By Hanna Rais, The Media Line
In Afghanistan, dozens of men marched through the streets wearing head-to-toe sky-blue burkas to show their identification with restrictions against women. In Iran, women took to social media to “reclaim feminism.” At the West Bank Qalandia crossing, 1,000 Palestinian and 500 Israeli women tried to hold a joint march but were prevented by Israeli troops.
These are some of the dozens of events that took place across the Middle East and North Africa to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. Women in many countries say they still face discrimination in joining the workforce and in operating independently from men.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, women cannot work without the permission of a close relative. Throughout the Middle East, Islam gives custody preferences to men.
“Women have no say over matters concerning their children even if they are widowed, in which case legal guardianship of her children pass on to her husband’s closest male relative. We have seen a rise on restrictions against women in activism, civil society, and political representation,” women’s rights researcher in the Middle East and North Africa for Human Rights Watch Rothna Begum told The Media Line.
Women played an active role in the Arab spring demonstrations that swept the Middle East for the past four years.
“Four years ago, when the Arab Spring commenced, people started demanding democracy and not only did women join the fight, but in many countries they are the leaders of the transition,” said Sussan Tahmasebi, co-founder of the International Civil Society Action Network. “Women’s rights in the Middle East started with the revolution and although there seems to be a deterioration as extremists become more radical, women are persistent even in countries like Syria where conflict has caused a huge setback for civil society.”
International Women’s Day was also used to highlight discrimination against women. In Jordan, for example, The Jordan Times reported that 95 percent of sexual attackers avoid punishment by marrying their victim.
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have taken limited initiatives to improve women’s rights over the past year with the introduction of draft legislation to address violence against women. Algeria also recognized the right to compensation for women raped during the armed conflict of the 1990s, according to Amnesty International.
Last week, Tunisia adopted an amendment that makes physical violence against a spouse a criminal act. However, it includes a clause that would allow legal proceedings to be halted if the victim forgives the perpetrator.
In Morocco, a penal code provision that allowed rapists to escape prosecution if they married their victim was abolished last year. Tunisia lifted its reservations on the Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women and appointed a committee to draft a law to halt violence against women and girls.
Last year, Egyptian lawmakers passed a law making sexual harassment a crime punishable by a minimum of one year in prison, but there have been only a handful of convictions since then. Female genital mutilation remains widespread in Egypt despite a law banning the practice and the law was only implemented after the death of a girl from infection in 2013.
In Iran, clerics discriminate widely against women, limiting their rights based on Sharia law. In Iraq, hundreds of Yezidi women and girls were abducted, held as “slaves” by members of ISIS and subjected to sexual violence. In Saudi Arabia, the authorities continue to arrest or threaten women who dare to defy an official ban on driving. In Yemen child marriage is still widespread.
A report presented by The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network concerning Palestinian women, showed an increase in all types of violence against women. An alarming 37 percent of married Palestinian women have been exposed to some form of domestic abuse.
Concerning the future of women’s rights in the region, Begum expressed her hope “to see implementation of laws that were passed over the years in a comprehensive and strategic manner in order to eradicate gender abuse and discrimination, breaking down the male guardianship system as well as the barriers imposed by society.”