Womens Fights for Their Rights in Egypt - Research Paper Example

? Women’s Fights for Their Rights in Egypt: A Study on the Earlier Times and Post Modernity Introduction: A study on the current state of condition in Egypt reveals that women in the country were able to enjoy more rights in the earlier times. With the gain of modernity, ironically, women seem to lose more of their rights with the society trying to force their power on them. In spite of all the struggles that women in the country have evidently engaged upon, they are still not considered as equal to the men in the society. Earlier women in the country had certain major rights within their society. Some of these were certainly equal to that of the men particularly with respect to education, marriage and economic status like earnings. In fact, this was quite unlike the situation in other countries where women did not receive so many rights equal to the men in the society (Tyldesley, n.d.). In countries like Egypt, as has been considered for the particular study, the status of women is considered as a measure and level of modernity. This leads to the development of policy measures and other practices within the society. Thus gender has always played a significant role in the Muslim societies of such countries (Sali, 2010). In the present times, the women in Egypt have to deal with the changes in the social institutions prevailing in the country that have initiated in the country post modernity (Lewis and Micklewright, 2006). However, in spite of women gaining rights in the country in the earlier times, yet reports in the present times reflect that women are losing their rights as against the men in the country and are being tried to be dominated by the males in the society. Part I: Women’s Rights in Egypt: Place of women in Egypt in the last 100 years: Beginning of 20th Century: Considering the last 100 years, the Egyptian women could never be seen or heard. However through the recent revolutions, women proved this wrong by presenting themselves and their struggles in front of the public thus altering the conditions of the women in the society. With the revolution during the Mubarak regime, the women participated more in different activities within the society along with performing their roles in their families (Jones, 2012). Before modernism, although the women were not equal with the men, still they had certain rights for themselves. Such rights were associated with the marriages, finances, courts, and divorces that were much higher in comparison with several other civilizations across the world (Deif, 2004). With the mass uprising on the streets of Egypt during the Mubarak regime, the women in the country struggled and tried to gain rights in different fields thus trying to obtain equality with the men in the country. As far as the position of women in Egypt is concerned, it was found to be unique since such rights, as mentioned above, were not prevalent in the other civilizations in the ancient times. The legal and economic rights that they enjoyed were similar to that of the men in their country, although such rights were mostly associated with their status in the society, the link of which could not be determined though (Otto, 2010). Their position in the society depended on their social rank irrespective of the gender of the individual. However on one hand, while moving from one social rank to the other, women could move along with their husbands; on the other hand, it was possible that a man could divorce his wife and marry someone else who could then get that rank that her husband held in the society. In spite of these differences and status of the women, still in the ancient time in Egypt, self-made women could be found (Picone, 2012). Egypt has certainly been one of the countries that provided the women with certain rights. This is evident from the following rights that the women experienced in the country of Egypt. The women in Egypt had certain rights for their academic achievements. Education was seen by the public as extremely important for women that can lead to their guarantees for rights in the society. Education was considered as one of the most significant rights for the women in the country (Katulis, 2004). Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the education facilities for the women in countries like Egypt had become enhanced and the women from the upper class families were the first ones to be allowed to go to schools. Sooner, women from all modest families were allowed to attend schools and hence attain the academic excellence that they were capable of achieving (McCarthy, 2001). Gradually the women in the country were allowed to get educated in different fields of their choices that were earlier not allowed (Stachursky, 2013). Earlier the women in Egypt had several rights with respect to their married life as well. Women had the right to choose their partner on their own with all rights to refuse any marriage proposal that they did not want to accept. This was particularly more relevant with respect to women who belonged to the higher status in the society. Although there were arranged marriages as well prevalent, yet the rights given to women reflect on the position that she had in her power to enjoy in relation to marriage. If the groom was considered suitable by the bride, the marriage would take place (Tucker, 1985). If they did not choose a husband on their own, her family or the society did not force her to accept anyone as her husband. She also had the rights to make negotiations and contracts depending on her wishes regarding her married life (Talhami, 1996). Also, there was no significant existence of early marriages in comparison to other countries. Child marriages in Egypt were found to be significantly less in comparison to other countries across the world. The patters of the marriage have been changing over the years with the society realizing the capabilities of women in the fields of education and profession thus not forcing them into child marriages. However, these significantly created challenges for the women who had to balance work and married life together once they were married (Rashad, Osman and Roudi-Fahimi, 2005). In case any women broke any law that is followed in the country, they also had to go to the court in order to defend her. Such rules were similar to that of the men in the country. Thus there was no differentiation between men and women in this regard (Joseph and Nagmabadi, 2003). Another significant right that women had was that of divorcing their husbands. The women had the rights to divorce their husbands if they were not happy with the marriage and they could also marry again. However, in order to get the divorce by law, the women had to present the court with good reasons (Francoeur et al, 2004). Custody of the children could be allowed to the women along with return of the entire dowry that her family provided during the marriage. Even if men demanded for the divorce, the custody of children was always gained by the women, accompanied by a huge amount of wealth (Ancient Egypt for Kids Women, n.d.). Struggles by Feminist Organizations in Egypt: The organization that was first developed for women was the development of the Egyptian Feminist Union (EFU) under the rule of Huda Sha‘arawi, who established the feminist movements in the year 1923. The