Politics Of The Women of the United Arab Emirates
Write a research paper for my women and
gender in the Middle East class. The topic is about “middle eastern
women in politics”. It needs to be around 10 pages Double spaced
and as one of the sources you need to include the book “ The women
of the United Arab Emirates” by Linda Usra Soffan. You need minimum
7 sources.
Solution
Introduction
In the Middle East, women represent a significant group whose presence in the regional
and national affair is rapidly growing owing to economic and educational change. Middle East
Projects since its inception it has devoted itself in empowering and improving women status
through conducting meetings related to the rights of women in the Middle East. Most of the
Arab nations, however, have curtailed the political rights of men, women and all their citizens in
general. As a result, even when their rights are recognized on paper they are barely respected by
those ruling. Some of the Middle East countries identified the political rights of women early,
for instance, Syria by 1949, Egypt in 1956, Lebanon in 1952 and Tunisia 1957 (Jamali, Sidani &
Safieddine, 2005). Turkey, which is a Muslim country within the Mediterranean basin respected
the rights of women to vote in 1930 while their rights to stand for elections were passed in 1934
earlier than most of the European countries. Apart from that, the Gulf States and the rest of the
Arab countries recognized women participation in politics almost the same time with most of the
developing nations. Therefore, there is no doubt that woman participation in the Middle East has
not been an easy journey for decades (Al-Ahmadi, 2011). Despite, the efforts of these Middle
East nations to empower women in politics and encourage their participation the truth is there are
still many challenges that women face while seeking their political rights in their country.
Additionally, the history of the Arab countries of gender equality, where men are seen to be
superior to women has also undermined the efforts of women to take part in politics. Actually,
the majority of people in politics are men who dominate very high position while women follow
the men.
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 4
Women in Politics
Women's role in politics is understood different by different scholars with some arguing
that Islamic culture in the Arab world could have impacted negatively women politics. The
research that was carried out by Soffran (2016) seems to be contrary to the different research
carried by scholars on women in politics. In her study Soffran addresses the elements which
continue to influence the women role in the UAE even today. Contrary to most scholars in her
study, Islamic law has actually provided women privileges and rights in the spheres of family,
economic pursuits, marriage and education with the aim of influencing the status of women in
the society positively. Therefore, according to this author it is the misinterpretations of religious
scholars which have influenced social trends and local traditions that women have not received
equal rights as women. In spite of that, the author tries to explain how the UAE has separated
itself for strict adherence of the Koranic religious laws and encouraged the local traditions
concerning women to take priority over the Islamic law. The authors therefore claim gender
inequality, low position of women in the society and inferiority of women is not due to Islamic
culture, but rather failure or difficulty to integrate radical ideas on women. In spite of the many
measures and activities which have been taken by most of the Arab countries to improve women
representation and participation in parliament, the number of women taking part in politics is still
low. Although there is a strong will by many Middle Easterners, cultural constraints dominate
and the percentage of women as official and legislators is low (House, 2005).
There are many obstacles and challenges facing women in the Middle East. Al-Maaitah et
al,. (2013 ) argues that countries such as Tunisia and Egypt have a responsibility of making
promising promises for women based on the newly adopted constitutions. The most prevailing
element is culture discrimination and attitude which is dominant in most of the Arab countries.
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 5
Thus, although there are many national efforts and empowerment programs to improve the status
of women and elimination discrimination the anticipated number of women in politics is still
low.
However, the main obstacle which women face across the region is due to personal status
law and which varies from one country to another except Morocco and Tunisia where the
personal status law is not friendly to gender. Additionally, according to Roudi-Fahimi &
Moghadam (2006), there have also been barriers to hinder women from taking part in politics
which can be traced from cultural, institutional, socio-economic and historical factors. Besides,
some of the women refuse to take part in politics due to low self-esteem, household
responsibilities, lower expectation, few role models and illiteracy.
Nevertheless, the most critical factor is education which has been identified as a major
cause that hinders the voice of women from being heard in government. Additionally, girls are
also compelled to stay home to carry out domestic activities while at missing to go to school,
thus resulting to lower self-esteem leading to low participation in politics. Moreover, there is
also the male-dominated nature in politics in most of the Middle East countries which creates a
barrier for women participation in politics (Abu-Lughod & El-Mahdi, 2011).
