1. Presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting
Comparative and International Education Society
Montreal, Canada
The Consistency and Controversy of Gender:
Egalitarian Educational Norms and Practices
in Muslim and Post-Soviet Countries
Alexander W. Wiseman
Hayarpi Papikyan

2. Situating the discussion
• GCC _ Gulf Cooperation Countries
Target countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia, UAE
• CIS _ Commonwealth of Independent States
Target countries:
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbe
kistan
• Mainly Muslim countries _ countries where
more than 65% of the population is Muslim

3. GCC CIS

4. Overlapping categories
●Religion and culture
●Schooling structure
●Education system- gender parity
●Rural-urban split
●limitation of women in labor market
●Ideological transition during last 20 years
●The transformation we are interested in…

5. In the six countries of CIS the right to education is ensured by
the constitution.
• Inheritance of Soviet system
The Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics October 7, 1977
Chapter 6 Article 35. Women and men have equal rights in the USSR. Exercise of these rights is ensured by
according women equal access with men to education and vocational and professional training, equal
opportunities in employment, remuneration and promotion, and in social and political, and cultural
activity, and by special labor and health protection measures for women; by providing conditions enabling
mothers to work; by legal protection, and material and moral support for mothers and children, including
paid leaves and other benefits for expectant mothers and mothers, and gradual reduction of working time
for mothers with small children.
• Commitment to MDGs, EFA
• Commitment to preserve the ethnic and cultural identity of
the population, promote a democratic society, and develop
human resources to cope with a competitive market led
economy

6. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on
Human Rights
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
Article 26(http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.pdf)
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in
the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be
given to their children.

7. UNESCO “Education for All”
“In the World Declaration on Education for All, adopted in
1990 in Jomtien, Thailand, the world community adopted an
expanded vision of what basic education means, calling for a
learning environment in which everyone would have the
chance to acquire the basic elements which serve as a
foundation for further learning and enable full participation
in society.
This vision implied both access to education for everybody,
and meeting the diverse learning needs of children, youth
and adults. It focused on learning societies, and saw broader
and deeper partnerships at every level as the way forward.”
http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/global_co/comprehensive_efa_strategy_summary.shtml

8. The Six EFA Goals
1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially
for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children
2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access
to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good
quality.
3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through
equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes
4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by
2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and
continuing education for all adults.
5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by
2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus
on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic
education of good quality.
6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that
recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy,
numeracy and essential life skills.
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=43811&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

9. Research Question
How do gender-separated systems in the GCC
compare to the secular Muslim countries of the
CIS?