Friday, December 2, 2011

The Arab Spring: For women, some achievements, many disappointments



by Nadya Khalife
Human Rights Watch

"....
Disappointments, but some hope

The Arab Spring and the revolutionary spirit that came with it were viewed by women's rights activists as an opportunity to make progress on much-needed rights and freedoms for women in the Middle East and North Africa. But instead of incorporating women's rights as part of a democratization process in which every citizen has certain rights and obligations, the post-upheaval period has disappointed women. Women's rights activists have realized that they still have to fight to have their demands taken seriously. They have formed coalitions to press their interests. In Egypt, they outlined their wishes in a National Charter on Women's Rights, and in both Egypt and Tunisia they formulated examples of what an egalitarian constitution might look like. They continue to place women's rights issues at the centre of current political debates, and insist that their voices also count.

Despite the unwillingness of transitional governments in Egypt and Tunisia to consider the women's rights agenda as part of a nation-building process, the Arab Spring did result in a few achievements, especially for Tunisia's women. I feel some of the same hope I felt marching and talking with the women of Egypt and Tunisia in March. Egyptian women continue to struggle daily to make their demands known, and with time, the road to achieving full equality may be realized."

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