Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa

"It is vital that MENA countries more urgently recognize that the status of women is the key determinant to the development of their societies. This report provides important data to encourage reform in women’s rights."

 

The first installment of the 2009 edition of Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa is now available, encompassing reports and scores for the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates). The complete study, covering all countries in the MENA region, will be published in early 2010. The previous edition of the study is also available in English and Arabic.

Freedom House’s innovative publication, Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, analyzes the status of women in the region through the prism of international standards embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The 2005 edition found that despite some evidence of progress toward equality in a number of countries, there was a pervasive gender-based gap in rights and freedoms in every facet of society: the law, criminal justice system, economy, education, health care, and the media.

The 2009 edition of Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa is a five-year retrospective review of improvements or setbacks made to women's rights in the MENA region. Its analysis covers events that occurred between January 2004 and December 2008, picking up where the 2005 edition ended. This unique survey, which combines quantitative ratings with a qualitative, narrative analysis for each MENA country or territory, is necessary in light of the international scrutiny given to the status of women in this region. By providing thorough, cross-regional analysis of the legal and societal realities of MENA women, the Women’s Rights report is able to act as an objective tool for international development agencies, governments, scholars, and journalists, as well as a means of empowerment for women’s rights activists in the region.

The methodology questions encompass the entire spectrum of rights acknowledged in the UDHR, thereby addressing all aspects of women’s lives rather than concentrating solely on one set of rights. Each country is scored on a scale of 1 (no rights) to 5 (most rights) for 44 discrete questions that address five subcategories: Non-Discrimination and Access to Justice; Autonomy, Security, and Freedom of the Person; Economic Rights and Equal Opportunity; Political Rights and Civic Voice; Social and Cultural Rights.

The 2005 edition of Women’s Rights in the Middle East was welcomed by the international community as long-overdue resource for activists, academics, and citizens alike. Never before had a single study compared such a broad range of women’s legal and societal rights and duties across the entire MENA region. The 2005 edition has been embraced by the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, UNHCR, UNIFEM, the World Bank, and USAID as a resource guide and tool in programming decisions. Additionally, many Arab governments took notice of the study, with some expressing an eagerness to find ways to improve their ratings. The online edition of the publication received nearly one million visits since it was posted in 2005, and the survey’s release was covered in over 30 countries by close to 200 media outlets. The 2009 edition is expected to garner a similar response from activists and the media.

“The struggle for women’s rights is central to any lasting progress toward a more just and free society in the Middle East. This survey is an essential source for information and analysis about where that struggle is today, and where we need to make advances. I hope that this important study will inform the discussion about gender equality and mobilize concrete action in the region to bring about genuine change for the women of those societies.”

Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University

“These reports constitute a valuable contribution to our understanding of both the advances made and the challenges that lie ahead for women of the Middle East and North Africa.”

Leila Ahmed, professor of women’s studies in religion, Harvard University