Arab women still unrecognised

UN assistant secretary general Rima Khalaf  Beirut - Somaya Mahmoud The United Nations undersecretary-general and the executive secretary of the Economic and Social Development Commission in Western Asia (ESCWA), Rima Khalaf recently held a lecture at the Issam Fares Centre for Lebanon in Beirut about "The Arab revolutions and the condtions of women in the region".
Khalaf said Arab women still face a lot of challenges in spite of recent positive political developments in the Arab region, pointing to the limitation of women's political and economical roles as the main challenge for Arab women. Khalaf linked the restrictions to laws biased against women, in addition to cultural and social traditions which still see the inequality between the two genders as a normal thing.
Khalaf also didn't agree with the general sentiment  about a regression in women's rights after Islamist movements took power in some Arab countries, giving Tunisia and Morocco as examples which have committed to their promises of gender equality.
"Islamist movements don't seem that threatening, in Tunisia and Morocco for example, the Islamist parties managed to set coalition governments in partnership with other secular parties, taking into account that they have also vowed to protect fundamental freedoms. I think Islamist parties are well aware about the growing power of public protests, so they don't want to be in a hostile position against the public," said Khalaf.
The UN undersecretary-general said recent frustration about women's conditions after the Arab revolutions were due to high expectations for quick social change in the countries that witnessed the uprisings. "These expectations have ignored the complicated social and economic conditions in the region that need a long time to be reformed," said Khalaf.
Khalaf also cited examples where women's roles were ignored across political developments in the region. Libya's ruling National Transitional Council includes only one woman as a member, while the transitional government didn't set any cabinet position aside for women. Regarding Egypt, no woman was present in the constitutional amendments committee, set by the ruling military council, while the advisory council which was established later included only three women out of 30 members.
The ESCWA executive-secretary however admitted she was worried about the rise of Islamist parties after the so-called Arab Spring. Khalaf said it was due to lack of clarity on the parties' stand on several social issues.