Womanpower unveils the lively but little-reported debate on women's positions in the modern Arab world. It paints a picture drawn from individual stories as well as from national development programs and attempts to explain why the process of social change in the region has been slow and uneven by linking it to political and economic developments. By illustrating particular themes--personal status laws, development policies, political rights--with examples from specific countries, Nadia Hijab builds up an informative overview of the Arab world today.