Gender Inequality and Nutritional Status in Patriarchal Societies: The Case of Primary School Students in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

Women contribute significantly to the economy and the labor market through their paid and unpaid work in the public and private sector. The increased recognition of women’s important contribution to the global economy through their productive and reproductive roles, and the recognition of their marginalization have led to a consensus among all stakeholders about the importance and need to bring all forms of social, cultural and economic gender inequality to an end. While sex means the biological differences between the males and females, gender is related to the culturally based expectations and roles that are ascribed to each of the two sexes in the different societies. In many societies, labeled as patriarchal societies, there is discrimination in vesting power and control over resources in favor of men; gender inequality [1]. Thus, gender inequality means the existence of social norms and even official laws and rules that result in differential access to and control over resources, services and opportunities based on the person’s sex [2]. Consequently, in patriarchal societies the use and control of resources and economic opportunities are dominated by men [3,4]. Enforcement of women’s economic, social, and cultural rights will not only enhance the fulfillment of their direct physical needs (practical needs), but also help in reforming the root of the unequal power relations between the sexes (strategic needs). In patriarchal societies, such as the one under consideration, gender inequality is associated with some eating and nutritional habits that may have negative impacts on women’s and/or men’s nutritional status [5]. An example of eating habits associated with gender inequality that negatively impacts women in some societies is the tradition that women eat after men. This not only results in females having neither enough food, nor balanced meals that include all the needed nutrients, but very commonly they eat unhealthy and unsafe food, as in some cultures the eating habit is that all the food is put in one container and the males eat first and the females eat what is left over [2]. In many societies women and girls eat the food remaining after the male family members have eaten [6]. Women, girls, the sick and disabled are the main victims of this “food discrimination”, which results in chronic under-nutrition and ill-health [6]. It has been argued that gender inequality is positively associated with wide spread of acute and chronic under-nutrition particularly among women and children [7]. In 2009 the World Food Program revealed that 60% of the chronically hungry individuals were females [8]. Even worse than that, is the fact that when malnutrition and gender disparity interact in patriarchal societies, the female children have less chances to make up for nutritional deficiencies compared to their male counterparts due to the nutritional and eating habits that are reinforced by the male biased culture [1]. Another example of the association between gender inequality and nutritional status is the restriction on women movement outside their homes (such as going to restaurants) without being accompanied by one of their male relatives which limits their access to fast food. Although this Volume 6 Issue 4 2017