The Changing Roles of Young Single Women in Jordan. an Explanation Using the Economic Theory.*

"In recent years young single women in Jordan, like those in other Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries with a strong Islamic tradition, have experienced important changes in their social roles. Mary Kawar (2001) has examined women's life cycle, their economic opportunities and the nature of the social contract in Jordan.\footnote{She describes the results of a 1997 survey interviewing 302 households in 14 locations across the city of Amman. The questionnaire explored family relations, income distribution and management, life and work history, social activity, and views on marriage and work. It was administered to single women between 20 and 30. These women were working, unemployed or non-working, but not enrolled in education.} She reports an ever-growing trend of young women joining the labor market, becoming an additional source of income for their families, and also getting married at a later stage and having fewer children than their antecessors. Some authors view these changes as the dawn of an Islamic women's revolution defying the social contract, like that previously witnessed in Western societies. For example, Omar (2001, p.11) suggests that "with Islam as the predominant religion, women's choice to delay marriage could be seen as a challenge to the religious status quo", given that within the Islamic tradition "marriage holds a primary place from a religious perspective"."