Egypt: an economic geography The people of Egypt · 21
jects of substantial capital investment have also led to a deterioration of the
situation of the fellahat. Where formerly they contributed considerably to the
household economy by selling the vegetables they had grown or the poultry
they had raised, they find that today they have to compete with products from
the highly subsidized capital-intensive modern agricultural enterprises that
come up with new products, often of improved or hybrid types, at any time
of the year thanks to new technologies. Some authors speak of ‘a feminization
of poverty’ which results from the existing inequities in education and access
to assets and from the growing number of women-headed households among
the poor (Farag 2000). It is clear that at present social as well as economic
developments are not favourable for women in Egypt. It is only to be hoped
that this trend will not last and that a decisive change will be brought about
in this respect, since women represent a great potential for the country that
should not be underestimated.