Sarko: Saviour of Women

Earlier this week, the “Sun President” of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, addressed both House of the French Parliament at Versailles, the first time in 161 years that a French president has done so.  One prominent pronouncement was his condemnation of the burqa, terming it a “problem of liberty and women’s dignity”, a “sign of subservience and debasement” and “unwelcome in France”. Consequently, Sarkozy is setting up a 32-member commission to examine the wearing of burqas, whose suggestions could lead to a French law banning the burqa from public places.

The burqa is a full body covering, including a veil completely covering the head with a mesh portion of material over the face. Muslim women (apparently a small minority in France) who wear this dress do so to fulfill their understanding of requirements in the Koran for people (including men) to dress modestly.

Personally, I do not agree with wearing burqas, and from my understanding of Sharia law principles, I do not think the Koran necessarily requires them. Nevertheless, my own thoughts on the matter are an entirely different issue to whether the State should take a stance on them.

Sarkozy voiced his views on the burqa in the name of advancing gender equality. He appears to believe that women who wear the burqa are being forced to do so by their male relatives or religious communities at large. Thus, if there is a ban on the burqa in public places, either these women will suddenly be liberated and/or women in burqas will still wear them yet no longer appear in public places.

In the first instance, this conclusion fails to take into account the possibility, however remote, that women wear burqas because they want to wear them, because in doing so they are dressing modestly according to the religious requirement, and perhaps also because they do not want to be sexually objectified and judged on their looks as is the case for women in “mainstream” Western society. There is no way for the State to know for certain whether women “truly” choose to wear the burqa. By banning it, this element of choice is removed. Ludicrously, this situation can be seen as the mirror image of women’s position in Afghanistan during Taliban rule, where their autonomy was similarly removed in being forced to wear the burqa in public places. In both cases, women are still being told what they can and cannot wear by the State.

Furthermore, even if women are being forced to wear the burqa against their will, banning it will not help their unequal position: unless whoever is forcing them to wear it becomes miraculously enlightened and desists from continuing to do this, these women will be withdrawn from engagement with the public sphere. If these women are considered to be vulnerable, oppressed and marginalised, such as isolation from the rest of society as a measure of “forced” equality cannot ameliorate their position.

This would be a more justifiable move if French society was a bastion of gender equality in general, which is not the case. Sarkozy is employing a culturally imperialistic view of what gender equality is (i.e. the French model), without acknowledging deficits in this idea of equality in practice. If Sarkozy truly wishes to improve the lives of French Muslim women, he would do well to consider more pressing reasons than burqas for their inequality (a marginalised socio-economic position, lack of opportunity, routine discrimination in French society), and seek to solve them to progress the cause of equality.

(Dis)parities in the European Parliament

The results of the recent European Parliament’s elections are quite satisfactory concerning the progress of gender equality. According to the provisional results, the number of women in the European Parliament (EP) increased in average from 31 to between 35 and 39% (the final results will only be revealed at the EP’s inauguration on June 15th), which makes the number of women elected in the European Parliament in regular rise since the first elections in 1979 (the figures evolved from 16% in 1979, to 18% in 1984, to 19% in 1989, to finally 26% in 1994 and 31% in 1999). Additionnally,  for the first time at these elections, two States, Finland and Sweden, elected more female representatives than men. Gender equality in the European Parliament is clearly in progress, although its evolution remains very slow. The figures also depend on the countries, and disparities can be found according to the region and political traditions. Indeed, Nordic and Baltic countries remain the ones that send the most women to Strasbourg and Brussels, with impressive 61 and 61,5% in Sweden and Finland, and 50% in Estonia. On the contrary, certain countries remain the “bad-players”, being largely represented by men in parliament, such as the United Kingdom (32% of women), Belgium (32%), Greece (32%) and Cyprus (33%).

