In this post, I present a listening comprehension exercise on the most important issues that Arab women face. The report is from Al-Jazeera.

Listen the report and answer the questions that follow. You can use the words at the end of the post to facilitate your comprehension.

Answer the following questions in English:

What does a quick look at the situation of Arab women show?

In which field have women achieved remarkable progress?

How does the number of women who join university compare to men?

What does the gender gap report reveal about the political participation of Arab women?

How does Arab women’s participation in the work force compare to world percentages?

Answer the following questions in Arabic:

كيف تغير معدل وفيات الأمهات في العالم العربي في العقدين الماضيين؟

ما هما الدولتان الاستثناء؟

ما الفئة العمرية الأكثر تعرضاً للاكتئاب؟

ما المشكلة المزمنة الكبرى لنساء المنطقة؟

ما نسبة النساء الكويتيات اللاتئ يعانين من السمنة؟

Useful Vocabulary:

إطلالة = look/glance

مؤشرات = indicators

إيجابي = positive

سلبي = negative

مجال = field

التعليم = education

قفزات = leaps

المشاركة السياسية = political participation

حضور = presence

الفجوة بين الجنسين = gender gap

نسبة = percentage

القوى العاملة = work force

متدنياً = low

تحسّن = improvement

وفيات = deaths

عقد = decade

البقاء على قيد الحياة = survival

الولادة = giving birth

استثناء = exception

لا سيما = particularly

النفسية = psychological

الاكتئاب = depression

فئة عمرية = age group

السمنة = obesity

مزمنة = chronic