GENDERED PATTERNS OF ASSET OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL IN EGYPT

Abstract

This study, conducted in Egypt, sought to identify the types of assets women and men
perceive as beneficial for their wellbeing, and to determine if patterns of ownership and
control of assets coincide with one another. A survey was administered to 200 men and 200
women in the Old and New Lands of Egypt. Survey findings were juxtaposed with qualitative
information gathered from a total of 120 semi-structured interviews. We found that both
women and men considered land and houses to be the most economically and socially
important assets but men had very different perceptions of what they considered to be
valuable assets for women. Although gold jewelry and livestock were indeed useful assets for
women, they were far more liquefiable and easily alienable from women than land and
houses. These findings highlight the importance of enabling women to own and control
landed property