Women wearing the traditional Hijab attend the Commission on the Status of Women conference at U.N. headquarters. Credit:Bomoon Lee/IPS

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 4, 2010 (IPS) – The status of women in a predominantly male-chauvinistic Arab world continues to fluctuate from one extreme to another.

The political and cultural life in the region, by and large, has been characterised by the good, the bad and the ugly.

On the one hand are child marriages and honour killings (deemed barbaric) in the rigidly conservative countries, and on the other, are the appointment and/or election of women to high office (hailed as impressive success stories) in the relatively liberal countries.

“Women can already been seen in greater numbers in our parliament, ministries, judiciary, armed forces and police, and they have also assumed very senior positions in both public office and the private sector,” says Hala Latouf, head of the Jordanian delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women.

She also proudly notes that Jordan now has women governors, mayors, judges and ambassadors, in addition to women chief executive officers (CEOs) in key industries and businesses, consultative bodies and chambers of commerce and industry.

“The new draft law on elections is expected to allocate even greater number of (parliamentary) seats for women,” she declared.

On an equally positive note, Dr. Jouhaina Sultan Seif El-Issa, vice chairperson of Qatar’s supreme council for family affairs, points out that Qatari business women account for more than 50 percent of the total equity investors and dealers in the Doha Stock Market.

At the same time, the number of women-owned companies in Qatar now amount to nearly 1,500.

She said Qatar has established two Foundations: one, for child and women protection, and the other, to combat human trafficking.

Still, says Nadya Khalife of Human Rights Watch, most governments in the region discriminate against women in personal status laws which govern their everyday lives, including issues of marriage, divorce, custody and guardianship, and inheritance.

In an interview with IPS, Khalife said that some provisions in penal laws also allow for perpetrators of so-called honour crimes to receive a mitigated sentence or be exempt from punishment based on “family honour”.

“These crimes are typically committed in cases of adultery or sex outside of marriage,” she said.

And some countries in the region, she pointed out, do not have laws to protect women from domestic violence.

“Women are often not encouraged to report abuses to police and find difficulties in seeking redress,” she added.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday that most of the 5,000 honour killings reported to take place every year around the world do not make the news, nor do the other myriad forms of violence inflicted on women and girls by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and other male and sometimes even female family members.

“In the name of preserving family honour, women and girls are shot, stoned, burned, buried alive, strangled, smothered and knifed to death with horrifying regularity,” she added.

Although she did not identify any countries by name, Pillay said the problem has been exacerbated by the fact that in a number of countries domestic legal systems, including through discriminatory laws, still fully or partially exempt individuals guilty of honour killings from punishment.

“Perpetrators may even be treated with admiration and given special status within their communities,” she added.

A study released by the Washington-based Freedom House early this week singles out 15 countries in the region as having recorded “some gains in women’s rights” over the past five years.

Kuwait, Algeria and Jordan saw the most significant progress while Iraq, Yemen and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories – enduring internal conflicts and/or religious extremism – are the only countries to record overall decline.

Nadia Hijab, an independent analyst who works on gender, human rights, and the Arab-Israeli conflict, told IPS that Arab women are constantly making progress in securing political, economic, and social rights – but it is slow and incremental.

The obstacles are huge: women’s rights are tied to the struggle for democracy, defining the role of religion in the state, and the drive for equitable development, she said.

“That there is progress is a testament to the increasingly sophisticated and determined efforts of women’s groups that are pushing the boundaries of debate in all these areas,” she said.

Hijab said that as in many other parts of the world, the key is recognition that women are equal partners within the family and under the law.

This is why it is such a success when women gain the right to grant their nationality to their husbands and children, as they have in Algeria: it is recognition of their equal status at home and in the public sphere.

Similarly, the fact that there are women judges in Morocco and Lebanon sends a very powerful message in a region where some countries still consider women legal minors, Hijab declared.

She said the region is also heavily impacted by internal and cross-border conflicts that set women back.

In Lebanon, progress made by women’s groups ground to a halt recently when the country was in a political stalemate over the election of a president and formation of a government.

