Unveiling Freedom: The Story of Women in the Arab Spring

Although many documentaries and news sources covering the Arab Spring portray mostly male protesters, women played a prominent role in the Tunisian, Egyptian, and Libyan uprisings. Making up approximately 51% of the population in the region, women had an undeniably strong presence in the protests (Heideman 20). “They played a catalytic role in terms of coming out and organizing protests, smuggling arms, getting information to international media outlets, nursing the sick and the people who have been injured as a result of the protests" (Diallo 1). Their participation helped to dissolve the long-standing stereotypes of Arab women as "secluded, passive, and submissive" (Heideman 17). Following the uprisings, however, women had fallen back into their repressive slump. Arab governments physically assault women and deprive them of political representation and promised freedoms. The courageous participation of women in the 21st century Arab Spring uprisings have yet to yield the expected positive results for women in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.

Prior to the uprisings in Tunisia, female citizens cherished their status: “Women in Tunisia are unique in the Arab world for enjoying near equality with men… Tunisian women credit a 1956 civil rights code for their many freedoms and equality, as well as an excellent education system that is open to all” (Beardsley 1). As the uprisings erupted, women protested alongside their male counterparts to bring down Tunisian President Ben Ali. "In Tunisia, ‘the January [Jasmine] revolution illustrated that men and women had equal stakes in the transformation of their political and social reality and were equally committed to bringing about that change’" (Johansson-Nogués 395). Women undertook the same risks and consequences as men in the protests and were essential to Ali's overthrow (Diallo 1).

After passionate participation in the Tunisian uprisings, the resulting women's rights have been contrary at best. Tunisian women have realized a portion of the political representation they expected from the protests. Women won 49 seats in the National Assembly in the previous election, which represents less than one-third of the seats ("Arab"). Although women have won some representation, the focus on Shariah law has threatened women's rights significantly. "Even in Tunisia, where secularists have a stronger voice and Ennahda has espoused more temperate views than most Islamist parties, women had to take to the streets in protest over efforts by some of the more conservative assembly members to dilute protections for women contained in a 1956 law. The Islamists wanted language in the constitution to say that the roles of men and women are 'complementary'" (Giacomo 1). This controversy has since been dissipated, but the threat of oppressive Shariah law still remains in Tunisia, which is causing considerable distress to Tunisian women (Lynch 1).

In Egypt, prior to the uprisings, women had a lower status than Tunisia. Women enjoyed the right to vote, to education, to divorce, among other basic rights, but women's rights came only as a tool for politicians to gain support (Johansson-Nogués 398). Their questionable status didn't stop women from standing up to overthrow the regime and fight for their rights. "Women and men stood side by side, marched together, protected each other from government forces, and were united in calling for reform and regime change" (Heideman 2). Much like in Tunisia, women participated equally with men in hopes of achieving greater rights. Egyptian women came as more of a surprise, though, because they previously had embodied the quiet and oppressed sterotype (Johansson-Nogués 393).

Similar to Tunisian women, Egyptian women felt a major threat to their rights following the uprisings. Men took control of redrafting the constitution after the military took power following Mubarak (Lynch 1). Women saw their representation fall from 12% to 2% in the National Assembly when a quota was dismissed by the new government, which left women holding just 9 seats out of nearly 500 (Heideman 9). "Poll results released [in November 2013] said that sexual harassment, high rates of female genital mutilation and a surge in violence have made Egypt the Arab world’s worst country in which to be a woman" (Abdallah 1). This pole included 22 Arab countries and was carried out by the Thomas Reuters Foundation. Women have taken to the streets to protest their rights on many times and have been met with forced virginity tests, rape, and physical assault (Heideman 3). Overall, women in Egypt are suffering now more than ever, and are disappointed with the results yielded for the Arab Spring uprisings.

In Libya, women's rights were unclear and ambiguous leading up to the uprisings (Johansson-Nogués 398). Women avoided political positions due to fear of sexual assault that typically came with the position (Omar 1). Nevertheless, women played a pivotal role in initiating change in Libya. "The revolt against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime began as the mothers, wives and children of prisoners massacred at Abu Salim in 1996 took to the streets of Benghazi to demand freedom for their lawyer, who had been arrested by Libyan security forces" (Johansson-Nogués 395). Besides influencing the beginning of the uprisings, "women were a crucial motivating factor in the midst of the struggle for freedom" (Omar 1). Much like Tunisia and Egypt, women provided a lot of support like food and medical assistance (1). 

Following the Arab Spring, Libyan women have won 16% of the seats in their National Congress (Heideman 403). Unfortunately, however, they have minimal representation in redrafting the constitution. Like Tunisia, Libyan women fear that Shariah law will be translated to oppress women in the new constitution, allowing me to "grant women their rights" (403). There has been controversy over having men and women in the same room. The laws limiting polygamy have been removed also, which is a step backwards for women's rights (Johansson-Nogués 400). Additionally, women still face tremendous hardship economically and have minimal participation in the workforce (Giacomo 1). Libya has not seen the improvements that were expected, but it has also not seen severely negative results like Egypt.

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Through this analysis, we have seen strong participation by Arab women in the fight for democracy. "Women were an integral partner in the struggle, demanding change and reform to achieve social justice, human dignity, freedom, and civil political rights. They played a prominent role in the popular uprisings and fought courageously and boldly, withstanding the bitterness and cruelty, and were in the same boat with their male counterparts in order to reach the noble goals of the Arab Spring" (Heideman 4). After the uprisings, however, we have seen mixed results. Tunisia has seen the most positive results with partial representation in legislature. Egypt has seen a dramatic decline in women's rights, being classified as the worst Arab country for women. Libya has seen a transition to Shariah law, which has diminished women's rights with little hope of reform. Overall, the uprisings have done little for the women who so passionately devoted themselves to the cause. The Arab Spring did teach women one common lesson: they have a voice and it can be heard.

Sources:

• Abdallah, Amr. "POLL: EGYPT WORST ARAB STATE FOR WOMEN." Al Jazeera: America. Al Jazeera, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
• "Arab Spring: Opportunity or Disaster for Women?" YouTube. Thomson Reuters Foundation, 05 June 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
• Beardsley, Eleanor. "In Tunisia, Women Play Equal Role In Revolution." NPR. NPR, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
• Diallo, Mariama. "Women on Front Line of Arab Spring Protests." VOA. Voice of America, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
• Giacomo, Carol. "Women Fight to Define the Arab Spring." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
• Heideman, Kendra ed. and Mona Yousseff ed. "Reflections on Women in the Arab Spring." Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2012. PDF.
• Johansson-Nogués, Elisabeth. "Gendering the Arab Spring? Rights and (in)security of Tunisian, Egyptian, and Libyan Women." Security Dialogue 2013 44:393. 
• Omar, Manal. "Women in Libya and the Arab Spring." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Nov. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.