Dr. Hans Georg Knopp, Director of the House of World Cultures,
Professor Parto Teherani-Krönner, Chair of the Session,
Distinguished Panelists and Guests,To be in Berlin at the House of World Cultures is a symbol of hope. Today, Berlin which witnessed devastation and partition during the last century, is a peaceful unified city; and the mission of the House of World Cultures underscores the importance of building tolerance and understanding between cultures. Values such as these should be preserved and perpetuated as a bedrock for peace and stability. For at the start of a new century, which as we have seen has been plagued by conflict and turmoil, it is perhaps only by keeping such principles firmly in sight, that humanity can ever aspire to flourish in a more harmonious and equitable world.
In an area which requires greater focus, this Conference on Women’s Movements and Civil Society in the Arab World is a welcome initiative, and I would like to thank the House of World Cultures and its Director, Dr. Hans Georg Knopp, for inviting me to speak at this meaningful event. In the literature on the subject, some critics maintain that “independent women’s movements are totally absent” in the Arab world; and that “there remains a resistance and a hesitancy on the part of Middle Eastern governments to allow women to form groups. Furthermore the ‘free’ association of women is notable by its glaring absence in most Middle Eastern countries.”
While taking such views into consideration, it should also be noted that Arab women’s movements, just like the status of Arab women themselves, are determined by the dialectic relationship of various factors, most significant of which are socio-economic and cultural conditions, state policies, regional political developments, and of course, the ability of Arab women themselves to advocate for further rights and opportunities. All these factors place their own conditions upon society. Gender issues, however, give an additional twist to the social landscape that emerges, and the result is that often, the impact of these factors on women’s lives is compounded.
In examining the subject of women’s movements in the Arab world, what must be remembered is that the Arab world is not a homogenous region, and that equally, no single archetype for Arab women and their movements exists for reference. While this complicates my task today of offering some background to the contemporary women’s movements in the Arab world, and some analysis of the way state and society impact women’s status and organized action, I hope to provide a framework that will help prepare for further deliberations at this Conference. Rather than drawing on any specific feminist analysis, I shall adopt an eclectic approach to serve the purposes of this particular panel. However, the issues put forward for your consideration are ones that I, as a Muslim Arab woman, feel are important in furthering an understanding of Arab women’s movements.
During this presentation I will use a few illustrations from the Jordanian experience. Although the case of Jordan may not altogether represent the rest of the region, it reflects issues and complexities that resound throughout the area. While Jordan is largely considered to reflect moderation, both from an Arab and an Islamic perspective, the challenges it continues to face, and the nature of the obstacles that still hinder the advancement of Jordanian women, resonate within a wider context. Hence, the Jordanian model offers insights into the difficulties faced by traditional societies dealing with modernization, of the growing pains of the modern nation state, and of the burdens of a developing country in the face of globalization.
This review consists of two parts. In the first part I will try to construct the historical background from which the dynamics of the Arab women’s movements have emanated, as well as the factors that have shaped these movements. The four main topics covered in this part include: the status of Arab women, state and civil society in the Arab world, factors leading to the rise of women’s movements, and finally, major discourses on Arab women. In the second part, I will address contemporary challenges facing Arab women’s movements and opportunities to further their cause.
PART I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND FACTORS
1. Status of Arab Women
One cannot discuss women’s movements in the Arab world without touching initially upon the status of Arab women. Due to time restrictions, my remarks will be limited to a few findings from the Arab Human Development Report, published last year by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Report identifies three major deficits that impede the Arab region’s progress. These deficits relate to freedom, knowledge and the empowerment of women.
In the area of women’s empowerment, the UNDP Report states that the utilization of Arab women’s capabilities through political and economic participation remains the lowest in the world in quantitative terms. This situation places Arab society as a whole at a disadvantage because half of its productive potential is stifled. In several countries of the region, women suffer from unequal citizenship and legal entitlements, and in a few of these countries, women are still denied the right to vote or hold office.
While the Report acknowledges that Arab countries have scored important achievements in girls’ education, it attributes the low women’s empowerment measures to their limited participation in political organizations. Moreover, the Report shows that women occupy only 3.5 per cent of all seats in parliaments of Arab countries, placing it as the lowest region in the world in terms of this indicator.
These points only offer a brief indication of the status of Arab women, however they demonstrate a definite need for greater efforts by government and civil society to empower women. This brings me to the second topic which is civil society in the Arab world and its relation to the state, and the role of both in empowering women. 2. State and Civil Society
The state in the Arab world, is largely regarded to be centralized, and to exercise substantial control over all social structures. The adverse affect which this has had on the development of an active civil society, has frequently been noted. At the Second Conference of Arab NGOs held in Cairo in 1997, many of the papers presented describe relations between Arab governments and civil society entities as being fraught with tensions. The patriarchal hierarchies that often characterize social relations in the region, similarly appear to characterize the state-civil society relationship.
