The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs

GPIA Seminar Series presents

Don Heisel

Declining Fertility and the End of Patriarchy?
Demographic Change in the Arab World

Wednesday, April 16th
6 - 8 p.m.
GPIA Conference Room
Room 609, 66 W 12th St.

There is general consensus that the family is one of the most powerful and most conservative institutions in Arab society. The system is deeply patriarchal, in both law and practice. The area of autonomy allowed to women is narrowly circumscribed and largely centered on her home. If anything, the current trend is toward greater conservatism, reinforced by the growing influence of Islamist fundamentalism.

At the same time, some clearly marked trends in the Arab region can have profound effects on the status of women, might pose serious challenges to the patriarchal family, and that could even have consequences for the global economy. One of the most important of these trends is the dramatic decline in fertility in some important countries of the region during the recent decades. In the Maghreb, the fertility declines were similar in size and the speed with that of China, but without coercion.

The presentation will focus on the three countries of the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, the countries of the Arab world that have been among those most significantly contributing to labor migration to Europe. To assess the impact of their fertility declines, the following questions will be explored:

How and why did the declines occur when they did;

What are the links to women’s education and participation if the labor force;

What will be the immediate and longer term effects on the total labor force, and on worker migration;

Does the fertility decline mean the end of patriarchy?

Part of the Seminar Series.