In the occupied Palestinian territories, gains women made in political development and economic empowerment have been set back as Palestinians struggle against the occupying Israeli forces’ encroachment on their lands and rights, Hijab said.

(END)

Roma Juma makes tea for guests using her smoke-free stove. Credit:Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

By Zofeen Ebrahim

THATTA, Pakistan, Feb 25 , 2010 (IPS) – Forty-something and unlettered, Sona Siddiqi never imagined she would become the most sought-after woman in her village of Ramzan Katiar.
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Informal traders in the SADC region sell a wide range of goods: wood and stone carvings, clothes, furniture, electrical goods and doilies. Credit: Ntandoyenkosi Ncube/IPS

By Ntandoyenkosi Ncube

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 19, 2010 (IPS) – Support for regional trade is one of the cornerstones of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). But the focus has been on large scale trade in goods and services, ignoring one important group trading throughout the region. Continue Reading

Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Equality Now, briefs journalists at the UN. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 24, 2010 (IPS) – Nearly 62 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaimed “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” a few of the world’s discriminatory laws against women are being progressively repealed in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.
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Women's rights organisations want political parties to nominate one female candidate for every three candidates in the next election. Credit:Nasseem Ackbarally/IPS

By Nasseem Ackburally*

PORT-LOUIS , Feb 18, 2010 (IPS) – Sandhya Boygah considers herself a victim of male-dominated politics. In 2007, she was asked by her party, the ruling Labour Party, to step aside and allow a man to stand for the elected post she sought.

After long days of intense canvassing; of lobbying ministers and neglecting her family and children, Boygah thought she would be nominated for the post of chairperson of the Pamplemousses/Rivière du Rempart District Council, in northern Mauritius.

“Unfortunately, when the time came the party preferred a man. I was really hurt,” she recalled.

She added that she will insist her party nominate her as a candidate for the July elections. (In Mauritius a candidate must be nominated by the leader of their political party before they can stand for elected office. The alternative is to run as an independent candidate.)

It has been three years since Boygah was asked to step aside because of her gender and, while progress has been made towards achieving increased female representation in politics, it remains far too slow for some.

Rights organisations say too few women are being nominated by leaders of political parties as candidates in local, regional and national elections. Of the members of parliament (MPs), only 17 percent (12 out of the 70 members) are women, in municipalities only 11.2 percent of politicians are women. And in the district councils the number is lower, with only 5.2 percent female representation. Though this is an increase from 2005 where only 5.4 percent of MPs were women.

There have been increasing calls to improve female representation in parliament ahead of July’s national assembly elections – where members are elected to parliament by voting in multi-member constituencies.

Mauritius committed to having 30 percent female representation in parliament by 2005 when it signed the Southern African Development Community Declaration on Gender and Development in 1995. The agreement, however, is not binding.

A local non-governmental organisation, Women In Networking (WIN), is circulating a petition calling for increased female representation in parliament. They hope to obtain 50,000 signatures by the end of March when the petition will be handed over to political leaders.

“We want things to change for the upcoming election due later this year,” said Paula Atchia, a member of WIN affiliate, Women in Politics (WIP). WIP has asked all political parties to nominate at least one female candidate for every three candidates in each of the 20 constituencies of the island.

Paul Berenger, head of the opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien, may have promised to nominate a woman as speaker of parliament if his party comes to power in the next election, but WIP is sceptical. “This is not our goal. We want one in three candidates. Let us do it now,” Atchia said.

Other rights activists have called for a compulsory quota system to be introduced. “Without a quota, we’ll not get enough women as candidates,” said Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Mauritius.

But this may not happen for a while. While a conservative culture has been partially blamed for lack of female representation in politics, the country’s constitution is also hindering transformation.

Mauritius remains one of two countries that have not signed the binding SADC Protocol on Gender and Development – which commits countries to work towards the goal of having 50 percent women in political and decision-making positions by 2015 – because it contradicts the country’s constitution. A quota system will contradict the clause in the constitution that promotes equality, experts say.

