The Role of Women in the Arab Uprising - Dissertation Example

The role of women in the Arab uprising Introduction The Arab awakening or the Arab Spring as is being termed by political scientists is counted as a watershed event in the history of Arab politics. Many political observers believe that this political awakening which has spread like wildfire across many Arab nations will sustain in the long run and political changes will continue to happen. People have begun to question the relevance of autocracy and have taken to accepting the fact that governments need to be democratically elected. In the light of this huge political churning that is taking place, this essay seeks to highlight the active role played by women in contributing significantly to the democratic process across regions of North Africa, the Middle east and the Arab world. Arab Human Development Report The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was enacted in 1981. (Fidh, 2002) However, most Arab states have ratified it with a number of reservations which has therefore lead to no significant change in recognising women rights. The Arab Human Development Report published in 2002 states that there are primarily three deficiencies that hamper the growth and development of the Arab region. The barriers to freedom whether it be in free speech, dress code or the press is the most important deficiency that needs to be improved. Even though there is no tangible value in providing freedom of speech, what it does is boost the psyche of common populace when comparing themselves to their western counterparts. (Arab Human Development Report, 2002) It brings in a sense of fulfilment. A constructive opposition or press can also act as a check and balance upon the excesses of a particular regime. It is often argued that the West seeks to interfere more in the affairs of the Middle East than any other region because of its interest in its vast reserves of oil. Most oil refineries use technology know-how from the western countries as it has a severe shortfall of qualified personnel to take on such projects. The second deficit thus identified is the lack of quality educational facilities to Arabs. The last and most important deficit is the lack of women empowerment as it lags at the bottom of the UNDP gender empowerment measure next to sub-Saharan africa. (Arab Human Development Report, 2002) Lack of female political leaders who are visible to the women populace and also the rigid rules for gender segregation make it difficult for them to take up issues more actively. Political uprisings and the role of women There was significant participation of women in the demonstrations across countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain. To protest against alleged police atrocities and corruption in higher offices, Mohammed Bouazizi immolated himself on December 17, 2010. This incident in Tunisia set in motion the chain of events leading to the Arab spring. President Ben Ali who had dictated Tunisia for 23 years was forced to step down. (Engineer Asghar Ali, 2011) The protests which had significant number of women activists, mothers, journalists and students were subjected to a brutal onslaught with girls being raped by Ben Ali’s military. In late January, some women were also stabbed with kitchen knives for taking part in demonstrations. This was however no deterrent since women have now actively involved themselves in the political transition. The gains from the uprising saw major political reforms with the elections in October 2011 witnessing women participating both as voters and as candidates. This has lead to 27% representation of women in the assembly and is considered to the most significant in that region. Although the conservative Islamist Ennadha party has won the elections it has promised to uphold the rights of Tunisian women. Although a small step, the 41 member cabinet has now three women ministers with 59 of the 217 seats in parliament being occupied by female politicians. (Fidh, 2002) Eqypt saw a more violent transformation than Tunisia with President Hosni Mubarak unleashing violence against his own people to cling on to his 30 year old rule. (Asseburg Muriel, 2012) The events began on January 18, 2011 when Asmaa Mahfouz who is a member of the Youth Movement, through the social networking site made a fervent appeal to the people of Egypt to gather at Tahir Square in protest against the dictatorial and corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak. (Paciello Maria Cristina, 2011) This appeal stirred the consciousness of the nation and people, including housewives gathered here writing placards, mobilising protests against the regime. Many of the women based labour unions that operated on the fringes of Cairo managed to energize the movement with its sheer organizational strength. (Naber Nadine, 2011) In March 18 women protesters were arrested, stripped and made to take ‘virginity’ tests. This brazen act broke all rules of civilized norms and it was later clarified that these tests carried out to prevent women from accusing the police and army officers of rape. Samira Ibrahim, the victim of one such act filed a case in court accusing the army of criminal