Any other Middle Easterns on this sub, what issues do you feel men face in the Middle East no one sheds light on here?

PassengerCultural421 · 2025-10-19T12:03:22+00:00

The Middle East already gets a reputation for being misogynistic. So people don't believe men can suffer in the Middle East.

But usually some super misogynistic countries tend to be super misandrists too. I think India is a good example of this.

gratis_eekhoorn · 2025-10-19T07:10:02+00:00

Conscription, and absolutely no one takes issues like male victims of domestic and sexual abuse because majority of people don't believe it's possible, and many people from other countries believe it's impossible for men to be discriminated in any way in "patriarchal" middle eastern countries.

Adorable_Soul · 2025-10-19T10:34:38+00:00

I’m from the Middle East too and yeah, there are a bunch of regional men’s issues here:

- Sure as you said, the mandatory military service — it’s basically forced labor. You can’t get a passport, finish uni, or even get certain jobs unless you’ve done it. A lot of guys lose years of their lives to that system.

- The biggest one is there’s the constant financial pressure. As the "man", you’re expected to provide not just for yourself or your wife, but for your parents and siblings too. Doesn’t matter if you’re broke — society will still judge you if you’re not “taking care of your family.” and this might be universal value, but in the Middle Easit it's not a human concept, it comes from Islam with the concept of Qiwamah...so it's mandated by god, not something we humans can change culturally.

- Marriage is another nightmare. Between dowries, housing, and the cost of living, most guys can’t even afford to get married until they’re 30+. But at the same time, you can’t really have relationships before marriage without serious social or even legal backlash. So you’re kind of stuck.

- Mental health is another major issue. Men showing any emotion or admitting they’re struggling gets labeled as weakness. Therapy has a huge social stigma and so there's zero real support. In general, there are no shelters or organizations for men at all...not some or such, NONE.

but otherwise it's the same as everywhere really, men here don’t have real autonomy — everyone expects you to serve, provide, obey, and never complain.

jessi387 · 2025-10-19T07:21:36+00:00

I’d love to hear more people like you

AgentKenji8 · 2025-10-19T15:39:12+00:00

While I lived in the middle east. Sexism cuts both ways even if its in a culture of misogyny. Its just the assumption that only men are capable of doing xyz. Gives people a guaranteed escape from consequences when men are target. While any victims are ignored purely on the basis of their gender. Then we get to false accusations of not just SA but everything. Men are automatically crucified while women are seen as protected, unequivocally innocent and slightly better than property. It does vary from country to country but its too little of a difference to make life any better. This is slowly improving though. Slow progress is better than no progress.

Some-Article1877 · 2025-10-19T15:44:13+00:00

I'm from Lebanon. Men do face many problems here; a dire lack of economic opportunities, little government assistance due to rampant corruption, potential for police brutality due to uncaring senior officials, and so on.

I will say that third world countries do tend to have better community and family bonds compared to the economically oriented west. I noticed that women in Lebanon tend to value men more so than American women. Family members are also more willing to help out men in Lebanon due to the emphasis on family values, ex there's less of a pressure to move out of the home compared to the US.

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GrandyRetroCandy · 2025-10-22T00:55:58+00:00

For whatever it's worth, I am not from the Middle East, but I'm glad you came to share, because we want to hear your stories too.

I try to keep up with news in the entire region, and depending where you are or which nation you are in, I imagine you could be facing immense challenges as a man. For whatever it's worth, I hope you and your loved ones are in safety at the moment.

ferrocarrilusa · 2025-10-22T20:55:51+00:00

I'm a white american but a close friend is an egyptian immigrant. He was saying older brothers in that culture are expected to physically retaliate against anyone who disrespects their siblings. And a lot of chivalry still exists.

SuperMario69Kraft · 2025-10-19T18:27:07+00:00

I think this post should've been tagged under the "third world" post flair.

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