 All Women's Action Society (Awam) welcomes the commemoration of 100 years of International Women's Day (IWD). We recall the origins of IWD which began with women workers organising to improve exploitative working conditions in garment factories in America at the turn of the 20th Century. Later across the world, women celebrated IWD by protesting against poverty, war, racism and all forms of oppression and inequalities. In Malaysia, it is only after two decades that now parties such as government agencies and multi-national corporations hold activities such as talks, exhibitions and tea parties in celebration of IWD with wide coverage in the media. Our achievements in education and health and some women in leadership positions will be trotted out as examples of how well Malaysia has advanced the rights of women. However, we are still a long way from achieving equality. Moreover, whatever gains women have won over the last few decades are under threat from economic, social and political disparities we face in our country. In a small attempt to remind us how far we have yet to go, Awam believes that following gaps need to be addressed in order to achieve equality:
At a recent seminar coinciding with the International Women’s Day, an illustrious and highly accomplished lady panellist asked the 300-odd audience of women as to how many of them had got pregnant while employed. About three-fourths of the audience raised their hands. When asked how many felt that their companies had given them extra support that helped them deal with this phase in their life better, only three or four hands went up. This event took place in a five star hotel in Mumbai and was attended by women professionals from the very best companies in the country and underlined the difficulties faced by women in balancing family and work. Most corporations in the world run ‘diversity programmes’, of which gender diversity is an important constituent. Most take pride in the role they play in empowering women and trying to ensure that discrimination of any form, overt or covert is eliminated. While there are some businesses that pay lip service to these politically correct notions, there are many that pursue these goals with an honesty of intention. And yet, under 5% of board positions in the country are held by women, and most surveys show a dramatic decline in the share of women as we move up the hierarchy. A big reason for this, apart from entrenched stereotypes about women, is the significant number of women who leave the workforce when they start a family, or decide to scale down their ambition in deference to the needs of their families. Parental leave norms vary widely across the world; in India, women are guaranteed paid leave for 12 weeks, in Sweden they are given paid leave for 47 weeks and unpaid leave for another 123, whereas in the US, women get leave for 12 weeks and that too unpaid! More and more countries are including men in the ambit of child care benefits so as to correct the skew that exists in most societies towards making child care an exclusively female responsibility. The fact that even among developed nation, there is a such wide disparity in the norms points to the fact that this issue is seen as a discretionary one that deals with benefits rather than an imperative that deals with rights. Today’s norms seem to be an overhang from a time when working outside home was exclusively a man’s domain. Maternity is seen as a disruption in this world, and the woman is encouraged both by tangible material signals as well as by way implicit cultural signs, that taking a break is unproductive and acts as a drain on the company and its other employees. Leave is granted grudgingly, and the pressure to come back quickly is strong. Given that the WHO suggests a minimum period of 6 months for breastfeeding, expecting women to come back to work after 6 weeks as is the case in India, is clearly a compromise for the child. No wonder that so many women decide to opt out of employment at this stage for the idea of leaving such a small baby at home becomes an exceedingly difficult one. Even for those who choose to return to work, the decision is often an emotionally wrenching one, and leaves these women with a sense of guilt can last a lifetime. Of course, the issue is complicated by the fact that the workplace is a competitive arena, and calls for even-handedness in the way all employees are treated. Many would argue that women talk about equality but then demand special privileges that dismantle the idea of a level playing field. Also, the nature of the workplace makes long breaks difficult to work around and combined with the uncertainty about whether the woman employee will return, an air of unsympathetic suspicion gets created around the person taking leave. Women get the feeling that their pregnancy is barely tolerated, with much rolling of organisational eyes. As long as this issue is seen in incremental terms, the resentment will remain. The truth is that today the workplace is dependent on women and their inclusion can no longer be deemed an act of charity or large-heartedness on the part of some progressive organisations. the entry of women into the workplace is an unstoppable force that is likely to become only stronger. The coming generation sees working as a default choice and therefore even those organisations that do not acknowledge this today will have no choice but to do so in the years to come. Current rules are based on thinking of women as exceptions to the general rule; today these rules need to recast entirely. A new social contract is needed between organised industry and its women employees; one which recognises that a fundamental change in the founding assumptions of the workplace has taken place. The role of the institution we loosely refer to as ‘society’ is to align conventions with changing needs of human beings. The idea of work needs to change now that women are such an integral part of the world outside their homes. More importantly, society needs its children to be nurtured and looked after, and as more women work and as traditional family support systems disintegrate, the need for the state to step in and frame rules that allow for the proper care of children is an urgent imperative. The issue is not one concerning women alone, but has more to do with the future of the family as an institution. The idea of parental leave that embraces both the father and the mother is an important step in this direction Sometimes incremental change only serves to reinforce stereotypes. When the larger frame through which work is seen is still hyper-masculine and celebrates hard driving achievement at the cost of everything else, every step taken to include women will in some ways be seen as a concession made to them. We see nothing wrong with taking work home, but feel that bringing a child to work is unprofessional. In this cultural construct, many women themselves will resist changes for fear of being seen as too ‘soft’ and feminine and not playing the game the way it is meant to be played. Which is precisely why the system needs to be redesigned from scratch, this time keeping the fact both men and women have an equal right to employment and only when the needs of everyone are met, is work likely to be a seamless part of our social life. The new Egypt: Leaving women behind |
On International Women's Day, Egyptian women contemplate being overlooked in the formation of a post-Mubarak future. |
Some Egyptian women feel they are being left behind after the revolution
Marwa Sharaf el-Din, an Egyptian law PhD candidate at Oxford University, will be in Tahrir Square this afternoon to perform Zajal, a popular traditional form of Arabic poetry.
