Less talk, more action needed on women’s rights!
This week, Ankara hosted a significant workshop entitled “The role of women in the development of OIC member states” organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It brought together leading academics, officials and women’s rights advocates from Iran to Egypt, from Palestine to Pakistan and from Turkey to Djibouti.
The aim of the workshop was to discuss the ways to improve the status and conditions of women in the OIC member states in order to enable them to participate effectively in the political, economic, cultural and social sphere.
One thing that makes this workshop more important is that its outcomes will be submitted to the 6th Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC Member States, which will take place on November 1-2, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey.
No doubt such workshops are significant in raising public awareness of women's problems on a national and international level and should be strongly supported, but from the other side we wish to see that talks in those workshops are practiced in real life.
The conditions of women and their role in the social life differ from country to country. The status of women in the public is highly dependent on where they live. Because the workshop was on the role of women in the OIC member states, my first example will be Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately, the record on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is limited in comparison to international standards that many countries enjoy and has often been called into question. As is known to all, Saudi women are not allowed to drive or travel without male guardianship and they face several other limitations. But this doesn’t mean that positive developments not taking place on the status of women in the Kingdom.
One of the most promising developments regarding women in Saudi Arabia was when the OIC appointed four women to top positions earlier this year. The four women were appointed to the departments of cultural and social affairs, media and information, women and family, and political affairs at OIC’s headquarters in Jeddah. Their appointment was definitely a shot in the arm for women empowerment and a great encouragement for Saudi women.
On the sidelines of the workshop, I had chance to chat with one of them. The OIC’s director of media and information, Maha Akeel, who is one of the first women to take up a leading position at the organization, says although some challenges still exist, there are crucial steps taken by the Saudi government regarding women issue in the recent years.
In the recent years, Saudi women are, indeed, breaking their barriers and becoming visible in the fields of politics, business or even sports. The appointment of the first Saudi woman, Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, as president’s undersecretary for the female section at the General Authority for Sports this year is another example that should be regarded as a plus point in Saudi Arabia’s record. Also, Saudi women were allowed to vote in municipal elections for the first time last year.
Above examples could be considered as a small step for the countries that enjoy international standards in women’s rights since years, but it is a giant leap for Saudi Arabia. It is important to underline that the life is for sure changing — step by step — for Saudi women.
Every country’s record on women’s rights should be evaluated within its own context. On the other side, in Turkey women can drive, travel freely or vote since 1930s, but we can hardly say that the condition of women is at the expected level. Unfortunately, we still see news of violation against women occupying pages in daily newspapers in Turkey. Just last month, a young Turkish woman was attacked by a man on an Istanbul public bus for wearing shorts. The incident caused a massive public outcry and women in various cities took to the streets. Indeed, the protests were not only a response to the attack on that young girl, but were a wholesale rejection to discrimination against women.
Today, regardless of wherever they are in the world, there is a serious discrimination toward women in social, political or business sphere. This is not only limited to Muslim countries. According to a research, one in three working women in the UK admits to feeling disadvantaged in the workplace, believing that men are offered great opportunities. This could be even seen more in private sector than public. A woman who holds the same title as a man and carries same responsibilities could be paid less. A woman either faces inequality or in order to be accepted in a man-dominated political and business life decides to act as “manly.” Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel could be good examples for the second case.
What is more ridiculuous is that women are even not included to the discussions on women-related issues; such as abortion. There are several TV programs where 4-5 men have a seat and discuss the women’s rights in that country without asking the opinion of a single woman.
What the streets of the Muslim countries showed us was that both men and women took to the streets to demand democracy, justice, equality and freedom. When it comes to defending the country, both men and women stand on the front-lines. So, all women deserve a life where they could be able to get their education, to work and participate in all aspects of public life as of men. The woman should be able to hold the positions of decision-making as of men.
The core of the development of the Muslim countries lies more investment on women, mutual respect and not treating any gender as weak. Allow me to conclude with the quote from Desmond Tutu: “If we are going to see real development in the world then our best investment is women.”
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Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes mainly on issues regarding Turkey’s relations with the Middle East.
She can be reached on Twitter @SinemCngz
