Arab Women’s Political and Legal Success Promoted

March 28, 2006—Nearly 200 women leaders from 15 Middle Eastern and North African countries gathered March 26–28 in the Kingdom of Bahrain to share strategies to advance women’s status in community, economic and political spheres in their nations.

Barriers to women’s full participation in society is considered a major development obstacle in Arab countries. Widespread discrimination exists against women’s legal and property rights.

Recognizing the uneven pace of women’s advancement in the region, the conference was held to increase women’s leadership and advocacy networks. It was sponsored by the Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Supreme Council of Women, the U.S. Department of State and the American Bar Association.

The women leaders ranged from business leaders to United Nations officials. They came from throughout the region, from Tunisia to Egypt to the United Arab Emirates. CEDPA/Egypt Country Director Amel Gamal also joined the invitation-only conference.

In 2004, the Moroccan government adopted the landmark Family Law supporting women’s equality and granting them new rights in marriage and divorce. Several women’s organization members who lobbied the government to sign the law shared their advocacy efforts during one of the conference panels.

Gamal noted that these women were successful particularly because they developed strategies that respected the Shari’a, or Islamic law.

One prominent Kuwaiti woman who attended the conference announced that she plans to run in the 2007 parliamentary elections for a parliament seat. Kuwait changed its laws last year to give women the right to vote for the first time in the 2007 elections.

Gamal plans to take the lessons she learned and implement them in CEDPA’s Empowering Grassroots Egyptian Women through Advocacy Networks program.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, the program helps Egyptian networks develop strategies and spur action to advance women’s priorities, whether it’s promoting female literacy, promoting health or encouraging women to participate in parliamentary elections.

Learn more about CEDPA’s work in Egypt.

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