"Do I have to be broken to be an oriental woman; do I have to always say 'yes' to be an Egyptian woman?" her satirical poem reads.
Music bands and other performers will be showcasing their talents in front of thousands of people who will march to Tahrir Square to mark International Women's Day, which takes place every year on March 8.
"Unlike the confrontational protests we had ... to topple the regime, this protest is more of a celebratory one. We want to celebrate the achievements we have accomplished so far in Egypt," Sharaf-el Din says.
"What we also want to do in today's rallies is remind the government that women make up half of the country, that we should be part of the decision-making in the new Egypt, that we can't go backwards."
A step back
The day before was a very disappointing one for women and women's rights activists across Egypt - when just one woman was included into the newly sworn-in cabinet. Essam Sharaf, Egypt's new prime minister, has instead announced the creation of committee that deals with the advancement of women, formed under the supervision of the cabinet.
"I appreciate the prime minister's acknowledgement of women's role but I do not agree that this is the solution. I highly doubt this newly created committee will have any power," says Sharaf-el Din.
Aalam Wassef, an online activist who has long campaigned for women's rights and says this new arrangement is "condescending to women".
"It's like saying you women can have your little committee while we men do the serious business."
Wassef will be present in Tahrir Square to distribute 10,000 flyers calling for gender equality that he and his friends have printed using their own money. They will also be distributing thousands of stickers that read: "Sally was martyred for both of us;" "My sister has the right to wear what she pleases;" "I am a provider and a caretaker, where am I from the social protection system."
Laila Mustafa, a veiled woman in her 40s, came across Wassef on Tahrir Square yesterday evening and offered help. She took 1,000 banners to distribute them among her neighbours in Boulaq el Dakroor, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Cairo.
"I finished distributing all the banners and today I am coming to the square. I do not want to make demands for women. I just want to show presence.
"Today's demonstration is a good opportunity to show the government that we exist."
Picking their battles
Throughout the uprising, women were at the forefront of the street protests.
However, they have largely kept quiet about their gender rights in a country where they have faced rampant discrimination and received little legal protection against widespread violence and sexual abuse.
They were careful not to display any intention of wanting to advance one group's rights over those of another.
"We did not speak of our gender rights during these protests because it was not the right time. We spoke for the political and social rights of all Egyptians. If we were to campaign for our rights as women in parallel with the revolution's national goal, that would have been called political opportunism," says Hala Kamal, an assistant professor at Cairo University and a member of the Women in Memory Forum.
But only days into the post-Mubarak era, many women's rights activists have begun to feel suspicious that the national umbrella they rallied under, whose slogan was democracy, equality and freedom for all Egyptians, may be leaving them out.
Their disillusionment began when no women were selected by the military council to be among the 10-member constitutional committee responsible for making constitutional revisions.
Another disheartening setback that raises questions about the future of women's rights in Egypt is the return of sexual harassment to the streets.
Returning from the front lines
While the protests have been hailed for being harassment-free in a society infamous for widespread sexual harassment, Engy Gozlan, who works with HarassMap, an initiative that enables women to report sexual harassment via SMS, says sexual harassment incidents have returned to their pre-protests level. It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of Egyptian women have encountered sexual harassment.
