universal education policy for both men and women,[12] increasing female attendance in schools from 0% in 1970 to 49% in 2007.[13] In the years following, 600,000 students, both male and female, enrolled in over 1000 schools, bringing Oman one step closer to the goal of "education for all".[14]
After this first stage of universal education was established, the Ministry of Education implemented measures to improve the quality of education. In the 1980s, the Omani government sponsored construction of school buildings, the providing of adequate equipment and textbooks, and the provision of teacher training. The reforms continue today and saw a tremendous growth in school attendance.[15] The gender equality was the next focus of the education reform, especially after Oman's 1995 "Vision 2020" that focused on the country's economic future. As a result, in 2003 to 2004, 48.4% of students were female and out of 32,345 teachers of both genders, 56% were female.[16]
In the past the College of Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University banned the entrance of female students, claiming that the "outdoor setting" of engineering field work was not gender appropriate. Though students protested, many women had to transfer to other institutions; this has changed and even females are allowed to be in it.[17]
Labor and employment
Ever since the 1970s, women typically educated overseas were encouraged to return to Oman and help to "rebuild the nation." With a leader who embraced the ideals of modernization and progress, women were able to hold jobs in nearly every profession: banking, medicine, engineering, teaching, etc. According to a UNICEF-sponsored census, 40% of economically active women were in professional job categories.[18] In 2000, 17% of the Omani workforce was made up of women.[19]
In the 1980s, however, the government started to retract their previous liberties and slowly restrict the professions deemed "gender acceptable" for women. The number of professional women decreased and women were forced into more traditional roles as "nurturers and caregivers." The Omani Women's Association, the first women's government-recognized group in Oman, was stripped of the majority of its independence and was passed to the male-led Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. In 1984, it was replaced with a Directorate General of Women and Child Affairs with a sub-unit for women's associations. The main goal of this unit was to set up classes for women to learn basic household skills and day-care centers for the handicapped and disabled.[20]
Despite the slight setbacks, Oman is still considered to be one of the leading Gulf countries in terms of gender equality and continue to make positive strides. In 1997, the Omanisation Policy was implemented, committing to the promise of gradually replacing foreign labor dependence with Omani workers, giving women more of a chance to participate in the work force and making jobs more accessible to all Omanis.[21] Women now make up 30% of the workforce and even serve in ministerial positions. The ministers of higher education, tourism, and social development in the cabinet are all women, as well as the US Ambassador and the head of national authority for industrial craftsmanship.[22]
The most common role for the Omani woman is still the role of housewife. The housewife is essential to the upkeep of the family and will take command of all agricultural production while her husband is away for months at a time. These women work hard to support a family and tend to many matters traditionally seen by the man.[23] Women are not allowed to cover their face (niqab) in professional institutes, number of Omani and expats women not able to show their participation in public field, even it is not allow women to cover their face while driving
The rules of modesty in Islamic culture require a woman to be modestly covered at all times, especially when traveling farther from the home. At home, the Omani woman wears a long dress to her knees along with ankle-length pants and a leeso, or scarf, covering her hair and neck. Multitudes of lively colored Jalabiyyas are also worn at home. Once outside the home, dress is varied according to regional tastes. For some of a more conservative religious background, the burqa is expected to be worn to cover her face in the presence of other males, along with the wiqaya, or head scarf, and the abaya, an all-enveloping cloak revealing only her hands and feet.[24] Many women from varying regions of the Sultanate wear the scarf to cover only their hair.
The cotton burqa is symbolic of the expectations of the ideal woman and act as a mark of respect to represent her modesty and honor as well as her status. The burqa, first worn by a young girl after her seven-day honeymoon, is on whenever she is in the presence of strangers or outside the home, covering most of her face from view. The highest and lowest classes of Omanis do not wear the burqa—the highest being the children and relatives of the Sultan and the lowest being the poorest women in the town. This makes the burqa a symbol of rank as well. Some burqa differ in regions and designs as well, varying in size, shape and color. The Quran, however, makes no references specific to the modern day burqa.[25]
The abayais the conservative dress of choice, favored by women of most social classes and regions. The multitudes of designs and decadent embellishments on the modern day abayahas allowed it to become a versatile clothing that can be made either plain or a fashion statement, in Oman and in other neighboring Islamic countries.
