Source: The Pioneer
The pro-democracy movement has toppled some dictatorial regimes and left others hanging on a cliff in the Arab world. A large part of the credit for its success goes to women of the region who spoke out for change, explains Indeevar Goodwill.

In the months since a Tunisian street vendor immolated himself to protest against Government corruption and sparked a nationwide revolution that finally led to the ouster of that country’s long serving dictator, much has been written about the Arab Spring that continues to unfold across the Muslim world in West Asia and North Africa. Yet, little mention has been made of the women of Arabia who have also made their presence significantly felt. Indeed, their role and participation in the pro-democracy protests remains a defining feature of the Arab spring.

From Yemen to Egypt and Libya, women belonging to traditionally conservative societies came out of their homes, onto the streets and along with their men folk demanded democracy, equality peace and justice. In Yemen, for instance, hundreds of women set fire their veils in the uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s authoritarian rule. Interestingly, this act of burning the veil is a symbolic Bedouin gesture signifying a call to tribal men for help.

Similarly, Nobel Peace prize winner Tawakul Karman, a leading figure in the pro-democracy demonstrations in that country, has been camping out for months in front of Sana’s university calling for the Yemeni President to step down. Looking back at the protests in Egypt that resulted in the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in an unexpected but peaceful, and non-violent manner, activist Asmaa Mahfouz says: “All of us were there for protest, throwing stone and removing dead bodies. We did everything; there was no difference between men and women in Egypt.”

The first Arab Human Development Report published in 2002 sighted lack of women’s right as one of the three factors, along with lack of political freedom and poor education, that most hampered the region's progress. Unfortunately, amid the loud calls for democracy in the early days of the uprising, little was said about women’s rights. But now that Constitutions are being rewritten and many women in Egypt and Tunisia hope to push for their own liberation.

In Libya, for instance, National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Jalil recently emphasised the pivotal role played by women during the revolution and also desires for its continuity. Indeed, ambitious plans are being made for women in Libya so that they may have the opportunity to turn country into beacon of the Arab and Islamic world.

The awakening of some Muslim countries for democratisation is praiseworthy. Political thinkers and philosophers believe that protection and promotion of human rights are domiciles of democracy. The concept of human right, in a nutshell, is based on the premise that all men are born equal and they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty and conscience. Freedom and progress of the individual is a measure of social change and advancement. The right to live with human dignity is a universal one.

Muslim scholars in Nigeria described the Miss World pageant contest in 2001 as “wanton promotion of immorality” because the presence of glamorous contestants offended Muslim sensibilities. Moral freedom, essential to progress, has been a radical idea, with such disturbing implications for traditional society. Even western thinkers have pleaded that moral constraint is a precondition for freedom. Our society is still evolving, so we have witnessed the gradual acceptance of gender equality, premarital sex and homosexuality. Even the world of glamour and fashion is no longer associated with immorality; so a woman is not judged in her mere physicality, but on her confidence and comparative merit. Fundamentalist have inflicted a crushing blow on the idea of women’s freedom and rights, their such act is anti women and anti-god. The world must remain on guard against religious fundamentalism, bigotry and religious intolerance which threatens to take over polity. The aim of every religion is to make this world a better place to live.

The Arab women have justified their passion for democracy and their trust and faith over Gandhian philosophy of peace and non-violence, for its achievement. The past series of events have also proved undoubtedly that they deserve freedom as well as appreciation for their historical efforts.