Source: The Voice of Russia
Women across the Middle East participated actively in what came to be called the Arab Spring that began in late 2010. Often seen as second-class and voiceless citizens in these male-dominant societies, they were a key force in the popular protests, which managed to topple autocratic regimes. They fought for their countries, their rights and their children's rights. However, the Islamist forces now in power in several countries want to turn back the clock and restrict women's rights to keep them out of politics.

During the wave of protests that started in December 2010, after Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia), women have played a crucial role. The demonstrations that have been spreading throughout the Arab world have seen women protesting alongside men to fight for their rights. According to Dr Azadeh Kian, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Gender and Feminist Studies at the University of Paris 7-Paris-Diderot, "At the time of the revolution, we really observed that women of all social classes, including the lower class, were mobilized." Women stood in defiance of political regimes, and challenged their traditional exclusion from the public sphere.

However, Dr. Azadeh Kian continued in an interview with the Voice of Russia, "Educated women and women of the common people got mobilized to demand dignity, but their conception of it was not necessarily the same. The former group demanded democracy, while the latter group demanded more basic rights, such as having a job, having more economic rights and social rights."

This situation can be explained by the fact that before the Arab Spring the women's living context was very different from one country to another and from one social environment to another. Tunisia, for instance, after gaining independence from France in 1956, was one of the most progressive countries in the Arab world in terms of women's status. Women were given the right to divorce and vote; and the country banned the hijab, or headscarf, in state offices and at universities. In Libya, under Gaddafi's regime, women's conditions were quite different. Dr. Kian observed, "We often forget that in Libya, under Gaddafi, laws concerning women and family were largely inspired by Islamic laws. For example, polygamy has never been abolished in Libya."

Women's rights strongly varied from one country to another, but also within a country, women's conditions weren't the same in the cities compared to the countryside. As Kian stated about Tunisia, "Women living in touristic coastal towns managed, and manage, to get by; but women living inland, including remote rural areas, faced, and still face, unemployment and illiteracy. In these areas, traditions have persisted and liberal laws have never really been applied." Depending on a woman's country and social status, the assertions for rights are thus quite different, that is why it seems difficult to comprehend their voice in the region, but also at a national level. With the new regional political context in the region and the rise of Islamist parties, the emergence of a united voice of women seems to be a major issue for the preservation of women's rights.

Islamist parties, which are now coming to power in the region, do not present any clear political project, except on women. One declared aim seems to be to restrict women's rights. "Islamists come to power, and obviously as they have no vision of society, they offer as all the Islamist parties in the world, an application of Islamic law in the area of women's rights and family law," Dr. Kian explained. Women are under a growing pressure to be veiled in Tunisia; and sexual violence is endemic in Egypt.

Women currently fear the loss of their rights. Although their inclusion in the labor market shouldn't evolve, their involvement in politics is under threat. The official employment rate of women is about 25% in the Arab world, but women are largely involved in the informal economy. Islamist parties shouldn't make the situation change, in the opinion of Azadeh Kian. "In Tunisia, in Egypt, in Iran, women work at home. They sew; they prepare dishes for restaurants. Women actually work, because there is a strong economic crisis in the region; and lots of families cannot survive without women's income. I don't think parties like Ennahda, in Tunisia, or the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt, can go so far as to prohibit women from working. They are Islamist parties, conservative for sure, but they are not radical."

Nevertheless, women seem to be less and less involved in politics. Female representation in parliaments and government cabinets after the Arab Spring decreased. In Egypt, fewer than two percent of the deputies are women. In Libya, a draft law ensuring women's quota in parliament has been abandoned. In Tunisia, 49 women are Members of Parliament; 42 of these women are members of Ennahda, the Islamist party.

To preserve the revolution dynamic of women's inclusion in the public sphere, there is a crucial need of unity among women at the national but also regional level. Arab women could represent an extraordinary instrument of change if they organize themselves to impel political, economic and social changes, and propose a clear response to the Islamist parties. In the mind of Dr. Kian, "the main problem is to forge alliances, to create links with ordinary women in order to improve the situation on a general scale. However, what is constant in almost all these countries is that women's rights activists are almost all from the educated middle class or upper class. They have a very limited scope, only in big cities. They have practically no – or very little – relations with the women from the lower classes."

An initiative, launched in October 2011, tends to address this issue. "The Uprising of Women in the Arab World" is a Facebook group, created by a Lebanese activist for women's rights. The aim of this group is to raise awareness on the situation of women's freedoms in the Arab world, but also to create a platform for women activists all over the region. The concept is simple: post a picture of yourself that starts with the phrase, "I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because..." and then fill in the blanks. The group has gathered 103,823 users so far. This seems to be a good try to make women's voices heard in the Arab world and beyond; and may support the women's struggle to keep, if not extend, their rights in the region.

 

 

Women in Arab World, demonstrations