Nita Kumaree Deerpalsing, an MP from the ruling Labour Party, explained that the concept of gender equality in the constitution means one gender cannot be privileged over another.

“Mauritius subscribes to gender equality and this has been noted in the passing of the Equal Opportunity Act. But some of the clauses of the SADC protocol deal with quotas and when you deal with the Equal Opportunity Act and a society that believes in equality, the quotas then just go against what the nation believes and stands for,” Deerpalsing said.

She said Mauritius is a sovereign country with its own laws and government had to be careful how it interprets international codes, such as the SADC protocol. She said any international agreement signed by Mauritius had to comply with the country’s laws.

“The problem is legal so it has to be dealt with legally and they have to find gaps to try and solve the issue. The process has already started but will take time to identify the gaps because the constitution is good as a whole,” Deerpalsing said.

Loge Virahsawmy, the director of Gender Links (Mauritius and Francophone Office) agreed, adding that the constitution needed to be preserved.

“We have a very good constitution and we cannot amend it because of one article, so we just have to look for ways around the problem,” Virahsawmy said.

Deerpalsing said that until this was finalised, political parties had to commit to nominating more women to run for political office.

“The main political parties have to align more women on their lists – that way the number of female MPs can increase. Women across the country have become conscious of the fact that there is low female representation and they are starting to get involved in politics,” she said.

Virahsawmy said women in Mauritius wanted to venture into politics and have shown interest through their different political parties. “They are beginning to head committees and (are) taking up more leadership roles,” Virahsawmy said.

Rishy Kumar Choony, former chairman of the Moka-Flacq District Council (East), agrees that women have an important role to play in politics.

Choony nominated two women to his 12-member council after he realised they were able to successfully tackle the social problems that affected his village.

He added that many men still believed a woman’s place was at home: “Religion and culture have not been very helpful either in taking the women out of their home.” He is presently training his 16-year-old daughter in political skills so that she can take his place one day.

Dany Marie, member of Rezistans ek Alternativ, a small political movement, said there still remained certain factors that discouraged women to become involved in politics. One of these, she said, is the fact that most women work in sectors where being active in politics is against employment regulations.

She added that women also worked in areas, like the manufacturing industry and call centres, where the hours are so long and irregular that they had little time for pursuits apart from work and their family responsibilities.

Boygah has called on Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who heads the Labour Party, to offer 50 percent of the party’s election tickets to women in the next election.

“Is he ready to play such a game?” asked Boygah.

*Additional reporting by Marshall Patsanza (END)

Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Credit:Ehsan Norouzi

By Omid Memarian

GENEVA, Feb 18, 2010 (IPS) – International human rights groups and Iranian activists say Iran’s decision to reject major recommendations made by the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday is disappointing and signals that Tehran has no intention of easing the crackdown on dissent in the country.

Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, said on Monday during the review of Iran’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process that Iran is open to accepting human rights rapporteurs in the country.

But Iranian officials backtracked on this pledge Wednesday in their formal response to the recommendations of Council members.

During the session Monday, a number of countries criticised the government’s use of excessive force following the disputed June 2009 elections, calling for the release of political prisoners, respect for women’s rights, and an end to the harassment of journalists, bloggers, and religious and ethnic minorities.

Larijani characterised these critics as an “organised clique” and said they were “very dangerous to the atmosphere” of the Human Rights Council.

Iran’s top representative at the Council, he is the brother of Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran’s judiciary. His other brother, Ali Larijani, is speaker of the parliament.

“I want to say that we would take the suggestions under advisement,” said Larijani on Monday during the Council session. “I hope this positive cooperation and the spirit of the dialogue will be continued. We should pay attention to cultural and historical values and the roles these cultures play in human rights.”

“We mustn’t think that all people live in Washington, Paris and London. Let’s imagine that there may be other ways of life. This is the slogan we have in Iran,” he stated.

A member of the government-sponsored NGOs that accompanied the Iranian delegation told IPS on the condition of anonymity that Iranian authorities believe that the criticism by the Western countries is politically motivated and related to their pressure to disband Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Those countries like the United States that have an embarrassing human rights record [of their own] are not in a position to advise Iran on human rights issues,” one said.

