AWD Report 2020
3.3. Challenges and Gaps From the trends observed, North African countries have taken steps to improve women’s participation and representation in governance and decision-making. However, challenges, gaps and contestations remain. At the beginning of the Decade, political uprisings and protests took place in many North African countries. In the wake of the Arab Spring, there was much hope that the post-conflict environment would bring positive change for women. While women were active participants in the protests, however, the advancement of women’s political rights has been uneven across the North African region. The voices of women are not always heard. For example, in Libya, women remain under-represented in official institutions872 and their right to participate in public life and the judiciary is questioned. In some countries, conflicting views expand and restrict women’s right to equal participation and representation. Following the Arab Spring, women have a greater voice and more participation in political life. At the same time, more conservative groups, which oppose women’s participation, seek to reduce their representation.873 During the drafting of the 2014 Constitution of Egypt, women made up only 10% of the 50 members of the team.874 North African countries have passed legislative reforms that aim to increase women’s participation and representation but institutional barriers remain. While women have had the right to vote and run for office since the mid-1950s or early 1960s in the region, politics is still seen as primarily a male domain. Despite legislation requiring party lists to include female candidates, parties often favour male candidates, placing them in top positions. Political parties frequently devote little time to finding female candidates or promoting the female candidates listed. As a result, women face a greater struggle to get elected, and their representation in many national parliaments is low. Moreover, women who enter politics are often seen as token representatives and as fulfilling a legal obligation. In some instances, male politicians actively prevent women from running for political office. Women frequently have less influence. Often, they are assigned topics seen as “feminine,” such as education and social issues, while being excluded from security and economic issues. In 2012, a fatwa was issued banning women from running for presidential elections in Mauritania; women were allowed to enter the race but “just for fun.”875 This statement in many ways illustrates the institutional barriers women face. Despite legislation, policy and institutional reform, persistent social and cultural views and traditions present a third challenge and contestation for women. Although women represent a majority of students at universities, and female participation in the workforce has increased, deeply rooted beliefs in traditional gender roles prevent women from participating in decision-making and governance. In many countries, patriarchal views and traditions are strong despite changes in laws and policies. These perceptions and beliefs pose a significant challenge for women, in particular in rural and remote areas. This owes partly to social and cultural beliefs, as well as religious ones. Women who engage in governance and decision-making are still expected to fulfil traditional duties such as care for the children and family and to maintain the household. Political gatherings frequently occur in the evening, preventing many women from participating, and the women who do attend often face societal disapproval, discrimination and stigmatisation. Access to financial resources and support is a significant barrier to women’s representation and participation in governance and decision-making across the North African region. Women candidates struggle to raise the necessary funds to run successful campaigns and often receive less financial support from their party than do male candidates. In some countries, strict laws on donations hurt candidates, in particular women. High rates of poverty and low economic participation prevent many women in rural and remote areas from seeking a political office as they lack the financial resources. Engaging in politics can also have an adverse economic impact on female politicians. Women often face discriminatory laws such as those that permit women to earn less than men in the same post.876 Finally, during and since the Arab Spring, the political environment has seen high levels of insecurity. For women seeking public office or wishing to participate in governance and decision-making, the unsafe environment poses serious risks. Women often encounter discrimination, threats, GBV and sexual harassment. Implementation and enforcement of existing laws are often weak, thus there is a failure to protect women. The uncertain and unsafe environment has resulted, in some instances, in a reduced space in which women can participate.877
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