Furthermore, unequal gender ration in political activities involvement is also a good
indicator of the inequality that exists in society. Owing to their absence, therefore, in leadership
positions and political life women empowerment and democracy has been undermined. As
Momsen (2009), argues there is no doubt that woman participation in politics is a major indicator
of gender inequality in all countries. In addition, in Turkey, for instance, the women social status
is not as good as it might be anticipated. In spite of the law concerning Unification of Education
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 6
that recognizes that there are equal opportunities for both males and females, the males are more
educated than females (Kabasakal et al, 2011). Empowerment of women, human development,
development, and gender are a key concept which the Middle East countries apply in their goals
improving women participation in politics. Within the international level, the idea of women
empowerment is included in the treaties for human rights. Therefore, the concept of women
empowerment has been mainly the protection of the rights of women, which is important in
achieving national development and making progress (Pratt, 2007). The majority of the Arab
nations have also joined international conventions and agreements on women especially the
Convection of the Elimination of All types of Discrimination against women as well as the
Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals.
In the year 2004, the summit that was held in Tunisia mainly focused on women
empowerment in all aspects of their lives (Moghadam, 2014). The UAE was the first country
whose parliament in 2015 appointed a woman speaker of the Parliament and since then women
have continued to occupy even the highest positions in the government. Additionally, women
dynamic involvement in protests which swept the region from the year 2010 has been noted to be
a good indication of women interest to take part in political activities.
Modernization of most of the Arab nations has also been of benefit to the women status
where most of these countries have changed their charters and constitutions with the aim of
including women as equal as the rest of the citizens (Coleman, 2004). Actually, according to
Soffran (2016), tribal practices, modernization as well as customs have already begun to break
lose in the Arabian Gulf. The basic social culture as well has also changed where even extended
families have reduced and nuclear families become smaller. In addition, Soffran also claims that
in the UAE there have been increasing opportunities for women to obtain formal education
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 7
inclusive of getting employment opportunities in the labor market. Additionally, in the UAE
there is a new awareness system of communication such as newspaper, magazines and radio
educating the public on the benefits of empowering women to take part in politics. Furthermore,
the investments for most of the Middle East nations in job creation, greater political rights,
health, and education have influenced women development and advancement.
Also, other policies have also been developed aiming at gender equality particularly on
the rights of women have been developed inclusive of national strategies. The latter focuses on
addressing women role in politics, social, economic development and women empowerment.
Owing to these strategies, many international donors and local governments have continued to
support women projects and programs in political participation, poverty alleviation and
education (Kirk & Napier, 2009). Thus, today, more interest in gender equality and Middle East
women role in decision making and role in politics has been witnessed in the Arab region.
Most of the Middle East countries have developed measures to increase women
representatives in parliament some of them which include reforming the electoral system. There
have also been changes in the election laws, for instance, the introduction of the gender quota in
parliament where seats are purposely reserved for women. Political parties also developed
improved measures to improve the representation of women in parliament (Al-Lamky, 2007). In
the UAE, according to the research conducted by Soffan (2016), education has played a key role
in improving the lives of women in the country. According to her the President of the Union
Shakyha Fatima has encouraged the spread of education among girls and even offered financial
aid to help students study abroad. However, the author blames the UAE people for not
integrating radicalized ideas of the women tribal norms.
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 8
According to scholars culture has continued to act as a major hindrance for women
involved in politics. The authors argues that culture has made it difficult for women to occupy
the same position as men since the society believed that women are meant to stay at home to just
perform house chores and be submissive to their husbands. According to Wiktorowicz (2009),
culture is a major challenge that women are fighting with even though there have been
constitutional amendments giving them equal rights in political activities just like men. UAE has
proved most of the Middle East countries wrong by empowering their women to take part in
political activities even when some people are still holding on the culture of women not to lead.
In the UAE women have been empowered through encouraging them to study hard and achieve
academic goals just like men. The study that Sofran (2016) conducted seems to argue otherwise
where the author claims that Islamic culture has not deprived women rights in politics. Actually,
the author claims that it has helped them advance and look for means to becoming important
people in the society. Therefore, the view that Islamic culture has hindered women from
attaining political goals is just misinterpretations of religious doctrines.
