April 2005

Women as a Revolutionary Force in the Arab World: A European's Perspective

Emma Bonino, Radek Sikorski

On April 5, Emma Bonino, a member of the European Parliament and candidate to be the new United Nations high commissioner for refugees, spoke to the New Atlantic Initiative on the situation of women in the Arab world.

Emma Bonino
Member of the European Parliament

In Afghanistan, there are now two female ministers of human rights, and women are becoming increasingly active in the political sphere. An Afghan woman even campaigned for president by traveling village to village. Progress is also being made in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, where women are increasingly vocal about demanding political rights and participation. Yemen, where women have been allowed to vote since 1993 and have other rights rarely seen in the Muslim world, is often cited as an example by other women in the Gulf states.

In Djibouti, women attending a conference on female genital mutilation left the conference in protest after Muslim scholars voiced their approval of the practice of some types of such mutilation. Examples in Egypt and Saudi Arabia also demonstrate the increased discontent with the status quo. Some societies are ripe for change; however, there is less progress in Algeria and Tunisia.

Arab women need better connections with one another across the Muslim and Arab world, and this is where the West can aid them substantively. The situation in each Arab country is different, but it is clear that women and Arab societies as a whole are making a shift from collective to individual rights. American and European governments should support women’s movements and pressure Arab governments to extend personal, economic, and political rights to women.