Civil society itself also suffers from inherent limitations. With regard to Arab NGOs, a number of problems have been identified, such as poor coordination and limited cooperation between one another; low volunteer recruitment and inadequate technical abilities. However, it is the legal frameworks, which regularize relations between state and civil society, that are often cited as a major deterrent to the advancement of civil society in the Arab world.
For example, in my own country, Jordan, the law that governs the establishment and work of NGOs was passed in the mid-1960s and is still applied today. While the type of activities that NGOs carry out have evolved to incorporate newer roles such as advocacy, especially since the beginning of political liberalization over a decade ago, the law has not been amended to reflect the spirit of the times. For example, it does not provide for political activism by NGOs, although the line between what is political and what is nonpolitical is not always easily distinguishable in civil society activities. Indeed, this particular stipulation has hindered women’s NGOs from offering women parliamentary candidates a platform to convey their views and programmes, within a setting that is deemed socially acceptable for women’s activities.
On the other hand, within the Arab region, state roles are sometimes key to women’s empowerment. In numerous circumstances, strong political will on the part of the state is often a necessary ingredient, as in the case of Jordan. While there have been improvements in the status of Jordanian women, some analysts argue that these might not have been possible without some intervention on the part of the country’s leadership, most notably in the instance of giving women the right to vote and run for parliament, and more recently in establishing a parliamentary quota for women.
Having said this however, the state remains accountable, and increasingly so, in an evolving democracy. The government may therefore find itself answering to political groupings which do not necessarily wish Jordanian women’s participation to increase. Obviously, governments themselves are not a monolithic whole, and contain their own varying voices and views. Yet, even while support does exist at the official level for Jordanian women’s participation, it has been noted that governments have at times seemed unwilling to fully demonstrate their conviction to reach such a goal.
Thus, between Arab civil society that is hampered by various shortcomings and governments that are often regarded as simply paying lip-service to women’s empowerment, women’s advancement in the Arab world remains lagging behind other regions in the world, and Arab women’s movements do not seem to have been able to accomplish as much as others. 3. Factors Affecting Arab Women’s Movements
Earlier feminist movements in the Arab world have often been linked by various researchers to nationalist movements. However, during the past fifty years or so, Arab women’s movements have also been shaped by other factors. The third area which I shall now address as part of the background is grouped into international, regional and national factors. a. International Variables
The United Nations’ Decade for Women played two decisive roles by heightening the debate around women’s issues, as well as encouraging the formation of more women’s NGOs in the Arab region. It also paved the way for sensitizing Arab governments to women’s concerns. The activities of women’s NGOs were further stimulated by the major international conferences of the 1990s. Through these events, Arab women’s movements became more familiarized with the predominant themes which was reflected in a widening of their priorities, for instance to include human rights, sustainable development and reproductive rights. Violence against women, also became another area in which some Arab women’s movements began to advocate, thus bringing the debate into a more public sphere. b. Regional Variables
At the regional level, three factors have had a predominant impact on the Arab women’s movements and have led to the increase in the numbers of women’s NGOs. (i) The Israeli Occupation
The first is the Israeli occupation, which has not only had obvious repercussions on the conditions of Palestinian women, but has also influenced the nationalist discourse of Arab non-Palestinian women’s organizations, as well as their activities. In nearly all Arab women’s regional meetings, the Israeli occupation and its policies are viewed as a main deterrent to the region’s development and specifically to that of the Palestinian people. Numerous Palestinian women’s groups have been formed in response to the occupation and the social services they have provided have proved vital to Palestinian society, especially prior to the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority. (ii) The Rising Tide of Islamism
The second factor to shape Arab women’s movements is the rising tide of Islamism in the region. This has had several outcomes. Moghadam regards that women’s responses to Islamist movements have ranged from “participation in the fundamentalist movement, to advocacy for reform within the frame of Islam, to pursuit of a secular state and secular laws.” One of the themes that recur in examining this phenomenon is whether there will ever be a common ground between what have come to be called “Islamist feminists” and secular feminists. Out of my personal experience with different types of women’s organizations in Jordan, I would say that while the two strands may not necessarily agree on the ultimate objectives of “a women’s movement”, they have been able to work with each other on some common issues that both sides agree upon. (iii) Literary Efforts of Arab Women
A third regional factor that has sensitized Arab women and Arab society in general to the situation of women, is one that is often overlooked, but which I feel has definitely left an impression on the Arab scene, and that is the literary efforts of Arab women. Here I do not only refer to women writers of the early twentieth century, but also to women whose works were published in the second half of the century. It is to these writers that Arab women owe a rising societal awareness of women’s oppression, social injustice and double standards. As Evelyne Accad noted ten years ago: “The recent fiction of Arab women, with its greater openness and its integration of individual struggle into the larger social context, may well become a force for positive and creative social and political change in the Arab world.” c. National Variables
The third set of factors that I would like to specify are national factors. For as such, the organization of women’s groups in Arab countries has been determined primarily by the particular history of each country, the level of socio-economic development and the demands of its women.
