Arab Spring and the Gender Dilemma: Women Relegated To the Shadows, In the Aftermath of the Revolution
Dr
Lucía Morales
By
Intesar Madi and Lucía Morales
14 February
2021
Ten years
on, and we find ourselves thinking about the Arab Spring Revolution and trying
to assess and understand what it meant for the Arab world and, in particular,
for women.
Libyan women played a prominent role in its 17 February 2011 Revolution,
but did not reap its benefits (Photo: Artistic imprints on the walls of Free
Libya FB page).
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Overall, it
seems that not much has been achieved regarding women’s rights in the MENA
region. While poverty and economic inequality levels in the Middle East and
North Africa are considered to be among the lowest levels within the developing
world, the issue is quite different when we turn our eyes towards gender
inequality.
Gender
inequality is an aspect that has global implications, with significant
repercussions for the Arab world that is failing to integrate women as part of
its economic and social model. In general, women’s social, economic, political
engagement, and public life participation remain very limited.
Such
significant barriers are preventing the region from embarking on a path for
sustainable and balanced economic development. There is no doubt that economic
and social obstacles are tremendous contributors to rising inequality and
gender discrimination that hurt the region’s perspectives of becoming a
developed and inclusive socio-economic model.
Income
inequality and economic imbalances seem to be on the rise, which generates
critical concerns due to their harmful effects on the macroeconomy and their
associated negative spill over effects on society. The Arab Spring revolution
played a vital role in highlighting existing inequalities levels in the MENA
region.
The event
was essential in unveiling social discontent that pointed out the need for
reforms that address inequality issues and seek to support women’s economic and
social integration. At the beginning of the 2011 revolution, women played a
critical role by supporting their male protestors; this helped create a sense
of equality, as women could make their voices heard in the public sphere.
However,
the sense of equality faded very quickly in the aftermath of the revolution,
and once more, women were relegated to the shadows.
Although
the Arab Spring is a remarkable event highlighted by women’s participation in
the protests in all countries, Libya’s situation has not received much
attention among scholars. Women’s representation in positions of power is
minimal, and as a result, progress to enable women to become relevant economic
and social players remains curtailed. Therefore, identifying and analysing the
factors holding women’s back in Arab countries is a critical and challenging
issue.
Let’s turn
our attention to the Libyan case. In Libya, women are not treated equally under
the law and face paramount restrictions on their ability to participate in the
workforce, as reported by the Freedom House (2020).
According
to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (2019), women had the lowest representation in
almost all countries in the MENA region. For example, women were largely
excluded from politics during the previous regime.
Libyan
women suffered discrimination in all aspects of their public life, including
violence, sexual and marital repression, and politically motivated violence.
Libya’s political instability issues, such as its ongoing civil war, have
aggravated the situation where the rule of law provided by a national
government does not exist for most Libyans (DFAT, 2016).
The UK Home
Office (2018) reported that “during the Gaddafi era, women made steady progress
in gaining access to education and work.” It became quite common to find female
lawyers, judges, civilian pilots, and university professors. While equality in
the workplace was inching forward, it stalled after the civil war of 2011.
The
emergence of various Islamist groups such as Ansar al-Sharia harmed the little
progress made regarding women’s rights. Islamist organizations are less
inclined toward gender equality, while some do not like to see women working
outside the home by any means.
Unfortunately,
women continue to face high discrimination levels because they are not
considered men equals what is not an isolated problem of the country, as this
remains a major regional and global issue.
At the
international level, women have played a significant role in enabling countries
to grow and develop. However, the gender gap is still there, as a constant
reminder that we live in a global society where women do not equal men.
-----
Intesar
Madi is a PhD student and assistant lecturer at the Technological University
Dublin, Ireland. She can be reached at intesar.madi@tudublin.ie.
Dr Lucía
Morales is Lecturer, scholar and active researcher in the School of Accounting
and Finance at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin).
lucia.morales@tudublin.ie.
Original
Headline: Women and the Arab Spring Revolution – The Gender Dilemma
Source: The Libya Herald
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/arab-spring-gender-dilemma-women/d/124324
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