ME101 Lecture #09: The Challenge Beyond Economics | Women and Youth – A Force for Change

Youths make up 16 per cent of the world’s population today. Over the next 30 years, the youth population is expected to continue to grow in some regions like the Arab Middle East (UN 2019), which will in turn change the demography of the region. In this lecture, we will discuss how these demographic shifts and political instability in the region are upturning social expectations, especially for women. They present challenges and opportunities, both in terms of women’s and youth’s socio-economic expectations, and to current sociopolitical norms, especially as the states’ authority and familial bonds weaken, and guidance increasingly comes from social media and other independent external stakeholders. Disrupted “visions” and changing labour force demands are intersecting with painful political changes in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and will continue to impact the uncertain future of youth and gender politics of the Middle East.