IENNA, Virginia, August 11, 2010 – Survey data contrasting the desires and daily lives of Muslim women in Egypt and Northern Sudan was released today by D3 Systems.

The paper explores the similarities and differences in the lives of women in the two neighboring countries. Egyptian women are far more likely to participate in societal functions; 86% voted in the last major election compared to only 19% in Sudan. They are one-third as likely to be unemployed (39% in Sudan, 13% in Egypt).

Northern Sudanese women, however, have more say about daily purchases for the home. Thirty-eight percent say they are responsible for such daily purchases (compared to only 8% in Egypt). They are also more than twice as likely (33% v 15%) to be in control of the household’s savings.

The paper, entitled “A Comparison of Women’s Aspirations and Daily Lives In Common Practice in Northern Sudan and Egypt”, is the tenth installment of D3’s Women in Muslim Countries (WIMC) Survey. Conducted in twenty-three Muslim majority countries, the WIMC study is designed to measure women’s empowerment in actual daily practice, providing a deep look into the oft-perceived gap between current public policy and empowerment initiatives and actual practice on the personal and local level.

WIMC is conducted and sponsored by D3 Systems of Vienna, Virginia, USA. The survey was administered to a random sample of 692 women in Sudan and 500 women in Egypt via face-to-face interviews. Field work was conducted by Ipsos Egypt, between July 29 and August 18, 2009 in Sudan and March 10 and April 1, 2007 in Egypt. Interviewing was conducted in Arabic by Egyptian and Sudanese interviewers, respectively. The margin of error in each country is ± 4% at the 95% confidence level. The response rate for Egypt was 64% while the response rate in Sudan was 36%.

For more information about D3 Systems, please visit: http://www.d3systems.com.