Here, I would like to single out what are termed “official women’s organizations,” especially those that evolved in countries with a one-party system of government such as in Syria, Tunisia, and Iraq. These organizations served in a variety of functions, ranging from welfare, to mobilization and development. Some researchers such as Mervat Hatem believe that these organizations “never developed a legitimacy that was separate from that of the regime nor presented agendas that could serve as a means of organizing their distinct base of support among women.” This, in Hatem’s opinion, led to the discrediting of women’s official organizations and paved the way for the formation of other more pertinent women’s groups. Nevertheless, one cannot deny that these organizations succeeded in heightening awareness about women’s issues and in persistently keeping the nationalist discourse at the forefront of Arab women’s regional meetings. I therefore feel that their role cannot be overlooked, and that something can be learnt from their long experiences. 4. Major Discourses on Arab Women
Nationalist discourse heavily underlies Arab feminism, therefore I would like to highlight the major trends in this discourse that have had a bearing on Arab feminism, and then to review other discourses, mainly the different Islamic interpretational approaches, that have shaped Arab feminist movements.
a. Nationalist Discourses
The three major nationalist discourses that have prevailed in articulating women’s issues, have dealt with them as part of the general problems confronting Arab societies, be they issues of liberation or development. (i) Modernist Nationalist Approach
The oldest discourse of this kind is the modernist nationalist approach which was developed by some intellectuals as a response to colonialism. (ii) National Liberation Discourse
The second approach is the national liberation discourse, which addressed women as part of the struggle for economic and political decolonization. Two pertinent examples of this discourse are the Algerian and Palestinian struggles for liberation. (iii) Dependency Discourse
The third major nationalist discourse is the dependency discourse, which is attributed to the distinctive contribution of a new generation of Arab women social scientists who view gender inequality as part of the larger social and national problems. While this discourse emphasizes how underdevelopment perpetuates the region’s dependence on the West, thus strengthening the patriarchal character of Arab societies, it has, however, ignored the significant role of indigenous patriarchy in propagating gender inequity.
In her analysis of the three nationalist discourses, Hatem concludes that they depersonalize women’s problems by emphasizing the need for macro changes in society; that they avoid any discussion of “the personal, familial norms for women which in fact significantly influence public attitudes;” and that attempts by women’s groups to break with these nationalist approaches have been stalled.
What is obvious about these nationalist discourses, is that each in a different way addressed women’s role in the public sphere, yet were more or less ambivalent, if not totally oblivious, to the private sphere which in many ways could hinder, or sometimes even prevent women from playing any role in the public sphere. The private/public divide continues to be an important theme in contemporary feminist debate. I believe it is also particularly relevant to any discussion of women’s rights in the Arab Islamic world. This dichotomy calls for a deeper look into the centrality of the family in the Arab world, to try to understand the hesitancy behind addressing women’s issues in the private sphere.
Such reluctance lies in the close association that is made between the family and Islamic texts, since Islam probably addresses family issues in more detail than any other religion. This brings me to the last discourse, which is the Islamic discourse, and the different interpretational approaches to women’s issues. b. Islamic Interpretations
The three broad Islamic interpretational approaches to women’s issues that I would like to touch upon here are the modernists, the conservatives and the fundamentalists. (i) The Modernists
The first group, the modernists, are viewed as the proponents of “the back-to-the-Koran and the onward-to-modernity school of thought,” which was initiated by the Egyptian theologian Mohammad Abdo. (ii) The Conservatives
The argument of the conservatives is totally different from that of the modernists. They tend to reject ijtihad, or the interpretation of Islamic religious text, and preserve the notion of social and legal inequality between men and women. (iii) The Fundamentalists
The third strand of Islamic interpretational approaches to women’s issues is that of the fundamentalists. Their insistence on a strictly literal interpretation of the Qur’an disregards the work of centuries of theological interpretations, or ijtihad. The onslaught of foreign ideologies, westernization and western conditionality has increased the adherents to this fundamentalist approach, who have come to see Muslim women’s conduct, dress and domesticity as integral to the survival of the Islamic way of life.
