MENA Women Quarterly Report (April-June 2016)
Feature: The Regional Crackdown on Women Activists and Journalists
One major trend from the last several months was the intensifying crackdown on women journalists and activists throughout the region. In Egypt, , the executive director of the organization Nazra for Feminist Studies, from boarding a plane to attend a women鈥檚 rights conference in Lebanon. The Egyptian government is investigating the organization for receiving 鈥.鈥 Hassan previously stated that Nazra for Feminist Studies despite the investigation. Additionally, Egyptian security officials removed Liliane Daoud鈥攁 journalist whose television program has criticized Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi鈥檚 government鈥攆rom her home, arrested her, detained her, and then deported her to Lebanon, her home country. An anonymous security official stated, 鈥.鈥
Bahrain also made headlines for governmental actions affecting activists. In June, an article detailed that to several women鈥檚 rights groups, as well as other NGOs. A 鈥渟enior source鈥 of the Bahrain Women鈥檚 Union, an organization to which the defunded women鈥檚 groups belonged, suspected this was a political move in response to a report submitted to the UN critical of the Bahraini government. On a positive note, Bahrain released Zainab al-Khawaja, an activist and political dissident, on humanitarian grounds. 鈥攕he has dual Danish-Bahraini citizenship鈥攁fter she was warned she would be arrested again. In an interview with the New York Times, she said 鈥.鈥
Throughout recent months, the Iranian government has also undertaken actions against women journalists, activists, and NGO professionals. One of the most famous cases is that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British national who works for the Thomas Reuters Foundation. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 and accused of 鈥渁ttempting to overthrow [Iran鈥檚] leadership.鈥[1] Other cases of women activists and journalists targeted by the Iranian judiciary include , who recently had 16 more years added to her 6-year sentence for her work in human rights, , a journalist who was beaten in Evin prison to extract a confession, and , who was released in May from Evin Prison, where she had been serving time for her cartoons depicting Iranian lawmakers as anthropomorphized animals.
Human Rights
There have been a number of articles in the past few months highlighting issues related to the sexual violence, assault, and trafficking of women throughout the MENA region. In Turkey, approximately 86 percent of women said they were 鈥,鈥 according to a study conducted by the country鈥檚 Ministry of Family and Social Policies. Nearly all of the (28 of 32 female Knesset members) have experienced sexual assault or harassment. Moreover, there were reports of women being trafficked in , , and . Many countries accused of human trafficking deny such claims.
During this time period, some news articles detailed how governments have been responsible for perpetrating violence against women, increasing restrictions on women鈥檚 rights, or perpetuating stereotypes about women. For example, questions remain about how the results of Tunisia鈥檚 Truth and Dignity Commission, which revealed that 鈥渢housands of at the hands of state agents,鈥 will provide justice to these victims. have intensified their attention on women wearing 鈥渋mproper鈥 hijab, while Iranian women have protested by posting photos . Saudi women鈥檚 exclusion from driving remains a prevalent topic, and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the deputy crown prince, recently said the 鈥.鈥 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has commented about the need for Muslims to reject birth control and , which led to significant .
Despite these examples of threats to women鈥檚 rights in the MENA region, there are also examples of efforts to address such issues. to support women university students 鈥渢o stand up against male violence and sexual harassment.鈥 The , which 鈥渁ddresses complaints against authority figures wielding power in the religious sector,鈥 has taken on cases related to sexual harassment against women. And in the West Bank, the Ministry of Women鈥檚 Affairs has developed plans to create the . Morocco has also made some recent legal advancements, including its amendment to the penal code 鈥渢o allow .鈥
Women in Public Service
The April 29 runoff parliamentary elections in Iran led to the highest number of women MPs elected in the country since the 1979 revolution. , known as the Majles in Iran, 17 were women (6 percent). The number would have been 18, but, as noted in the last MENA Women Quarterly Report, the IRGC disqualified , who won her seat in February鈥檚 election due to 鈥渆vidence鈥 against her including photographs 鈥渟howing her in public in Europe and in China without the obligatory Islamic head scarf.鈥
Women鈥檚 political participation in the Arab world is also increasing. Tunisia鈥檚 parliament, which is for highest percentage of women MPs, recently passed a bill that moves the country closer to gender parity in politics. An amendment to Article 49, approved by 127 of 134 of Tunisia鈥檚 representatives, . These changes will be applied to . According to UN Women, Tunisia鈥檚 73 women MPs formed a bloc to lobby for these changes. Amel Azzouz, a former secretary of state in charge of international cooperation in Tunisia鈥檚 foreign ministry,, saying 鈥淏eing a feminist, initially I used to believe in women鈥檚 competence to prove that we are fit for this. But with time and practice, I discovered that unless women are given a chance, they would never come to the surface because of the socio-cultural and historical accumulations, which can be remedied only through quotas.鈥 Additionally, recently recognized the work Algeria has done to improve women鈥檚 political participation.
