WRC and the Middle East Regional Office (MERO) hosted a regional consultation in Cairo, Egypt (December 9^th to 11^th, 2007), on the theme of women’s rights and citizenship in the MENA region, to identify areas and potential partners for future research. The consultation has informed IDRC’s support to evidence-based research that seeks to analyze women’s citizenship and governance, access to justice and economic rights within the MENA region, and that seeks to inform policy and other change processes.

 

 

Any attempt to understand women’s rights, wider social and development issues in the Middle East and North Africa needs to take into account the complex political context of the region.

 

War, stagnating economies, disillusionment with the Arab union project and increasing international pressure to conform to Western-based political and social models are all elements which have hindered the economic, social and political development of the region. Among the consequences of this situation are: 1) increasing and widespread poverty and social marginalization; 2) concentration of power and wealth in the hands of ruling political and financial elites; 3) peoples` decreasing belief in formal political processes and the rule of law; and 4) a resurgence of religious extremism.

 

In 2002, the first Arab Human Development Report identified women’s rights as one of three critical development ‘deficits’ that have held back human development throughout the Arab region.

 

Women are commonly defined as dependants and minors in family laws pertaining to inheritance, divorce and child custody. Statistics on women’s life expectancy in the region reveal a rate of 79.7% in Kuwait to 58% in Sudan. The maternal mortality rate in the region as a whole is double the rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, and four times the rate in East Asia (Doraid, 2000). In terms of education, women in the region are illiterate in overwhelming numbers (up to 85% among rural women in some areas).

 

Apparently, women bear the brunt of economic and legal injustices, grave breaches of security, sometimes violent cultural and religious trends, as well as political stagnation.

 

 

Three major WRC themes have been explored in the consultation: (1) women’s citizenship and governance; (2) women’s access to justice; and (3) women’s economic rights. 

 

The consultation investigated the key issues and challenges surrounding women’s participation in political decision-making, the judiciary and the public sector. Importantly, it explored ways in which state institutions, political parties, state and kin-based social organizations can be influenced to advance women’s choices and entitlements as citizens, including through their increased representation. In addition, the consultation explored the nature and role of women’s organizations in the region. How women can best organize to press for their rights also warrants attention under this theme. 

 

 

The consultation investigated gender bias within the legal systems in the MENA region at the substantive, structural, and cultural level. A critical examination of the actual implementation of legal reforms was also encouraged. Research in this area would promote a deeper understanding of reasons for the continuing gaps between formal equality rights and substantive justice for women. Moreover the consultation sought to foster discussion of strategies for overcoming gender bias in women’s access to justice and legal services.

 

 

The consultation helped analyze the discriminations faced by women in entering and working in formal and informal labour markets; women’s persisting unequal access to economic assets including land, property and natural resources; and the need for state mechanisms for social protection for women, particularly in the informal economy.

 

Bearing in mind the scale of internal and international migration in the MENA region due to war, violence, displacement and economic factors, the consultation examined issues related to the impact of migration on women’s rights, changes in women’s roles and family/ household structures, women’s increased vulnerability on the one hand and access to new opportunities on the other.

 

As the complex relationship between migration, economic development and women’s rights is an emerging area of research globally, the consultation has also explored women’s rights in the MENA region in the context of the circular migration flows from South, South East and East Asia. 

 

 

The consultation has facilitated analyses of the region from a variety of contexts and perspectives and highlighted the heterogeneity of women’s position and attitudes in the countries concerned, as well as drew out the commonalities for comparative research and analysis. It has used a combination of overview presentations, thematic panels that highlight country-specific experiences, sub-regional focus group discussions, and plenary discussions to facilitate dialogue and exchange.