Progress has still to be made towards complete gender equality in the main democratic European institution. But how can the influence of women in EU politics be increased in the short term? According to the results of a survey led by Eurobarometer on March 4th, 2009, while most European citizens believe that it is necessary to promote more gender equality in European institutions such as the European Parliament, they are generally against the implementation of quotas. In the view of most Europeans, men and women, a greater female representation in parliament would change the “style” politics are made in the EU. Clearly, women have other concerns and take other issues at heart, such as wage equality, reducing violence against women, etc. It can thus be argued that more women in power would make the political reality of Europe change, especially since women are presumed to be more stable, less violent and more perceptive in certain issues than men. But although most women in Europe agree with the fact that they should be better represented in the EU Parliament, only 10% are in favour of rendering a fixed proportion of women representatives obligatory for each State and political party. Indeed, quotas seem to go against a recruitment primarily based on the merit and the experience. Furthermore, implementing quotas will certainly not force mentalities and prejudices to change, at least not in the near future. On the contrary, forcing political parties to have more female representation may be seen as unfair and discriminatory against possibly more competent men. Such a “positive” discrimination in favour of women may also be considered as disadvantageous against women themselves, since it might imply that women are not able to force their way through politics simply by their merits and experience. On the other hand, mentalities are clearly long to change and the current figures allow for pessimism concerning complete gender equality in the EP in the near future. Forcing equality may thus also be seen as a necessary first step for women to get into power in this “men-created” world.
Another solution however is to simply let progress towards gender equality appear “naturally” on the national and European level, even if this means that it will certainly take much longer. A good thing about Europe is indeed that it facilitates comparison between States. Confronted with the very good results of Scandinavian countries, latecomers like the United Kingdom and Greece might indeed feel encouraged to change their policies concerning gender-equality, or take the example of countries like France and Spain, where quotas were made obligatory in national and local elections.

The world’s average participation rate of women in parliament is around 17%. European figures are much higher. According to a report made by the European Commission in 2006, 20 countries around the world had 30% or more female MPs, of whose eight are in the EU – Sweden (47%), Finland (42%), the Netherlands (39%), Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Austria. The situation of women in European politics may not be that bad after all…

Educating Saudi Women

When I mention to family, friends and acquaintances that I have been in Saudi Arabia twice this year, I never fail to see the shock on their faces. As an active feminist, it is about the last place many would expect me to go.

In the West, Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most repressive states in the world in terms of civil liberties, a dubious honour it shares with places such as Iran, China and North Korea. In addition, it is also considered a hotbed of violent Islamic “extremists” in wake of 9/11, with 15 of the 19 hijackers holding Saudi citizenship, as well as the 2003 attacks in Riyadh which targeted Western expatriates. Women in Saudi Arabia are thought of as being cowering, oppressed creatures, forbidden to drive, forced into the black coverings of the abaya and hijab and unable to interact with unrelated men.

There is evident gender inequality in Saudi society: women simply do not hold the rights that men do in many areas of life. However, this is not the only inequality in Saudi society. There are blatant class disparities, most starkly seen in the armies of modern-day indentured labourers from the subcontinent, Philippines and East Africa who relentlessly cook, clean and drive around their Saudi masters. There is little religious freedom: non-Islamic places of worship are banned (although religious ceremonies do take place in private) and the Shia minority (numbering around 10% of the population) is routinely discriminated against. Furthermore, there are many restrictions on political freedom in this absolute monarchical state: political parties are banned, there is widespread censorship of the media (some of it by the state, some by journalists themselves) and very little public criticism of the government. 

Nevertheless, against this backdrop, some progress has been made in recent years, due in part to the accession of the reformist King Abdullah to the Saudi throne in 2005. For Saudi women, this has manifested especially in the field of education. As well as the establishment of dedicated educational institutions for women (necessary due to the policy of sex segregation), earlier this year the government appointed Nora al-Fayez to run the female section of the Ministry of Education (a role previously occupied by clerics). In addition, partly as a result of the initiative launched by the King to create a national dialogue, women have been more vocal in Saudi society in campaigning for their rights: they have been calling for the widespread enforcement of a ministerial decree allowing them to set up business without a male agent, and petitioned the King to lift the ban on them driving.

