Women are still discriminated against under personal status laws when it comes to divorce and child custody in most countries in the region. The aim of this note is to provide information on state of play of gender equality in chosen countries in the Mediterranean Region (Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Palestinian Authority Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The analysis and recommendation prepared in the study shall serve for the purpose of drafting report for the next Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society by the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM).
The report is divided in three sections, covering:
1) Overview of legislation on gender equality and state of play in practice, focusing on the following core domains: i) access to education, ii) access to labour market and gender pay gap, iii) access to economic/finance resources, iv) access to and participation in political life, v) demography and family policies, and vi) combating violence against women.
2) Ongoing major cooperation programmes and projects between the EU (or its Member States) and the South Neighbourhood in the field of women’s empowerment.
3) Conclusions and recommendations.