Education is a human right and a vehicle to help individuals, and by extension societies, achieve better outcomes of well-being and human development. Education is also an effective driver of social change and a means for reducing inequalities and providing people with opportunities for a better future. More importantly, education enhances people’s autonomy and strengthens their freedoms and capabilities, thus allowing them to have more control over their lives and modes of self-expression and self-affirmation.

In the Arab region, compulsory education has had a marked impact in the last few decades and basic education is now widespread.11 In particular, literacy indicators have improved significantly among young people in the region. When scratching below the surface, however, one finds that improved educational outcomes have had only a limited effect on upward mobility. Researchers have also noted that secondary education attainment in the Arab region remains far below global averages and that problems such as truancy and incomplete schooling are common.12 Although equality of terms of access to education among rich and poor members of society has improved dramatically in most Arab countries in the past two decades,13 inequality in terms of opportunity remains high and is likely to have increased. This so-called Arab educational inequality puzzle is compounded by inadequate progress in terms of improving the quality of education, which is crucial if we are to accelerate sociopolitical emancipation and ensure that people have the skills they need to find decent employment. In more than one report, the Economic and Social Council for Western Asia (ESCWA) has warned that, despite hard-earned improvements in terms of bridging gaps between rich and poor households in accessing basic education, educational quality has not improved. The reasons for that quality gap are varied but one root cause is that education systems in the Arab region are typically a form of indoctrination and focus on obedience to authority within a well-anchored patriarchal system.14 Conservatism and an emphasis on conformity characterize learning environments for most children and young people in the Arab region whereas rebellious and non-conformist behaviour is viewed extremely negatively and is liable to be punished