Hello (sorry I don't know how to say it in Arabic)
I'm 17 year-old girl from Japan, and senior of high school.
So, I'm going on to university next year and want to study Arabic there.
I'm interested in Arabic letters and people (^o^)

The problem is that my father disagrees to my studying Arabic, because he says that in countries where that language is spoken(Muslim world), women aren't on an equality with men.(male chauvinism) It is safe not to go to those countries, then it's useless to learn, he concluded.

I'd like to ask native people or learners
What is the good point (and bad point) to learn Arabic?
What is the status of women in Arabic-spoken countries?
and how to persuade him..

onegaishimasu。m(_ _)m shukuran

Hello Sae, we say "salaam" or peace in arabic when we greet. you can also say "Mar-haba".
a good starting point to learn arabic is greetings, a start up conversation , and numbers.
I don't know what's a bad starting point , but don't overwhelm yourself with learning.. enjoy it .. immerse yourself in the culture, the music, the art, the food if you can, belly dance if you want to .. you'll learn plenty by doing that.
women in Arab countries have a long way to go , it's not as bad as Afghanistan, or Pakistan.. It differs from that in a sense that it's a patriarchal world. as a foreigner, you shouldn't face any problems, but as a local you are mandated to follow certain norms and traditions. Saudi arabia is the worst , women don't drive, they can't travel on their own as they must have a male relative as an escort, they should be covered, and god is the state , so everything is in compliance with extreme sharia law.
other Gulf countries are better, My country.. Bahrain is very liberal compared to the Gulf region, the ambassador to the US is a Jewish female bahraini, an ex ministress of health was a lady named Nada Hafaz, and women participate in the culture/society/work even protests ( hence the arab springs) as much as the men do , even more.
I don't know what should you say to your father to convince him, but maybe reflecting on why you want to study arabic would be of help.
If you need anything.. just send a message.

regards

i can help you to learn arabic

I'm not from an Arab country, but I really doubt you'll be in danger for being a woman just by going to an Arab country. I'm pretty sure there are women that travel to Arab countries. What exactly does he think will happen to you? The only thing you'll probably need to do is just watch how you dress to a certain extent depending on which country you go to(Saudi Arabia will probably expect you to dress more in a certain way than other countries).

Hey Everybody I'm From Tunisia an Arabic country and we are a liberal country women are equal to men many tourists come every year and there's no problem but In Saudi Arabia there are Mecca and Al-Medina that only Muslims can be there cause it relates to our Islamic Tradition .
In my country the number of Studding girls are more than boys and they participate in society , culture , work etc ... we don't have problem with dress cause everyone is free .

you people seems is learnning Arabic,and i recommand you a App that will be helpful。mean while,you can help those who are learning english :
Hello Talk
https://itunes.apple.com/cn/app/hellotalk/id557130558?mt=8