A survey conducted by the Thompson Reuters Foundation in November 2013 defined a ranking of the Arab countries that pose the greatest dangers to women in their societies and constitutions. The results show that, with the so-called Arab Spring, when several uprisings were established in the region, the acts of disrespect and violence against women have increased exponentially, which triggers the need for greater reflection on this question.
Of course, this issue is not an exclusive problem for these countries. A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that one third of all women in the world have been victims of domestic violence. The problem is that in Arabic-speaking countries, these occurrences are often stimulated by public policies that restrict freedom and women's rights, with prohibitions ranging from impeding the right to drive to sanctions for those who wish to attend school higher.
According to the survey released by Reuters, Egypt is considered the most popular country in the Arab world. dangerous for women, unlike the Comoros Islands, which have the best living conditions for them. The document was drawn up based on interviews with 336 experts from the 21 countries that make up the Arab League plus Syria. Check out the ranking of the ten worst:
ranking of the worst Arab countries for women to live
In Egypt, it is estimated that 99.3% of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment. The occurrence of rape cases in the country is also frequent, a problem that is aggravated by other actions of violence – domestic or not – and the reduced (or almost zero) female participation in the economy and politics.
The contradiction is revealed in the fact that women played an important role during the recent uprisings that marked the respective depositions of Hosni Mubarak and Mohammed Morsi. For this reason, it was believed that they would be the main beneficiaries of political transformations in the country, which, at least so far, has not happened.
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Iraq, which occupies the second place in the ranking, also has many problems in this regard. Since the invasion of the United States in 2003, women's rights have been increasingly regressed. Furthermore, the waves of violence, harassment and rape were rising. The illiteracy rate among women has grown 10% in the last ten years.
The problem of Saudi Arabia, in third place in the ranking, is mostly related to the rights that women do not have. They are prohibited from driving vehicles, traveling abroad, getting a job, opening a bank account and, if they want to go to college, they need the authorization of a male relative.
The situations mentioned above are repeated in the other countries in the ranking. The problem, according to those interviewed by the survey, is mainly related to the patriarchal system that prevails in the societies of the listed countries. The emergence of Islamic governments in Arab countries is also seen as a problem. Thus, even where discussions about the presence of women in politics are more advanced, their role is still very limited.
According to analysts, despite all the problems, there are some positive points, such as the growing participation of women in political issues and the struggles they carry out in search of bigger and better rights. In the same month as the survey of the Thompson Reuters Foundation, a Yemeni and two Liberians won the Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle for women's rights. In Turkey (which was not part of the survey), women protest repeatedly for rights such as driving vehicles and greater political freedom.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "The Arab world and women's rights"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/o-mundo-arabe-direito-das-mulheres.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
