In the MENA region, women face challenges to empowerment through the system of global governance. The interests of women in these countries are often excluded in favour of the United States’ interests, holding de facto holding veto power in the World Bank and the IMF (Hickel, 2014). This continues to drive underdevelopment for women when national governments and organizations are unable to access or supply the resources needed to empower women. Additionally, empowerment initiatives can place women in a role of subservience, and this has traditionally ignored the structures and inequalities globally, which have shaped the role of women in this region.

 

Women also face challenges in making informative decisions about making informed decisions about their personal relationships and sexuality, given the conflicting messages and social norms which perpetuate harmful conditions and messages (UNICEF, 2018). This requires new comprehensive sexuality education to empower women continuously throughout their own lives as well as within their communities.

 

These challenges often interlink with the existing cultures and values of MENA countries, which are often multigenerational issues, and therefore requires an understanding of where these norms have originated in order to redirect them towards empowering women from outside the patriarchal lens.

 

Additionally, in the MENA region, women have historically faced challenges in acquiring the tools and independence for empowerment. This can be seen in the example of the role of women in museums, and the societal difficulties faced in educating and communicating about the role of women in history. In Jordan and Morocco, museums have traditionally been focused on foreign operation and administration, and this has caused challenges in reflecting the actual national and cultural heritage of these countries, which consisted of many incredible women contributing as well.  This case demonstrates the constraints of women in representation and participation, through the inability to access empowering education or employment. Malt examines these challenges further, considering how the traditional patriarchal system discourages the growth of women’s identities within museum work, and consequently placing barriers on women’s empowerment (Malt, 2007).