I must admit I care very much about women’s affairs — not because I am a woman but because I feel that their enormous capabilities and energies remain largely untapped. They have not been harnessed in a manner that served either the women or their countries. Women’s rights should be dealt with from an Islamic rather than a Western perspective. This is very important since women in the West have succeeded in a great many areas but they have also become commodities intended to please men. This is the very reason why we should never seek so-called progress at the expense of human dignity and self-respect.
At present, the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders are holding their annual summit in Kuwait. As Gulf citizens, I think we women have the right to expect that a number of problems related to women be addressed from a political perspective instead of a social or cultural one.
Women in the Gulf have now become tools for pressuring the region’s governments, both domestically and internationally. Freedom in the region is being evaluated based on the level of freedom enjoyed by women; in other words, our progress is judged according to the achievements of women. The success of any meeting or conference is judged by the inclusion of the word “women” in its resolutions and final communiqués and by how much education and employment opportunities are available to women.
When looking at the measures taken by some Gulf states in allowing women a greater share in public life, it is clear that things have been done a bit impulsively without thorough planning. In Qatar, for example, where municipal elections were held recently, it appeared as if the whole operation was intended to portray women as losers when put to the test. In this particular case, the problem does not lie in the weakness of women or their inability to participate in public life. The problem lies with the entire society, including women, which fails to guarantee effective participation. It was as if some Gulf countries wanted to appear progressive and democratic while not fully appreciating the true meaning of democracy and what is required to make it succeed.
Let us stop making women the main subject in any dialogue and instead make them an integral part of national reforms. We should resist any attempt to use women as tools to pressure our countries. Any legislation addressing women’s rights should grow out of Islamic teachings. Society will not move forward if a mother cannot get her rights, if the voice of women is not heard in courts and if the Shoura Council and other government bodies do not deal with women in a fair and consistent way. We don’t want to see Gulf women being used as a carrot today and a stick tomorrow.