Family
Women have always been seen as a wife and mother first and foremost. A good marriage and the bearing of children determine their social status and as soon as a woman is wed, most of her decisions are made by her husband.[26]
Marriage is a defining moment in the life of an Omani woman and marks her transformation from girl to woman. Though Sultan Qaboos extended both males and females the legal right to choose their spouse in 1971, tradition holds that the girl's father is responsible for setting up a proper match and securing his daughter's happiness. Most girls get married around the time they reach puberty, for the timely arrival of sexual desire is supposed to coincide with marriage. In this way, every unwed Omani girl is expected to be a virgin.[27]
In combination with the improvements in other areas of female life, the importance of sexual health and health education of women has come to the forefront recently. Even in 2004, 15% of adolescent girls aged 15–20 were married, a much higher statistic than other countries and resulting in a very young and uneducated population of young mothers. In 1994, the government implemented a birth spacing program and encouraged the use of contraceptives among married couples by providing them for free in most health centers.[28] The program was effective and the total fertility rate dropped from a staggering 7.05 in 1995 to 4.8 in 2000.[29]
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman,, a country in West Asia, is located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and overlooks the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The capital and largest city is Muscat. Oman has a population of nearly 4.7 million and is the 124th most-populous country. The coast faces the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
Oman is the site of pre-historic human habitation, stretching back over 100,000 years. The region was impacted by powerful invaders, including other Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain. Oman once possessed the island of Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa as a colony. Oman also held Gwadar as a colony for many years.
Muscat is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats, making it the largest city in the Arabian Peninsula by area. Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders and settlers such as the Persians, Balochs and Sindhis. Since the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Qaboos bin Said Al Said was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death, having ruled for almost half a century.
Sohar is the capital and largest city of the Al Batinah North Governorate in Oman. An ancient capital of the country that once served as an important Islamic port town on the Gulf of Oman, Sohar has also been credited as the mythical birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor. It was historically known as Mazūn (مَزُوْن).
Sultan Qaboos University is a public university located in al-Seeb, Oman. Established in 1986, it is one of the two public universities in the country and is named after Qaboos bin Said al-Said, the Sultan of Oman from 1970 until 2020.
Mazoon bint Ahmad Ali Al-Mashani was the second wife of Sultan Said bin Taimur of Oman and the mother of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Said's first wife, Fatima Al-Mashani, was her cousin.
Omanis are the nationals of Sultanate of Oman, located in the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Omanis have inhabited the territory that is now Oman. In the eighteenth century, an alliance of traders and rulers transformed Muscat into the leading port of the Persian Gulf. Omani people are ethnically diverse; the Omani citizen population consists of many different ethnic groups. The majority of the population consists of Arabs, with many of these Arabs being Swahili language speakers and returnees from the Swahili Coast, particularly Zanzibar.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf, later renamed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, was a Marxist and Arab nationalist revolutionary organisation active in an armed struggle against the Arab monarchies in the Arabian Peninsula. The organization was dedicated to overthrow all monarchies in Arabia culminating in the Dhofar Rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also known as Oman Police, is the main law and order agency for the Sultanate of Oman. It maintains a helicopter fleet and also carries on the duties of safeguarding the long Omani coastline.
The Foreign Ministry is the government body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for organising and directing Oman's relations with other countries and with regional and international organisations.
Burka Avenger is a Pakistani animated television series created, directed and produced by Haroon.
The Ghāfirī are one of two major tribal confederations of Oman and the Trucial Coast, the other being the Hināwī. Both confederations claim their origin to the Bedouin tribe and the Ghafiri also trace their roots to the Nizari or Adnani tribes. Both groups provided support to the ruling sultans to further their own interests. The Ghafiri are Sunni Muslim.
Dawn Chatty, is an American Emerita Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration, who specialises in the Middle East, nomadic pastoral tribes, and refugees. From 2010 to 2015, she was Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford and from 2011 to 2014, Director of the Refugee Studies Centre.
Slavery existed in the area which was later to become Oman from antiquity until the 1970s. Oman was united with Zanzibar from the 1690s until 1856, and was a significant center of the Indian Ocean slave trade from Zanzibar in East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, a central hub of the regional slave trade, which constituted a large part of its economy.