Fears that the condition of Egyptian women could return to 'normal' after the uprising appear legitimate. After all, there have been several cases in history of uprisings that prove that "women can be used in a revolution and then told 'thank you, you can go back home,'" Wassef says.
Thus while the widespread participation of Egyptian women in the uprising can be considered "one more step towards women's empowerment, it should not hold expectations," says Marina Ottaway, the director of Carnegie Endowment's Middle East programme.
Reflecting on the Algerian national liberation struggle in the 1960s, Ottaway says: "Francis Fanon, [one of the most influential writers on the Algerian struggle at the time], has argued that the war of independence has changed the relations between men and women and enhanced the participation of women in the public sphere."
"But as soon as the war ended and the revolutionary fervour was over, the old gender roles were reinstated. Old customs proved to be very entrenched and hard to change."
Moreover, Joost Hiltermann, who wrote extensively about Palestinian women's movements during the first Intifada which begun in the late 1980s, observed in 1991 that "despite women's activism, their social and political position in society has essentially remained the same".
Hitlermann, who is now the International Crisis Group's deputy programme director, says: "It is usually the case that during a national crisis, women play a very active political and social role because everyone is on the barricade. But, when the crisis is over, women return to their original roles."
From this perspective, Amal Abdel Hadi of the New Women Association in Egypt says that the recent marginalisation of Egyptian women following the uprising is an embodiment of a patriarchal society that is difficult to change.
"This is the default. This is what people were born into and this is how they work. No one wants to make an effort. No one believes in the cause of gender equality."
Exercising suffrage
Meanwhile, women's rights activist Hala Kamal is calling on people to look through the lens of Egypt's own history and reflect on the 1919 Egyptian uprising, which was characterised by the wide and unusual participation of women.
"The outcome of that uprising was incredible progress for women. It led to the establishment of the Egyptian Women Union in the 1920s and the pressure of new women movements increased through out the 1930s and 40s.
"So I am very optimistic that this revolution which, unlike the 1919 revolution, already includes well-established women's rights organisations, will be positive for women's rights."
She also argues that women's participation in building the future of Egypt has already started widening.
"Even the conservative discourse of the Muslim Brotherhood is now talking about including women in their Consultative Council. Keep in mind that I am talking about the most conservative party in Egypt."
On the no-woman constitutional committee, Kamal believes it does not provide adequate insight into the future of women's participation.
"The committee was formed with the specific task of amending articles related to elections and which do not address any gender issue. Also keep in mind that the people who formed this committee are the military, an institution that is already insensitive to gender issues."
She says that women's rights organisations should instead shift their focus to gaining representation in the upcoming general committees that will be formed in the coming weeks to change the whole constitution.
"This presents an opportunity for women to be part of devising new gender-sensitive legislation," Engy Gozlan says.
Women's coalitions are pushing for 30 per cent representation in these general committees. But for their efforts to be successful, Nevine Ebeid, a women's rights activist, says: "Women need to wake up now."
"We are still within the revolutionary fervour. The toppling of the regime is done, the changing of the government is done. This is the time for distributing the booty and women should be strongly present for that."
"If we do not push hard for our rights and lobby for our representation, our situation may regress to even [worse] than it was before the revolution."
With the dust of the uprising still unsettled, women's rights activists are well aware that, over the coming weeks, they will have to seize the moment and fight the battle for representation one institution at a time.
Their success or failure may set the course for how the women's rights scene will look like over the next decade.
Throughout the extraordinary events of the last few months, across the Middle East and North Africa, long-silenced voices demanding change are being heard worldwide -- and stalwart among them are the voices of women. From the bereaved mother of the first tragic Tunisian protester, to Asmaa Mahfouz, the 26-year-old whose YouTube video brought Egyptians into the streets, to Sally Zahran, a passionate 23-year-old Egyptian woman who was bludgeoned to death on January 28, to Tawakul Abdel-Salam Karman, the activist whose arrest sparked demonstrations in Yemen and countless others, women havejoined with men in peaceful protest, braving beatings, rubber bullets, and worse. In Egypt, considered the birthplace of Arab feminism in the 1920s, an estimated quarter of the million protesters at the height of the demonstration were female. In all the pictures from the protest, none was as powerful as that of the woman standing face to face with an Egyptian soldier in a pose of utmost defiance. One young female protester stated, "There are no differences between men and women here. We are all one hand." In more conservative cultures such as Bahrain and Yemen, fewer women have demonstrated, but for that very reason their presence is perhaps even more significant.