The Iranian delegation accepted 123 recommendations, mainly on broad issues like access to education. It reserved response on 20 others, and rejected 45 recommendations, mainly those related to the country’s major human rights challenges over the past three decades and particularly since the Jun. 12 presidential elections, officially won by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Amnesty International, told IPS that the Iranian response was often contradictory.

“On the one hand, the delegation accepted a recommendation to respect the human rights of prisoners and detainees and to investigate and stop immediately any alleged abuse, and on the other hand, rejected a recommendation on fair trial guarantees and right to a lawyer,” she said.

“In this review, we have witnessed Iran’s denial of human rights violations and negation of international law,” Hadj Sahraoui added.

Ending the execution of juvenile offenders, upholding fair trial guarantees, investigating allegations of torture, including rape, and releasing people detained for peacefully exercising their human rights are among the recommendations that were rejected by the Iranian delegation.

It also rejected a recommendation that the new penal code more clearly define or remove offences open to political manipulation, such as so-called “offences against national and international security,” currently used to curtail freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

An invitation to allow the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit the country’s detention facilities was also denied, as was a request “to repeal or amend all discriminatory provisions against women and girls in national legislation” and “to sign and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).”

Citing the examples of the U.S.-run detention facilities at Abu Ghraib, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Larijani asked, “Were they closed down with the same speed? We don’t claim there are no shortcomings. There are shortcomings everywhere.”

“There is violence against women in the U.S. There are violations everywhere. But the question is which country’s policies are used as the basis for measuring the violations? I must say that our legal system confronts any kind of corruption in our police force and in other areas,” he told the Council.

He also asserted that no human rights defenders were imprisoned in Iran, and that those who some claim are activists are either spies or are facing terrorism-related charges.

Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based human rights group, told IPS that during the Monday session in Geneva, the Iranian delegation not only denied the current realities in Iran, but attempted to undermine international human rights standards by resorting to cultural relativism.

“The session was a success in the sense that for the first time the Iranian government was put on the spot regarding recent atrocities. Its denials did not fool anyone,” Ghaemi said.

Karim Sadjadpour, a leading Iran analyst at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told IPS, “Though Larijani tried to paint Iran as a human rights utopia, in practical terms, the Iranian delegation refused to condemn the use of torture, execution of minors, imprisonment of journalists, and discriminatory laws against women and religious minorities.”

Last month, Iran executed two political activists, Arash Rahmaniour and Mohamad Alizamani. Authorities have confirmed that nine other activists are currently on death row.

“Either Iranian officials are profoundly lacking in self-awareness or they simply have contempt for international public opinion,” Sadjadpour said. “It doesn’t seem to occur to them, however, that when they declare Iran a bastion of free speech, justice, and democracy, they above all insult the intelligence of their own people.”

“I think years from now, historians will look back at Larijani’s performance as an example of the hubris and arrogance that ultimately expedited the regime’s demise,” he added.

On Monday, hundreds of Iranians living in Europe and North America protested the worsening human rights situation in Iran just a few blocks away from the United Nations building in Geneva where the meeting was ongoing.

Iran’s rejection of the Council’s report was met with disappointment. “This shows that there is no intention for any change in the foreseeable future,” an Iranian woman activist told IPS in Geneva.

On Wednesday, Iranian authorities vowed to strengthen cooperation with human rights organisations, yet they failed to respond to repeated requests by Amnesty International, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and other groups to meet with members of the Iranian delegation.

The delegation was accompanied by a number of NGOs from Iran which, according to Iranian activists following the session in Geneva, were government organised groups.

“The major human rights activists and NGOs in Iran are either silenced by extensive pressure or reside inside Evin prison in Tehran,” one observer told IPS on the condition of anonymity.

“According to my conversation with a few NGO members during the session, the authorities have told them not to talk or meet with international human rights organisations and independent Iranian activists who were participating in this conference,” she added.

(END)