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International Women’s Day and Its Significance to the Arab
World?
As the world celebrates
International Women’s month, it is essential to emphasize
the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls,
and empowering them to be active community leaders as these
are important aspects of building a robust rule of law
in nations and regions around the world. This is especially
important in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as
women, who make up more than 50% of the population, redefine
their roles and forge new pathways of participation and
leadership.In
the UN Arab Human Development Reports, gender inequality was
identified as one of the main obstacles to development in
the Arab region. Although significant advances in social
indicators, political participation and legal rights have
been recorded over the past years, the gender gap remains
the prominent challenge for the region. Tackling this
deficit is a prerequisite for moving forward. It is
necessary for improving economic growth, creating jobs, and
advancing the rule of law.
Political Participation and the Rule of Law
Many
governments of MENA countries often overlook the strong
potential that women have to bring about reform.
Since the uprisings began in the region, we have seen women
being denied freedom of expression and despite such
obstacles, they continued to mobilize through technology
and physical movement. These historical uprisings show how
important it is to educate the region’s growing women
population about political participation: the rights and
obligations that tie them to their state.
In these
times of change, it is crucial to foster dialogue across
different stakeholders including government, civil society,
and the private sector to develop collaborative projects to
bring fresh ideas from women to the forefront, to enhance
legal protection of women and to support their role in
advancing the rule of law development process. More
importantly, it is time to re-assess countries efforts to
bridge the gap between national commitments to gender rights
standards and their implementation and enforcement across
the region.
Case Study of Morocco
As a young Moroccan-American,
having grown and worked cross-culturally through progressive
legal and social complexities, I feel the need to emphasize
Morocco’s evolving experience in addressing women’s
issues as it can serve as a template for discussion across
the region. The reform of
the Moroccan family law,
the
Moudawana,
is a bold move and a progressive piece of legislation for
women in Morocco.
King Mohammed VI himself has shown his determination to
reassert and reinforce the rights of Moroccan women. When he
addressed Parliament about the changes to be made to the
Moudawana, King Mohammed VI posed the essential question
“how can society achieve progress, while women, who
represent half the nation, see their rights violated and
suffer as a result of injustice, violence and
marginalization?”
These reforms, which signify a new commitment on the part of
Moroccan government to improve the status of women and
children have set the country on a path to become a modern,
democratic society, and a leading model of both a strong
women’s movement and progressive reforms in the Arab world.
Economic
Participation and the Rule of Law
Comparative studies
on gender and economic growth show that the Arab region can
gain significantly in economic terms if it closes the gender
equality gap. According to a 2010 gender report by the World
Bank, each employed person in the Arab world supports more
than two nonworking dependents. Unsurprisingly, high
unemployment and low female labor force participation rates
make MENA’s economic dependency ratio the highest in the
world.
Across the region, further efforts are needed to promote
women's equality at work. There is a pressing need for
consciousness-raising and gender sensitization at all levels
among women themselves, their communities, and
decision-makers. Ultimately, mainstreaming gender in
national development plans and policies can pave the way for
greater female participation, thus improving the capacity of
women, and the productivity of the economy.
Moving Forward
With the growing concerns in MENA over the level of women
inclusion in the development process, these times present a
major break-through in the ability of women to contribute to
progress and rule of law promotion, across the region.
As my
generation experiences an unprecedented level of interaction
and interdependence throughout the Arab world, I can only
hope that in years to come we will still have the drive to
look beyond obstacles and develop innovative solutions for
women to create positive change throughout the region.
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