This should come as no surprise. Women are consummate peacemakers, and civil protest has always been one of their most powerful tools of expression.
I have been privileged to work with numerous networks of courageous women who have suffered the worst consequences of war, conflict and discrimination; in Jordan and Palestine, in Israel, in Colombia, in Central Asia, in Africa and the Balkans, raising their voices and joining forces for change.
Many countries that are struggling to recover from harrowing civil war, including Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Chile, Bosnia, and Liberia, have turned to women leaders for stability, security and peace. After the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda, Hutu and Tutsi women joined together to support each other and the war's victims and to lead the search for truth and reconciliation as official members of government.
In Liberia, I have witnessed the inspiring force of the market women who, throughout 16 years of civil war, sustained their families, saved lives and kept food supplies flowing while they marched and successfully negotiated for peace and, then ensured the election of Africa's first woman president. And, in the former Yugoslavia, the site of the worst carnage in Europe since World War II, I have sat and wept with Bosnian, Serb and Croatian women as they struggled to come to terms with the deaths of their husbands, sons and fathers -- killed, in some cases, by the husbands or sons of women sitting across the table.
Why such compassion to the widows of their enemies? As one woman put it simply, "We are all mothers." They came to our meetings to search for threads of human connection amidst the chaos of conflict.
Today, women raising their voices in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen are not all mothers, but they are also daughters, wives, sisters. They are fighting for their families, but they are also fighting for themselves; and in Palestine, the women of the occupied territories are fighting for the freedom to be included in the greater Palestinian struggle.
Heartening though this may be, as revolution gives way to realpolitik, women's rights are all too often the first things to be compromised on and bartered away. For example, although these protests present an unprecedented opportunity for women, some of the results are less than encouraging. In Egypt, while the protests themselves were marked by a sense of unity, it did not take long for sexual harassment to reassert itself. And women returned to protest when the Supreme Council for the Armed forces, designating a committee to amend the country's constitution, neglected to appoint a single woman.
Women's new empowerment will not be suppressed easily, however. So far, these have not been the traditional stories about women -- especially Muslim women -- that tend to show up on the news. Many do not imagine Arab and Muslim women have much in common with their counterparts in the West because of the selective, damaging and stereotypical images that the media commonly present. When I married King Hussein in 1978, reporters were constantly asking me how a progressive, educated, American woman could go live in such a repressive culture. Those reporters did not know the Arab women I did -- the doctors, lawyers, professors and entrepreneurs -- many of whom became friends and advisers as I set my priorities for public service. The dedication and ambition of the increasing numbers of such women gives great cause for optimism about their prospects for shaping the future of the region. Providing these women with opportunities for partnering with international institutions and networks can enhance that transformative potential both within their own societies and for the benefit of our larger world.
Too many in the Western world still equate the images and soundbites describing women under Taliban and restrictive rule in other countries with the teachings of our faith and conditions throughout the Muslim world. Many worry that greater democracy in the region will give reign to more restrictive interpretations of Islam and a rollback of women's rights. I think, however, that there is reason for hope for women within our faith itself.
Most westerners -- and even some in our region -- do not recognize that women were granted political, economic, legal and social rights by Islam in the 7th century -- rights then unheard of in the West; rights that women were still struggling for in the 20th century in so many parts of the world -- such as the equal right to education, to own and inherit property, to conduct business, to participate in decision making, to be elected to office and not be coerced into marriage. The oppression of women in parts of the Muslim world is not because of Islam, but contrary to it.
Male and female equality is enshrined in numerous places in Islamic scripture, such as the Quranic verse: "I waste not the labor of any that labors among you, be you male or female -- the one of you is as the other." And from the later teachings: "For the white to lord it over the black, the Arab over the non-Arab, the rich over the poor, the strong over the weak or men over women is out of place and wrong." The true application of fundamental Islamic principles can actually empower women to play a crucial role in the process of peaceful change.
As popular demands progress to political and social transition in the MENA region, it is of critical importance that the women who have played such an important role not be relegated to secondary status yet again. They must not simply be forced to exchange an old for a new set of oppressions. Any reforms must continue the progress toward full human rights for women that our region so desperately needs, not only for the women's sake. It is vital that MENA countries more urgently recognize that the status of women is the key determinant to the development of their societies. In turn, the international community can play a critical role in helping to build bridges that can further integrate women both locally and globally.
It is fitting that in Egypt, where Arab feminists first made their voices heard, women have played such an integral role, and have set something of a precedent, by courageously fighting for their unequivocal rights.
