WUNRN
MIDDLE EAST* & NORTH AFRICA* -
NO DEMOCRACY WITHOUT WOMEN'S EQUALITY
By Zeina Zaatari*
Direct Link to Full 38-Page Text: http://www.wluml.org/sites/wluml.org/files/CPPF%20Paper,%20Zeina%20Zaatari,%20Women%20Political%20Part%20Rep%20in%20MENA%20(f).pdf
Key Findings: • Despite
many advances and women’s organizing efforts in the Middle East and North
Africa, women’s visibility and ability to exercise power in the public sphere
as well as women’s political participation continues to be limited.
• Women’s political
participation and representation is intricately connected to and impacted by
women’s social, economic, sexual, reproductive and familial rights.
• In general,
parliaments and other governmental institutions continue to enact ‘masculine’
practices infused with the various manifestations of patriarchy that limit
women’s effective participation.
• Some of the main
obstacles to women’s participation in the political process include: the
‘masculine’ political model, the lack of political parties’ will to change, the
double burden born by women, unfavorable electoral laws, poverty, violence,
social regard of ‘politics’ as a dirty game, the proliferation of negative and
stereotypical discourses on women in the media (religious and secular),
corruption, and the widespread dominance of patriarchy (age and gender
hierarchy).
• The devaluation of
women’s humanity, sexual harassment and other kinds of gender-based violence in
the public and domestic spheres, inequality in family and personal status laws,
and outdated religious discourses that see women as lacking in reason and
inappropriate for ruling (justified by concepts such as ‘qiwaama’) continue to
tremendously impact women’s capacity for meaningful and effective participation
in political life.
• Parliamentary
quotas do succeed in increasing the number of women in parliament. However,
they do not necessarily increase women parliamentarians’ effectiveness or their
true representational power. Additionally, quotas that are not coupled with
crucial political changes and democratic practices often lead to more ‘proxy’
women (related to those in political power) entering parliament and the
cooptation of women’s groups and priorities simply to mobilize female voters.
• The arrival of political
Islam into the halls of government in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere
via ‘democratic means’ has begun to pose some serious challenges to women’s
rights and equality. While initially proclaiming liberal rhetoric supportive of
notions of freedom and democracy, declarations from government officials and
parliamentarians in the past year have made clear the kinds of challenges they
will
2013 Women’s
Political Participation Report MENA 2
pose; including
reneging on signed UN treaties (Muslim Brotherhood statement on CEDAW) and
annulling previously approved legal reforms introduced through years of
struggle by women’s movements (Egypt and Morocco).
• The high level of
impunity that those in power (including newly elected governments, police forces,
the military, and political and tribal leadership and their entourage –
including armed militias) in most countries of the region have meant increased
violence against women and specifically against women human rights defenders
with little or no recourse to any justice mechanisms; this poses a tremendous
threat to the future of democracy and women’s rights in the region.
*1 - I use
the terms MENA and Arab World interchangeably in this paper. In addition to
reviewing scholarly work, journalistic and political publications, and reports
by NGOs, I also conducted interviews with local women’s rights activists and
international practitioners (including UN personnel) during the course of three
months Dec 2012 to Feb 2013.
*2 - Zeina Zaatari, a part-time lecturer
at the University of California Davis, an independent consultant working with
international organizations, and a Core Member of the Arab Families Working
Group, previously worked as the Regional Director for the MENA Program at
Global Fund for Women, 2004-2012. Her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from UCD
researched women’s groups and activists in