| Abstract: | The sexist division of labour, particularly in the occupational sector, which is believed to be more eminent in developing countries than in the developed ones, is reinforced by school textbooks. This state of affairs is hampering sex-role equality on the way to emancipation. Various Syrian school textbooks have been scrutinized and proved to be malebiased in content and language. Despite quantitative growth of education, the emancipatory quality of the school textbooks leaves much to be desired. The government has had the chance since 1963 to produce textbooks conductive to its promise of sex-role equality in education. The textbooks portray males for a bustling world of decision making, while conditioning the females to seek fulfilment in the background where servitude and support are the only requirement. Females are derogated and victimized. These contents, which are internalized at school and reproduced in society, certainly do not serve development. The exclusion of one-half of the population from contributing to the tasks of development is a waste of human talent which no society can afford. Furthermore, the sexist portrayal of females in Syrian textbooks is a pale reflection of Arab women in Arab history and literature. |