Hilal bin Ali bin Hilal Al-Sabti was born on October 27, 1972. On June 16, 2022, His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq has issued a Royal Decree appointing Dr. Hilal bin Ali bin Hilal Al Sabti, as the new Minister of Health. He succeeded His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al Saidi on this new role.
Hilda al-Hinai, Arabic: هيلدا الهنائي, is an Omani diplomat and economist, who is Director of the Sultanate of Oman's delegation to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). She has been outspoken about the role of Arab countries within the WTO, and the lack of influence that all Arab states, apart from Saudi Arabia, have within it. She was chair of the working party which enabled the entry of the Seychelles into the WTO. During negotiations, she was praised for working for the interests of the Seychelles rather than the wider WTO organisation itself. She has previously held the role of Deputy Permanent Representative to the Permanent Mission of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations.
Lujaina Mohsin Haider Darwish is an Omani politician. Along with Rahila Al Riyami, she was one of the first two women to be directly elected to the Consultative Assembly in 2000. In 2015 she was appointed to the Council of State. Darwish is also the chairperson of ITICS at Mohsin Haider Darwish.
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in Al-Buraimi, Oman.
↑ Yusuf Issan, Salha. "Preparing for the Women of the Future: Literacy and Development in the Sultanate of Oman." Hawwa (Leiden) 8.2 (2010): 120-53
↑ Aslam, Neelufer, and Srilekha Goveas. "A Role and Contributions of Women in the Sultanate of Oman." International Journal of Business and Management 6.3 (2011): 232-39
↑ Skeet, Ian. Oman: Politics and Development. New York: St. Martin's, 1992.
↑ Al-Lamki, Salma M. "Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman: The Challenge of Access, Equity and Privatization." Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 24.1 (2002): 75-86.
↑ Al Riyami, Asya, and Mustafa Afifi. "Women Empowerment and Marital Fertility in Oman." The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association 78.1, 2 (2003): 55-72.
↑ Aslam, Neelufer, and Srilekha Goveas. "A Role and Contributions of Women in the Sultanate of Oman." International Journal of Business and Management 6.3 (2011): 232-39
↑ Al-Lamki, Salma M. "Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman: The Challenge of Access, Equity and Privatization." Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 24.1 (2002): 75-86.
↑ United Nations. UNESCO. Education as a Motor for Development: Recent Education Reforms in Oman with Particular Reference to the Status of Women and Girls. By Shapour Rassekh. Geneva, Switzerland: International Bureau of Education, 2004.
↑ United Nations. UNESCO. Education as a Motor for Development: Recent Education Reforms in Oman with Particular Reference to the Status of Women and Girls. By Shapour Rassekh. Geneva, Switzerland: International Bureau of Education, 2004.
↑ Chatty, Dawn. "Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
↑ Chatty, Dawn. "Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
↑ Yusuf Issan, Salha. "Preparing for the Women of the Future: Literacy and Development in the Sultanate of Oman." Hawwa (Leiden) 8.2 (2010): 120-53
↑ Chatty, Dawn. "Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
↑ Aslam, Neelufer, and Srilekha Goveas. "A Role and Contributions of Women in the Sultanate of Oman." International Journal of Business and Management 6.3 (2011): 232-39
↑ Katzman, Kenneth. Oman: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy. Rep. no. RS21534. Vol. 7-5700. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2011.
↑ Chatty, Dawn. "Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
↑ Wikan, Unni. Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1982.
↑ Wikan, Unni. Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1982.
↑ Chatty, Dawn. "Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
↑ Wikan, Unni. Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1982.
↑ Riyami, Asya, Mustafa Afifi, and Ruth Mabry. "Women's Autonomy, Education and Employment in Oman and Their Influence on Contraceptive Use." Reproductive Health Matters 12.23 (2004): 144-54.
↑ Al Riyami, Asya, and Mustafa Afifi. "Women Empowerment and Marital Fertility in Oman." The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association 78.1, 2 (2003): 55-72.
Roche, T. & Roche, E. (2012). "Interwoven: Women’s dress practices and identity on the Arabian Peninsula". International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(10), pp.133–144.
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