Individual women in the Arab world are also being recognized internationally for their accomplishments and public service: , the UAE鈥檚 Minister of State for Tolerance and former Minister of State for International Cooperation and Minister of Economic and Planning, was ranked 43rd on Forbes鈥檚 2016 鈥溾 list.
Women in the Workforce
Businesswomen in the UAE are also being recognized for their influence and accomplishments; , the managing director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, joined fellow Emirati Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi on the Forbes鈥檚 2016 鈥100 Most Powerful Women鈥 list. Al Gurg was ranked 91 on the list and was recognized for being a business leader in Dubai and establishing 鈥渉erself as an instrumental figure in the support and encouragement of Arab women entrepreneurs.鈥 UAE women in the workforce also made news in recent months with reports that Emirati women鈥檚 salaries are , and that Emirati women now make up , a striking figure considering women comprise .
Women鈥檚 workforce participation elsewhere in the GCC states was featured in articles from the last three months as well. The Saudi labor ministry announced that women will be allowed to work in : kitchens, family entertainment parks, accountancy, and shops selling 鈥渇emale items,鈥 but jobs in fields such as mining, construction, and excavation are still prohibited for women for 鈥渟afety鈥 reasons. In an unrelated announcement, the Saudi Labor Minister, Mufarrej al-Haqbani, announced that he is 鈥溾 with the Saudi female employment rate. Additionally, Gulf News highlighted that for women鈥檚 labor participation.
Other countries had mixed news reports about women in the workforce. In Iran, the outgoing Majles passed a bill that would by six hours per week, yet an advisor to the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare noted studies that project women will comprise in ten years (they currently comprise less than 20 percent). In Israel, even though women are better educated, whereas Haaretz discussed Israeli Druze . In Egypt, a new report detailed for family businesses; France signed an agreement that would in Egypt; and an article by Daily News Egypt . In Turkey, women鈥檚 participation in the workforce increased by , but young women are still not encouraged .
Women in Conflict Situations
News about the treatment of women held in Iraq and Syria by ISIS has declined significantly in the past several months. There are fewer articles focused on this topic than in previous quarters, including an op-ed that underscores this point: 鈥溾 Despite the dearth of news, there have been some articles regarding women鈥檚 treatment under ISIS. For example, a was discovered in April. There were also some reports in June of in Mosul for rejecting sexual slavery.
During this quarter, there has been more attention focused on stories about survivors of ISIS鈥檚 brutality. A number of articles detail the determination of women formerly held captive by the terrorist group In June, Amal Clooney confirmed that she would , including Nobel Peace Prize nominee Nadia Murad who survived ISIS captivity. Following the U.S. declaration in March that ISIS鈥檚 crimes constitute genocide, one survivor from Syria said, 鈥淭he ordeal the residents of my village went through cannot be limited to a statement or discourse. .鈥 Another Syrian woman survivor , while a Kurdish woman survivor to celebrate being free from ISIS.
Other articles from the past few months have also highlighted the positive stories of women refugees rebuilding their lives through entrepreneurial and artistic endeavors. One Syrian refugee described how she was able to despite numerous obstacles. Syrian refugee women at a camp on the Turkey-Syria border can participate in 鈥,鈥 a charity project that provides training for women to learn how to sew and earn an income. In addition, Yazidi refugees in Kurdistan have the opportunity to , which allowed one student to 鈥渄ocument the plight of her people, thousands of whom have been massacred, enslaved and raped by Islamic State.鈥
The MENA Women Quarterly Report will continue to report on women in conflict situations, and other news stories that affect women in the region, in the months to come.
[1] On July 11, the Iranian judiciary indicted on undisclosed charges, , including , an Iranian-Canadian academic based in Montreal. Hoodfar was arrested in March, released, and rearrested in June.
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