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Gender differences in mental health in the Middle East

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Suhaila Ghuloum
Suhaila Ghuloum*
Affiliation:
Rumailah Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar, email sghuloum@hmc.org.qa
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We are now seeing in clinical practice a generation of young women who are referred for psychiatric treatment by their parents because they are rebelling against society's cultural norms but it is often apparent that women fear their families finding out that they are seeking psychiatric help. Despite improvements in the cultural understanding of women's right to equality, there remain deeply rooted practices and cultural norms that continue to adversely affect women's mental health and well-being. Physical abuse, for instance, is rarely reported, for fear of shaming the family, or of retaliation with further abuse. Mental health services in many countries in the Middle East are undergoing reform, but little research has been done into gender differences in service delivery or needs.

Type
Guest Editorial
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , November 2013 , pp. 79 - 80
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2013

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