activity which was upheld by the administrative court in the judgement passed on December 27, 2011. In the same month, thousands of women protestors joined hands in an all-women march to show solidarity with the victims of military brutality and also in censuring the large scale violence being inflicted by Mubarak on his own people. The Arab revolution also spread it reach to Libya leading to the culmination of Muammar Al Qaddafi’s rule of 42 years. Like in Tunisia and Egypt, there was a significance presence of women among the protestors which made the uprising pan-gender. In 1996, several male prisoners had died in the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. The women in these families demanding justice had gathered in front of the Court of Justice in Benghazi. (Fidh, 2002) This agitation was ruthlessly crushed by force. However the women protestors were also not far behind as they too engaged in the use of weapons to counter the onslaught from Qaddafi’s forces. However the reported physical assaults on women included many cases of gang rape and physical torture by Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. Reports suggest that there have been large scale women refugees fleeing Libya to escape being raped by these forces since some of the orthodox Libyan community also tend to kill the rape victim to preserve family honour. In light of this many women activists like Souad Wahabi, NGO’s like Voice of Libyan Women, lawyers and other civil society members took a silent march to Prime Minister, Abdurrahim’s office with their mouths sealed with tape demanding tougher sentencing laws against rape offenders and also provide more financial aid to the victims of such heinous crimes. (Fidh, 2002) It seemed that the Arab spring had provided a common platform for women to not just take on the corrupt government but also to take up other issues of female empowerment. (Sjoberg Laura and Whooley Jonathan, 2011) Reforms in the democratic process also erupted in Bahrain during February 2011. There was again massive protests lead by women journalists and activists. Doctors and nurses played an active role in treating the injured. Jalila Salman and Mahdi Abu Deeb, lady teachers of the Bahrain Teachers Society were arrested for inciting violence by calling for a strike. Bahiya Abdelrasool Alaradi who was a well known activist was shot in her car while Fadhila Al Mubarak was arrested for taking on a public official. Bloggers like Massoma AlSayed and Zinab Al Khwaja were also actively involved in raising public consciousness through their blogging posts. (Fidh, 2002) These examples along with other significant contributions from the women in Bahrain show that the regime had a tough time in handling these women protestors since they seemed to be more organized and hence their protests were more impactful. Representation of women in the Bahrain government has begun with 2 women ministers being appointed in the 23 member cabinet, seven women judges in the civil courts and a woman councillor, Fatima Salman being elected in 2010 from Muharraq. (Fidh, 2002) The transition period The Arab Spring saw a number of regimes changes in the Middle East and North Africa. Dictators and presidents who had enjoyed unopposed rule for decades were thrown out by their own people seeking a more inclusive and democratic government.( Fioroni Claudie and Sawaf Zina, 2012) However the inexperience of handling the essence of democracy which includes free speech and empowerment of women has made the transition period tumultuous. In Tunisia, Rached Ghannouchi who is the leader of the Ennahda party has opposed adoption laws since it violates Islamic laws. The party also opposes single working women and is also silent to the attacks by the Salafi group which have instigated violence against teachers and students for not wearing the veil. In Egypt, the Freedom and Justice party (FJP) which won the elections and have tried to replace some of the initiatives which the former regime had allowed for women. The Muslim Brotherhood which leads the party is against the National Council for Women, which was lead by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Hosni Mubarak prior to the regime change. (Fidh, 2002) This has lead to no significant increase of women’s representation in the parliament. The only option to the corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak was the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian people lapped it up as a political alternative. (Ottaway Marina, 2004) Although enshrined in the Qutbist ideology the party is trying to bridge the thin line between democratic governance and also allowing for the representation of the hard-line Salafis. (Aclimandos Tawfiq et al, 2010) The party now has 2 women ministers in the 31 member cabinet but more needs to be done to increase their presence in parliament and other work spheres. Syria under the leadership of Bashar al-Asad had a tough time in dealing with hard-line Israel on one side and US stepping up economic sanctions on the other. (Hinnebusch Raymond, 2009) Bashar was no hardline Islamist in the traditional sense as tried to bring in modernization into his political administration. However