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The Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest level of women's land ownership in the world, yet little research has explored the barriers and opportunities women face in land ownership in the region. This paper identifies patterns, opportunities, and constraints of ownership of land and other assets (houses, livestock, poultry, and gold) by women and men in the Old and New Lands of Egypt. Based on a survey complemented with qualitative interviews, the study finds that both women and men viewed land and houses as the most economically and socially important assets, but they differed in what assets they considered to be valuable for women. The findings highlight the importance of implementing policies that optimize women's property ownership, even if they own non-land assets. The study concludes that while legal and economic interventions aid in accomplishing gender-equity goals, consciousness-raising initiatives are as crucial as pro-women policy reforms. HIGHLIGHTS Women are disadvantaged in land ownership in the New and Old Lands in Egypt, though not to the extent the literature has assumed for the MENA region. Patterns of asset ownership and control are similar to other regions: men own and control more land and housing; women own and sometimes control (liquefiable) livestock and gold Men underestimate women's preferences for owning immovable property (land and housing) even in the New Lands, where 20 percent of land titles are distributed to women. Women who acquire land remained hesitant or unwilling to enable their daughters to inherit land at par with their sons. While pro-women policy reforms should be implemented, consciousness-raising initiatives are equally crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Egypt, girls' work primarily takes the form of domestic tasks, which are not considered in many studies of child labor. This paper investigates the effect of girls' work on their school attendance. It uses a modified bivariate probit approach to estimate the effect of work on schooling while allowing for the simultaneous determination of the two outcomes. It presents evidence that the substantial burden of girls' domestic work leads to lower rates of school attendance. Policies that attempt to ban the labor-force work of children will have practically no effect on girls' education in Egypt, while interventions reducing the drudgery of household labor through, for example, improved water and sanitation infrastructure, have better prospects for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]