Although gender inequality is experienced by women in many parts of the world, it is quite excessive in the Arab world. In this essay, I will use Egypt as a case study. Cultural and traditional norms play a major role in the oppression of women in terms of illiteracy, female genital cutting and domestic violence. Every day, innocent, less fortunate girls are born into a society where the above is accepted by most of society and is seen as a norm. Religion is a very contradictory topic when it comes to gender inequality, and honestly, it's not just religion to blame. The problem with culture and tradition is that people rarely question their morality, since people have been doing it for years, which is why it's seen as an obvious thing to do, when in fact it's time that people start to think for themselves and not just follow that. or this tradition because it is engraved in their culture, and instead think about the impact it will have on their family and on the development of their country as a whole. Cultural, religious and governmental systems oppress women and leave no space for gender equality to flourish, leaving society as a whole with no will to strive for gender equality. The first element that shows the lack of will in Egyptian culture is the socially constructed norms or gender roles, domestic violence and how it has become so common that society no longer does anything about it, and finally, mutilation female genitals. “Egyptian men are presumed to be authoritarian in their relationships with women, to respect segregated gender roles, to take control of fertility decisions, and to maintain emotional distance from their wives and children” (Davis and Davis 1989; Kandiyoti 1994). ...... middle of paper ...... tian-girl-refuses-to-wear-hijab-and-kills-herself-to-death.htmlIbrahim, B. 2010. The fight for equality in Egypt. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/07/equality-struggle-egypt-womenLivewire.amnesty.org 2013. Egypt: It’s time to tackle violence against women in all its forms. Amnesty Global Human Rights Blog [online] Available at: http://livewire.amnesty.org/2013/06/06/egypt-time-to-address-violence-against-women-in- all-its-forms. /Nytimes.com. 2013. Connection - The New York Times [online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/world/middleeast/14iht-letter.html?pagewanted=all&_r. =0 [Accessed December 9, 2013].Stopstreetharassment.org 2013. Statistics – Academic and Community Studies – Stop Street Harassment. [online] Available at: http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/statistics-academic-studies/