This has affected not only women's social visibility but also their ability to negotiate political power at various levels of action and in different fields. Significant differences do still exist among states. In 1995, Lebanon, Jordan, and Kuwait each had over 2,300 students per 100,000 population, while Sudan, Yemen, and Oman each had less than 450. Enrollment Rates Women's enrollment accounts for an increasingly important portion of tertiary education expansion in many Arab states, particularly in the Gulf. Yet, their access is far from universal.
Women come overwhelmingly from the urban middle and upper classes.
Urban-rural disparities are also significant. In Jordan, the student gender ratio stood at .94 women for each man in 1995 compared to .45 women in 1970. By contrast, in Yemen, the gender ratio is still as low as .14 women for each man. In comparison, in the Arabian Peninsular states from the 1970s onward, higher education expansion captured primarily a growing percentage of women while men sought higher education mainly abroad. In fact, the expansion of local tertiary education institutions in the Arabian Peninsula was accompanied by a set of legal and social controls imposed on women s mobility and opportunities.