I was in Saudi Arabia in January to attend the second Two Kingdoms Youth Forum, organised by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Saudi Ministry for Foreign Affairs, providing a space for dialogue between young people from the UK and Saudi Arabia. Unusually for Saudi Arabia, the Forum was not segregated by gender, thus providing a rare opportunity for young Saudi men and women to meet each other in public, as well as their British counterparts. A number of organisations from the UK and Saudi Arabia promoting youth participation attended, including my own, European Alternatives. In the spirit of reform which has marked King Abdullah’s reign, this Forum was established to foster understanding between UK and Saudi young people, promote partnership and encourage social development. As a result of the Youth Forum, European Alternatives has entered into a partnership with Effat University, a higher education institution for women based in Jeddah, with the aim of promoting links between universities, academics and students in the UK and Saudi Arabia.

Effat University provides a small yet important counter-example to those who view Saudi Arabia as a state wholly repressive of women: its stated mission is to educate its female students at an “international standard” by providing an interdisciplinary environment for them to learn. Effat’s curriculum is pioneering in Saudi Arabia by teaching a range of subjects beyond theology, business and sciences which make up the majority of tertiary study: classes in psychology, English literature and architecture are offered. The Effat students I met were intelligent, articulate and unafraid of expressing their opinions on just about any matter imaginable (albeit in the safety of private surroundings). It is true that these women are from the more privileged echelons of Saudi society (although there are students at Effat on need-based scholarships), which are more likely to be “Westernised”, liberal and untroubled by socio-economic division in society. Nevertheless, if nothing else, one would hope that their education in subjects where some degree of critical thinking is required, coupled with their membership of an influential class in Saudi society, would awaken a consciousness in them to effect progressive change for Saudi women as a whole, and succeed in doing so.

With this aim of closer links in mind, the first stage of European Alternatives’ project with Effat University comprises connecting UK and Saudi university students to promote a positive notion of global citizenship. Students from both countries who take an active role in their universities and communities are producing a training manual for young people on inter-cultural dialogue, which will include chapters on transnational student citizenship, women’s education and cultural diversity.

Due to media coverage, public perceptions, and the sheer difficulty of entering Saudi Arabia for purposes other than business or pilgrimage, the average British citizen has very little knowledge or understanding of life in Saudi Arabia. Through this project, we hope to increase understanding, and also to provide a space for reflection on both of our societies. In addition to encouraging further development in Saudi Arabia, this provides an opportunity for us to consider the role of women in the UK. As a cosmopolitan (and not imperialist) feminist, I believe that we can learn from other cultures’ perspectives on the role of women, and the reality of women’s lives in these cultures, to understand the different forms that gender inequality takes, to recognise inequalities in our own societies, and to find solutions which will further the goal of gender equality at home as well as globally.  Although the UK, thanks to the many achievements of the feminist movement, is a society with a better record on gender equality, the position of women here is not perfect.

To build a more equal future for women in this country and in other parts of the world, we must accept some of the present realities by seizing opportunities to work with those willing to work with us in a constructive fashion, whether they are in Riyadh or Reykjavik, despite not agreeing on every matter. By engaging and establishing dialogue with Saudi women, this is something our project aims to do.

The economic crisis aggravates human rights violations

On March 1^st, 2009 three principal European human rights organizations issued a common declaration stating that the context of economic crisis aggravates racist and xenophobic behaviour all over Europe. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)  expressed their concern about the rise of violence against immigrants, refugees and minority groups in these times of economic crisis. According to the three organizations, prudence and responsibility are required by European political leaders in order to avoid the situation to escalate. European history indeed sadly proves that economic depression can lead to tragic social exclusion, hatred, violence and persecution. Did we really learn our lesson from the past and is Europe’s social and human rights protection strong enough to deal with the situation and combat this scapegoating effect? The results of the last European Parliament’s elections and the frightening rise of extreme-right and xenophobic parties in countries like the Netherlands and Great Britain does not seem very reassuring…

Link to read the press release

New Equality and Feminism Blog

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