The men who have been at the forefront of each of these strands of interpretation probably did not envision that with more women becoming literate in the religious texts, new discourses might be developed by devout Muslim women themselves, who being aware of the subjugation of women, wanted to reduce it. While such women distance themselves from the term feminism, as Karam points out, what they “uphold is difficult to separate from what feminism connotes.” It is therefore possible that, in the not too distant future, the discourse of these new Islamist feminists might gradually begin to change the stereotyped image of Muslim women, and more importantly, Muslim states’ policies on women.
PART II: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The overview of major discourses on Arab women, brings the first part of this presentation to an end. While the topics raised could only be tackled in brief, they serve as a backdrop to the second part of my talk, which centres on current challenges and opportunities for Arab women’s movements. The first part relied primarily on some of the available literature. However in the second half, I would like to share my own views with you on certain issues that I believe are significant to shaping the dynamics of the Arab women’s movements, as they evolve within a world that has changed drastically since the days of early feminist awakening in the Arab world.
The challenges and opportunities which I now address are in many ways interlinked, but for greater clarity I shall put them in two categories which fall into external and internal issues. External issues include the current trends of globalization, the dialogue of civilizations and the concept of western democracy. 1. External Challenges
a. Globalization
To put into context any discussion regarding the impact of globalization on Arab women’s movements, it should not be overlooked that generally, countries of the North have been able to provide their citizens with opportunities for human development far more widely than countries of the South. The developing world has had to contend firstly with issues of colonization and achieving independence. Subsequently, in many instances they have had the difficult task of building their national institutional structures, while often also having to withstand severe restrictions imposed by internal or regional instability.
The advent of globalization has created new tensions and differences between the world’s “haves” and the world’s “have nots”. Within the South, certain population groups have also been more affected than others, thus the ‘feminization of poverty’ has become a growing concept.
Equally significant, is the cultural impact of globalization and its direct bearing on Arab women. The international media, one of globalization’s strongest cultural tools, has filled the world with stereotyped images of the Muslim Arab woman, which has added to misconceptions in the West about the Arab world in particular. While at present, women’s movements in the Arab region may neither have the resources nor the capacity to tackle this problem, I believe that Arab women’s organizations that have sprung up in the West are well positioned to take it up. As such, the creation of strong networks between organizations that comprise Arab migrant women and their sister organizations in the Arab world, could make a positive contribution. b. Dialogue of Civilizations
The second external issue relates to the dialogue of civilizations, which particularly since the events of September 11th, has become critical, and increasingly so after the war on Iraq. Within the prevailing climate, the divisions which have emerged are giving rise to various constructions of “them and us” among different groups, and which poses a grave concern.
It is indeed a saddening and troubling reality that today millions of peace-loving Muslims all over the world are suffering the consequences of violent actions carried out by a comparatively small faction of individuals, who are totally opposed to mainstream Islam and who are trying to create conditions of separation and negation from the rest of the world. The basic tenets of Islam have been overshadowed by the hostile interpretations projected by such groups, which have compounded suspicions and misconceptions and allowed for many sensational representations of the religion by the international media. As a result of the growing prejudice and discrimination which has occurred, many Muslims have been put on the defensive and feel increasingly isolated, rather than engaging as equal partners in a human community that seeks dignity and freedom for all.
A significant role exists for Arab women’s movements by participating more widely in initiatives that seek to bridge the widening gap between the Arab and Muslim world and the West. Hence, the dialogue of civilizations is a key area that can bring women from different regions of the world closer together, not only to work for their own empowerment, but also to invigorate the dynamics of peace-building, which is vital to counteract a hostile environment that touches us all. c. Western Democracy
The third and final issue at the external level that I will now come to, concerns the question of imported democracy. During the last year or so, we have heard frequent statements from top officials in the West about the need for the Arab world to “democratize.” Yet equally, it must be stressed that democracy that fails to take into consideration the socio-economic, political and cultural factors that shape the conditions of the population of any country cannot succeed. The Jordanian experience with political liberalisation though still incomplete, has shown us that our largely home-grown model has acted as an important buffer for state and society, against the critical political and economic circumstances that have governed the past fifteen years or so. One of the outcomes of this process has been a rise in women’s groups, prompting a wider variation of interests and approaches. However, this evolving experience is also demonstrating that while democracy is a conducive factor for women’s empowerment, it must grow from within, according to the nature and needs of the specific context where it originates. 2. Internal Challenges
The external factors which I have indicated, will to varying degrees inevitably influence the dynamics of the Arab women’s movements. However, and possibly more urgently, Arab women’s movements must contend with internal circumstances that will undoubtedly shape their future discourse. To summarize in this final section, I would suggest that Arab women’s movements must try to resolve two questions: the relationship between state and civil society, and the development of a new discourse. a. State and Civil Society
Although systems of governance may vary between Arab states, yet they share the commonality of a patriarchal order, which delays civil society from becoming a dynamic force for social change. Thus, the efforts of women’s movements which basically revolve around promoting social change may pose a threat to the status quo. On the other hand, all too frequently women’s organizations themselves tend to adopt patron/client patterns of leadership, emulating the patterns they are used to within the larger society. Consequently, if gender relations are to be transformed, the space for new structural alternatives that democratize from within must also be allowed to evolve. b. A New Discourse on Arab Women
To conclude, I believe that the women’s movements need to promote new discourses that reflect their current needs, as well as the obstacles and opportunities that an increasingly globalized world signifies.