he had to deal with the conservative Alawis and the corrupt Sunni capitalists that lead to his large scale corruption. The youth were agitated with the slow pace of liberalization. Suhair Atassi and other civil rights activists participated in violent protests on the ‘Day of Rage’ which was actually organised via social networking sites. (Fidh, 2002) Badya witnessed protests by hundreds of women seeking for the release of the unauthorized arrests of their men from Syrian prisons. In May, the ‘Friday Protest of Free Women’ was suppressed brutally with the death of 4 women. Mohamed El Hosni, a prominent activist had to deal with the death of his sister, El Hosni who was kidnapped, tortured and killed because he had taken an anti-administration stance. Although Syrian women gained to right to contest for polls way back in 1953, there has been no significant increase of women participation in the parliament. A number of laws imposed after 1963 made it illegal for anyone to criticize the government for which they could face detention or prison terms. (Hinnebusch Raymond, 2009) To keep a face to the international community, the General Women’s Union of Syria was the only organization promoted by the government. Representation has now increased in the parliament with the Vice-president, Tourism minister and Secretary of State for Environment being all women ministers. (Fidh, 2002) The large percentage of women in the protests of 2011 indicated the fact that women considered themselves an equal partner in national building and in the political process. The constitution, in 2012 introduced article 23 which encouraged women to take part in economic, social and cultural spheres without facing discrimination while article 33 states that no individual would be discriminated against on the basis of their sex. Political players in the Arab world and the UK-a perspective Female politicians can only act effectively if there is significant increase of their representation in the parliament. Compared to their western counterparts female Arab leaders have to face a greater degree of hurdles due to its highly conservative society. However progress is being made with Algeria having elected 146 women representing 31.6% of the parliament. (DWE, 2011) Samir Kerkouche is one such prominent minister in the Algerian cabinet and has vociferously advocated bringing in more changes enabling them to play a more prominent role in the political sphere. Changes have also come about in the most conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Norah al-Faiz being named the deputy minister for education. (DWE, 2011) These women while upholding the traditional Arab family values have silently managed to bring about a change in the mindset of the administration with their proactive approach. ( Offenhauer Priscilla, 2005) They also understand that this change cannot happen overnight and all decisions need to be taken after carefully weighing them against the existing laws of the land. If we were to compare this to a current or a political UK politician a decade back, say Margaret Thatcher; we see that she was elected unopposed between the election years 1975 to 1987. (Baba, 2012) This showed the acceptability that a women prime minister had even back in the 70’s. Great Britain owes a lot to its economic growth due to the policies that were enacted during her regime and focus she spent on nurturing entrepreneurship. Therefore it would not be prudent to compare female politicians from such diametrically diverse political spectrums; however what can be said is that both have managed to create a space for themselves in the political discourse. Conclusion The Arab Spring was a phenomenon which was quite unique in many ways. Analysts of different regions have interpreted in many ways this sudden willingness of Arabs to immerse themselves in politics. (MEPS, 2012)The sequence of events that began in January 2011 continued to topple regimes in Arab and North African counties. The cascading effects lead to a number of regime changes. The debate still continues whether all of these regime changes were for the better or the worse since some of the parties that have now taken guard are hard-line Islamists who still are eager to accept the Sharia Law as opposed to the fundamental principles of democracy. The Arab spring witnessed a large participation from the women folk who took to the streets, bore the brunt of the police attacks and still managed to make their voice heard. It was a movement which gave vent to the simmering anger within the Arab female populace. However it is not possible to quantify or compare the degree of success of an Arab female politician with that of a female political leader from the West. This is because the west has moved far ahead in the empowerment of women while its Arab counterparts have only nowt begun to understand that the Human Development index cannot be improved with more than half of its population being kept away from the political spectrum. The revolt showed that there was more to the Arab women than just the image of cowed down burkha clad figure so often portrayed in the west. Reference List 1. 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