From the study on the women empowerment in the Middle East, the majority of the
researchers argue that that political empowerment for women has increased. The investigation
that Soffran (2016) conducted showed that women participation in politics has increased
especially in the UAE where women have stood up for themselves and come together to fight for
their rights in politics. The Middle East region has realized that women should not be left behind
in politics and that their involvement is very important. These findings support the research that
was carried out by Soffra (2016) which implies that governments have developed policies and
made constitutional amendments to provide women with equal rights as men in politics.
Therefore, some of the barriers which hindered women from taking part in politics have been
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 9
eliminated such as educating the girl child where earlier they were left home to perform domestic
activities. Additionally, women representation in parliament and legislature has also been
increased as a way of attracting more women to politics.
In the UAE male gender dominate with most of them holding top positions in the
government. The majority of women therefore have developed low self-esteem and low interest
in politics due to the patriarchal culture where the majority of men use Islamic region to hinder
women from taking part in politics. However, as mentioned earlier, in the UAE education is
playing a major role in transforming the status of women in the society. Education in the UAE
has fully been implemented for girls. Actually, there are even women universities in the UAE to
assist women in obtaining higher education to enable them to become useful members of the
society. Women however they are unable to enjoy their political and civil rights due to strong
traditions and norms hence leading to men domination in politics. In Egypt for instance, even
though women have voting rights the populace living in the rural area fathers, brothers and
husbands will decide how women will vote and sometimes they even take the ballot papers and
fill in the leaders for the females.
With the help of the government to empower women participation politics, many
programs, agencies, and organizations have been developed. Some of these organizations
include Jordanian National Commission of Women; Arab Women Organization, Women for
Cultural Development and Lebanese Democratic Women1s Gathering. There is also Voice and
Agency which major aims are to empower women through advocating freedom from voice,
protection from sexual and physical abuse and collective collection (Globalfunds, 2016).
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 10
It is important to ensure that women are allowed to take part in elections and exercise
their civil rights. In 2017 according to Yaseen (2010) women in Saudi Arabia got an opportunity
to exercise their civil rights where they were allowed to vote. Additionally, there were also
women candidates in the election which indicates that women just like men have the capacity
and potential to lead people. In Lebanon on the other hand, women got frustrated for not being
given adequate representation in the election and in parliament. This shows that women in this
country are struggling politically to achieve political goals and leadership in their country.
Conclusion and Recommendation
In summary, it is difficult to achieve freedom when women in society are facing all types
of oppression. Politics is almost in the entire region of the Middle East; however, it is highly
dominated by men while women participation is still low. There are many factors that hinder
women involvement in politics such as socio-cultural factors where most countries view women
as just housewives and mothers thus restricted to get involved in political matters. Religion has
also hindered women from taking part in political and civil activities due to strict norms and
traditions that constraints women activities.
Additionally, the study has also found that gender roles patriarchy where men are seen as
the head of the families and society is dominated and ruled by men. As a result, men have been
given high social status that females which is a clear reflection in politics. Therefore, there is no
doubt that even though most of the Middle East counties practice democracy women
participation in politics is not as good as projected. The results of the research conducted proved
that gender discrimination in politics still exists in the Middle Eastern region even in the UAE.
However, for the UAE things have taken a new twist with women taking advantage of education
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 11
to empower themselves to become useful people in the society. These findings align with the
study conducted by Soffan (2016) that even though most countries are practicing democracy
women are still fighting for equality in politics. In her research she concludes by arguing that
women in the UAE relatively occupy top positions due to strict adherence to traditions and
Qurainic laws. This is not only in the UAE it still exists in most Arabian countries. There it
clears even with extensive efforts to empower women culture still undermines women ability to
lead. There have also been an increasing number of women in politics but stereotypes still exist
with the view that men are capable of performing better than men.
However, in order to enhance women political participation women equal rights with
men should be recognized. Women should also take part in public affairs of their country
through having elected political representatives. The government should also take legal measures
on those who abuse women rights in order to boost women the courage to take part in politics.
MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN IN POLITICS 12
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