While earlier nationalist discourses clearly served certain purposes at distinct times in the evolution of women’s movements, today they cannot necessarily express the growing challenges to the current status of Arab women at a time of rapid change. Since Nawal el-Saadawi’s groundbreaking work, The Hidden Face of Eve, it is encouraging to read the works of a greater number of Arab women who are raising women’s issues more directly and analyzing the situation of Arab women in greater depth. However, the works of these women have still not permeated the discourse of Arab women’s movements, but remain secluded within the sphere of Arab and western academic and intellectual circles.
Although the Beijing Platform for Action, which many Arab women’s organizations have adapted and adopted as their own plan of work, provides a blueprint for women’s empowerment, yet it cannot serve as an original discourse for Arab women. In my opinion, Arab women’s movements need to develop new discourses that reflect their individual, social, cultural and political concerns, as well as nationalist and religious issues. For as long as such issues constitute the prevailing debate, the climate which is created requires mediation through an indigenous response which emanates from an authentic discourse.
This is a time of both diverse challenges and opportunities for women’s movements and civil society in the Arab world.
My hopes and aspirations for the Arab women’s movements and for Arab society in general find expression in the words of the Arab intellectual, Hisham Sharabi:
“The women’s movement … is the detonator which will explode the neo-patriarchal society from within. If allowed to grow and come into its own, it will become the permanent shield against patriarchal regression, the cornerstone of future modernity.” Thank you very much. REFERENCES
Accad, Evelyne, 1993. “Rebellion, Maturity, and the Social Context: Arab Women’s Special Contribution to Literature.” In Tucker (ed). Arab Women. Washington D.C: Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University.
Afkhami, Mahnaz and Erika Friedl (eds). 1997. Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation: Implementing the Beijing Platform. Ethica: Syracuse University Press. Chafetz, J.S. and Dworking, G. 1986. Female Revolt: Women’s Movements in World and Historical Perspective. Totwa, NJ: Rowman and Allanheld. Chatty, Dawn and Annika Rabo (eds). 1997. Organizing Women: Formal and informal women’s groups in the Middle East. Oxford: Berg. Daghistani, Farah. 2001. Honour Killings: the Role of Law, Tradition and Contemporary Discourse. (Unpublished paper). Hatem, Mervat. 1993. “Toward the Development of Post-Islamist and Post-Nationalist Feminist Discourses in the Middle East.” In Tucker (ed). Arab Women. Washington D.C: Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University. Joseph, Suad. 1997. “The Reproduction of Political Process among Women Activists in Lebanon: ‘Shopkeepers’ and Feminists.” In Chatty and Rabo (eds.), Organizing Women. Oxford: Berg. Karam, Azza M. 1997. “Women, Islamisms, and State: Dynamics of Power and Contemporary Feminisms in Egypt.” In Afkhami and Friedl (eds.): Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation. Ethica: Syracuse University Press. Moghadam, Valentine. 1993. Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. Moghadam, Valentine. 1997. “Women’s NGOs in the Middle East and North Africa: Constraints, Opportunities and Priorities.” In Chatty and Rabo (eds.), Organizing Women. Oxford: Berg. Second Conference of Arab NGOs. 1997. Cairo. Specifically papers by Amani Kandil, Kamel Muhanna, Mohamed Abed Jabri, Haidar Ibrahim, Nadia Ramsis Farah, Shahida Baz, Darim Bassam. Sharabi, Hisham. 1988. Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society. New York: Oxford University Press. Stowasser, Barabara. 1993. “Women’s Issues in Modern Islamic Thought.” In Tucker (ed), Arab Women. Washington D.C: Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University. Tucker, Judith E.(ed). 1993. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Washington D.C: Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University. UNDP. 2002. Arab Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press.
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