Progress and Paradox: Women’s Evolving Role in the Modern Middle East

From Optics to Opportunity

For many in America, it is easy to view countries like Saudi Arabia, where women’s rights remain constrained, as symbols of everything frustrating about promoting equality and partnership abroad. Some critics tied Trump’s recent tour of the Middle East to his perceived disregard for women’s issues.

Amid the scrutiny, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) presents a hopeful counterbalance: offering a model of what was, what is, and what can be. Since its founding in 1971, the UAE and several other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations have undergone dramatic transformations: independence from Great Britain, economic diversification, infrastructure development, the launch of a space program, and leadership in regional diplomacy.

For many observers of the progress, the question is now: what about the women?

The History of Change through a Lens

That question is personal for me. My mom lived in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s and ’80s-an era long before women could drive, shop without a male escort, or access widespread education. Years later, I lived in the UAE and saw a different reality: women leading companies, serving in government, and outpacing men in university attendance and attrition. In the UAE, I was elected student body president; my mom led a national education initiative.

Seeing our childhood experiences side-by-side; hers marked by restriction, mine by rising possibility-taught me that change in the Gulf is not abstract or theoretical. This change is generational, visible, and deeply human. But it is uneven and incomplete. The distance between our two realities speaks to the velocity and complexity of progress that often goes unnoticed by critics.

The Complex Face of Progress

Progress in the GCC is not linear – it is contextual and often paradoxical. Some of the brightest women I went to school with now run government sectors or media companies, though they still do not have equal rights in their homes. Progress for women in the GCC often wears two faces: one public and promising, the other private and constrained.

In the UAE, women serve as ministers and CEOs. In Qatar and Kuwait, they vote and hold parliamentary seats. In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 has brought accelerated reforms, increasing Saudi Arabia 60 places on the World Bank’s annual report on women. Yes, women can now drive in Saudi Arabia, share a seat on the Saudi Shura Council, and own businesses in the UAE, however, they still face barriers in courts, workplaces, and family life. Celebrating progress is essential, but not at the cost of overlooking the work ahead.

One of the most powerful forces for change has been education. Emirati women now outnumber men in higher education, both locally and abroad – a trend mirrored in both Qatar and Bahrain. These women are entering the workforce, reshaping national narratives, and becoming role models for a new generation.

Some evidence of the change: the UAE’s Shamma Al-Mazrui became the world’s youngest minister at 22. Saudi Arabia appointed Princess Reema bint Bandar as ambassador to the U.S. Saudi Arabia has doubled its voluntary female workforce since 2016. In the UAE and Bahrain, initiatives in STEM and entrepreneurship are gradually chipping away at old norms.

An important note for all of us in the West to reflect on is that, with a marriage rate at 72.4%, women in many GCC nations echo the sentiment that progress and opportunity need not come at the cost of femininity, motherhood, and a respect for culture and religion.

Power, Policy, and the Path Ahead

Legal frameworks are also shifting: some guardianship laws have been relaxed and several countries have domestic violence protections. But, as we know in the United States, law on paper often differs from lived experience. Enforcement and cultural shift is where reform becomes real for those impacted.

At the grassroots level, women-led initiatives in health, education, and enterprise are taking root. These aren’t foreign imports. They are homegrown responses to local needs. Cities like Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh are becoming hubs of ambition, and young women – educated, connected, and confident – are asking for more. And they’re getting it.

Still, much remains undone. Labor protections, domestic violence enforcement, and pay laws are inconsistent. Family law-especially around divorce, custody, and inheritance – remains a deeply entrenched source of inequality. Reform here is culturally complex, but necessary. Without it, full gender equity will remain out of reach.

Political representation is another frontier. Though women are increasingly visible in government, they remain underrepresented in policy making roles, policies that impact them and their families. Allowing an opportunity for them to elevate themselves into these spaces would transform both policy and societal expectations.

Religion and culture also play a powerful role – one the West too often overlooks or oversimplifies. It is misguided to expect the Middle East to mirror the U.S., but that doesn’t mean reform isn’t possible. Reform-minded Islamic scholarship, should women in these nations’ call for it, can bridge tradition and women’s rights in ways that resonate authentically with local populations. Islamic extremism leaves no room for women’s rights, and nations like the UAE, and new leadership in Saudi Arabia, are asserting an echoed vision.

The West should recognize this moment, champion progress, but have zero hesitation in calling out infringements when they occur.

Supporting the Change

This article is no nod to the perfection of the United States. Much like our own plights, progress must come from within, and it must be heard, seen, and supported. The women of the GCC are not waiting for change; and neither should we – women across the United States, and through organizations like Independent Women have taken up the torch for change on our own shores. Through education, ambition, and resilience, we are universally shaping futures in boardrooms, classrooms, ministries, and homes. The women in these nations are more than capable. They want our attention, and they respect the path we have paved, but they do not need our hand to do it.

External partners like the U.S. should stand beside the progress – amplifying voices and supporting reform. The UAE is a good case study for how progress happens. While the West should never hesitate to call out when bad things are happening to women and girls universally and must refuse to praise symbolism over substance, we must also avoid the decades-old trap of Western authorship vs. experienced influence – a sentiment President Trump echoed in one of his engagements in the Middle East last week.

When women take an earned seat at the table, nations and organizations do not just evolve, they thrive. Innovation skyrockets, GDP climbs, and stability reigns. In a region long seen through the lens of conflict, this quiet revolution has the chance to be one of its most powerful stories yet.