On this anniversary of International Women's Day, almost a century since those Arab feminists raised their voices, it is time for women everywhere to take their proper place beside men as equal parents of new societies born in democracy and justice.
By Diana Al-Jassem
Jeddah: Although Islam permits men taking more than one wife, the issue of polygamy remains a controversial one with many Saudi women dead set against sharing their husbands with others.
In Islam, men are permitted four wives at any one time. However, the faith insists on men treating their wives fairly. Those who fear they might not be able to do justice to multiple wives are commanded to refrain from marrying more than one woman.
Some scholars are also of the view that a husband should tell his first wife if he intends to marry a second time, but her permission is not necessary for subsequent marriages.
According to statistics issued by King Saud University in Riyadh
So why do women not accept their husbands taking second wives? Is this due to jealousy, egotism or other social factors? Do contemporary Saudi women accept polygamy the way their mothers did 20 years ago?
Kholood Muqbel, a Saudi teacher and mother of two girls, married first when she was 18. “I was in college studying literature then. My father treated his children very harshly and my mother was always weak in front of him. These circumstances pushed me to make a bad choice in getting married," she said.
"I was carried away by emotions. However, after getting married I became upset. My husband would mistreat me. He was harsh and stubborn," she added.
Her husband then decided to take a second wife. "What pained me the most after all that and what caused me to leave him was that he married a second time without informing me. If he was good man and kind, I could have accepted this, but he was horrible and so I asked for a divorce, which I eventually secured after a long struggle," she said.
Looking after two young children as a single mother proved difficult for Muqbel. “Taking care of two girls on my own was very difficult, so I thought about getting married again,” she said.
Muqbel began looking for a man but soon realized that it was difficult to find the kind of person she had always fancied. She finally accepted the prospect of being a second wife. "I gave in to this since the man was well-off and promised to take care of my children. It pains me sometimes that his first wife knew nothing about our marriage. My difficult circumstances forced me to accept what I had myself refused to accept in the past,” she said.
Eman Al-Ghamdi, a Saudi woman who is aged 30 and a mother of two, said she is against her husband taking a second wife. “When the husband gets married to another wife, he immediately ignores his first wife and gives all his attention to the new wife. Some men claim that the second marriage will not affect their relationships with their first wives, but they change once they get married," she said.
“I grew up in a very large family. My father had three wives and I know the negative effects his multiple marriages had on our relationship with him. I would never accept polygamy unless my husband decides to divorce me to marry a second wife. In this case, I would prefer to keep my marriage to make sure my children have a bright future,” she said.
Nihal Saleh, a Saudi woman who is married to a Jordanian, said she refuses to allow her husband to marry a second time, saying allowing him to do so would mean there is something wrong with her.
“I find it very difficult to accept this. Jealousy is not the only thing; there are many other feelings that make it difficult for me to accept such a marriage. If my husband is looking for a second wife, then that means there's something wrong with me. This is something I can't get out of my mind. This is really painful. I can’t imagine my husband being fed up with me and thinking of getting married again," said Saleh.
Omnia, a Saudi woman and mother of four who requested her surname not published, said her husband's second marriage has hurt her deeply. “In the beginning, I refused to allow him to marry. I always felt he would lose interest in me and my children. This is exactly what happened when he married a divorcee who already has a daughter from her first marriage," she said.
"This woman is very different in her way of speaking, clothing and lifestyle. My husband spends all his time with her. He looks after her daughter more than he does ours. On Eid and other special occasions, he spends more money on them than us," she said.
“Things then became so bad that he hardly comes to visit me. He came a few times a month to give me money. Our marital relations came to a stop and I spoke to him about this several times. I mentioned the importance of maintaining relations, but he just ignored me," she said.
"This treatment forced me to cheat on him. I'm in mental torment because of this. I also can't bring myself to divorce him, because of the way people will look at me. I also worry what will happen to my children," she added.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Hamed, head of the Department of Psychology at Bakhsh Hospital
“Saudi women don’t view their husbands as their personal property. They accept polygamy because this has been a way of life. Old traditions relating to marriage still exist in Saudi society,” he said.
“I've seen a large number of women who are in much pain because of their husbands taking on second wives. However, these women have kept their pain a secret fearing what society would think. They prefer to keep their husbands and children instead of asking for divorces,” he added.
Al-Hamed believes men who marry second wives are often unfair to their first wives and it is this that causes women to become mentally disturbed. He added that in spite of the practice being quite common in traditional families, women of today do not accept it the way their mothers did.
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