Today in a session organized by the Doha International Institute, “Arab Spring: a chance for women’s rights”, four Arab women discussed their perception of violence since the uprisings in 2011. There was general agreement that the violence that is going on now, against men and women, is a systemic form of violence; largely perpetrated by the police or military. Female activists and reporters are particularly at risk. Rape and torture are being used regularly in Egypt, Bahrain and Tunisia.
The speakers also made the following observations about the West’s incorrect assumptionsregarding these developments:
- The issues for Arab women vary by country. Situations in the different countries must be considered separately and not lumped together. There is notgoing to be a homogenous set of solutions.
- Culture is not the same thing as religion, and no culture or religion is synonymous with violence against women. These things are often inextricably tied together in the media and in discussions at the UN, even during this CSW. Poverty has far more to do with violence against women than either of these.
- The focus on women’s rights withinpost-revolution laws is overshadowing the more important point of what is really happening on the ground at the community level. Even if gender equality and human rights laws do exist, it is very likely that they are not being upheld.
- The approach to the issue of violence against women in Arab Spring countries needs to be more holistic and less of a solution based on western experiences of women’s empowerment.
By Erica Higbie, FAWCO Representative to the United Nations