Women's Rights in the Middle East

Women’s rights in the Middle East is a topic that is often overlooked. There are intricacies to the legal system that have prevented women from gaining rights for themselves for many centuries. Even in current times, the system is vastly different from the westernized view of women's/ equality and rights. However, in the last century, their voices have slowly been brought to the surface through access to higher education and presence in the political, legal and social landscapes. In this article, I will be breaking down the history of women’s rights in these spheres.

LAW, POLITICS, AND MORE

Feminist organizations in Middle Eastern countries are present but they do lack significant input into the larger political system. This is a large reason as to why the status of women and their rights have been put on hold. It is important to note that there is also a distinction between educated versus uneducated women, because some women were not able to access education, particularly those in nomadic or rural communities, may not understand their legal rights or enjoy independence.

While it took a long time for women in the Middle East to have their voices heard, they slowly began to advocate their rights through organized groups. Some present day organized groups are the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA foundation), the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) and KAFA to name a few. CEWLA is an organization that provides legal support to Egyptian women and gives women the tools to live their lives and overcome their problems. OWFI is an organization that prioritizes protecting women’s rights and focuses on fighting for equality and taking action on human and female trafficking. They also provide safe houses for women who are survivors of violence in Iraq.

KAFA Enough Violence & Exploitation is a Lebanese NGO that focuses on promoting women's rights and gender equality. The links to these three organizations are down below and for you readers, there are places to donate and help out. It is also important to note that the gender politics in the Middle East vastly contrasts from Western countries’ gender politics.

Middle Eastern women are more disadvantaged in the realm of inheritance in comparison to their male counterparts. The first time women were able to vote in elections was in 1917 in the Crimean People’s Republic and the most recent is women in Saudi Arabia who are able to vote in elections since 2015. There is also some present progress as the first Arab woman head of state is Najla Bouden, who was democratically elected prime minister of Tunisia in 2021.

Society And Culture

Culture and traditions play a large role in the progression of women’s rights. There are many Middle Eastern countries that have made large attempts to modernize their politics and bring equality to their society. However, one country that has had a difficult transition/ controversy among the people is Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, women suffer hardships in their lives because of certain Islamic laws. A large example of this is public humiliation when enacting resistance. Women from Saudi Arabia are required to be veiled anytime they appear in public, and are forbidden to drive anywhere in the Kingdom.

increase their social status and to increase their opportunities. Education for females increased after 1977 after emancipation from foreign domination. It is important to note that there has been progress and a great example is that according to a UNESCO report, 34-57% of STEM graduates in Arab countries are women. This statistic also shows that Arab countries actually have more STEM graduates than the United States or Europe.

There is a difference between the way the women’s rights movements have been tackled from the past versus now. In the past, the movements came with tough adversities while today's movements have kickstarted a push for individual rights and equalities while today’s provides new innovative methods to create equality for individuals in society. Today’s movements focus on gender-based discrimination and how to move men and women to be on an equal playing field rather than one is on top of the other.

Final Remarks

Overall, there has been progress over the decades for women in the Middle East to gain more rights. As with all movements, it takes time to affect change into society and while there are ways to go, it is important to always mark progress and celebrate achievements that had hard work put in behind them. Middle Eastern women have worked tirelessly and relentlessly to share their views with their society, continuing to do so in the future.

*References:

*https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/wom en-and-power-in-the-middle-east

*https://www culturalsurvival org/publications/c ultural-survival-quarterly/law-and-womenmiddle-east

*https://www globalpolicyjournal com/blog/03/ 10/2017/women%E2%80%99s-rights-middle-eastand-north-africa https://advocacyassembly.org/en/news/95/

Links to organizations: http://www.owfi.info/EN/ https://namati.org/network/organization/th e-center-for-egyptian-womens-legalassistance-cewlafoundation/#:~:text=Egyptian%20Women' s%20Legal%20Foundation%20is,life%20a nd%20overcome%20their%20problems. https://kafa.org.lb/ar