purpose of this organization was to increase awareness among women to make the political and communal impartiality with men an actuality. The significance of this association was obtained with its alliance with the revolution of the 1919, where women were contesting against the British regal power along with their male counterparts, on the streets (Meade and Wiesner-Hanks, 2008). This organization consisted of middle and upper class women who were well educated and cultured, and considered the rights of women as an essential element of the process of modernization in the country (Walter, 2001). The association was linked with the separatist political movement of the lately rising Wafd political party. “With the exception of the Muslim Women’s society established in 1936 by Zaynab al-Ghazali, membership of early feminist movement in Egypt was not religiously inclined as much as it was associated with the larger Egyptian liberal modernist experience. By 1942, the Egyptian Feminist Party was established, and a few years later in 1948, Doria Shafiq established the Bint al-Nil organization with the goal of attaining gender equality in the social and political spheres” (Sika and Khodary, 2012). Part II: The Stage and Impact of Modernity: The Loss of Women’s Rights: With the era of modernity, the women in Egypt struggled more for equality of their rights with the men in the country. Although women have gradually ventured into almost every field in the country, yet they are still not treated as equal to the men (Tucker, 2010). With several factors being responsible for such a status of the women in Egypt, it is largely the male dominating society that hinders the progress of the women. The issues related to women have always been considered as secondary by the Islamists. The Islamists have significant influence on the actions of the government thus not being committed to the causes of the women in the country. The religion has always played a factor of discontent in the country of Egypt (Guenena and Wassef, n.d.). Women had to struggle against different governments and Islamic movements over the years for their rights. However, with the gradual circumstances in the personal lives of the women, they eventually took part in the social, economic, and political events (Guenena and Wassef, n.d.). The uprising of the January 2011 was initiated to bring the role and rights of women in front of the politics of the country. The uprising continued for around 18 days when the women in the country revolted along with the men. The revolt was against the dictatorship of Mubarak, and the discrimination of individuals based on gender. However, these women had to face harassments by the military police after the exile of the president of the country. Women during this time proved to be symbols of power trying to influence equality of gender (Sika and Khodary, 2012). Studies by Jones (2012) reveal that women have been strategizing, protesting and mobilizing for an equal Egypt (Abu-Lughod, 1998). The uprising of the women did not happen suddenly but was materializing gradually over the years. After the development of the Mubarak autonomous alteration, the certainties and confrontations for the rights of women support became evident. The rights of women are not only related to any earlier autocracy, but with an administration that apparently incited interests from the Western countries. This has comprehensive repercussions for women in a fresh Egypt directed by an Islamist party (Jones, 2012). In the last two decades, two major conditions of women in Egypt could be studied. The first is the higher education for women. This in turn increased the expectations of the women with respect to their living standards and career opportunities (Inhorn, 1996). The second is unemployment. In spite of women accomplishing higher education, they are still ignored jobs that are on the other hand being offered to the men in the country. Thus discrimination is being practiced in both the public and the private sectors while offering for career opportunities. These factors were the primary reasons for which the women in the country joined the protests with support of the women activists. However the women were still harassed by the police. These together led to the movement of democracy by the women (Sika and Khodary, 2012). Considering the movements initiated by the women for their rights in Egypt, it could be obtained that the apparent necessity to articulate for the tangential and insignificant women in society, provides an explanation for the immense apprehension, with issues associated with political economy, like the mitigation of poverty, illiteracy and struggle among classes, in addition to national independence. Egyptian feminists have presented themselves to be much less courageous in dealing with dissimilarities and issues that were mostly having an effect on women, for example, domestic violence (Rosin, 2012). These differences may be realized by having an overview on the historical and political context that led to the maturity of the women’s movements in Egypt. “Egyptian women activists always had to align themselves with nationalist movements - first the anti-colonial, later anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist struggles, and could not prioritize women’s issues without facing accusations of imitating the West” (Al-Ali, n.d.). Even after modernism in the country, men have never considered any significant measures to put an end to the discrimination between men and women in the country. Rather the women have always been harassed (Kearl, 2010). The women in the country have rather been used by the men for their election winning purposes and to present their struggles in front of the governments. The struggles by the men have never been in support of the women’s rights but they were only to make use of the movements led by the women for their rights. The women not only lost their rights, but were used by the political parties to attack one another. For example, “with regard to the sexual violence that has become a daily peril for women in Egypt, the Brotherhood blames the opposition parties for failing to secure their demonstrations and allowing “thugs” to attack women” (Mahmoud, 2013). According to the men and the political parties in the country, the women need to be restrained to certain limits that would be set by the men in the society. Even if the man in the house had beaten the woman, it was the woman who was to be blamed for the fault. Such measures and beliefs are being supported by the entire male society in the country thus affecting the rights of the women. However, the women have still not left their revolution and movements since it has taken them years to gain the rights that they have. Nonetheless considering the present situation of the country of Egypt, it can be said that after modernity and the recent uprising of the 2011, the women in the country have lost more of their rights, particularly that little that they had earlier, under the rule of the male dominating society in the country and the political parties that are only making use of the struggles of the women for their own benefits against each other (Mahmoud, 2013). Impact of the Arab Spring on the Rights of Women in Egypt: The advance of the Arab Spring across the Middle East countries was not an issue based on gender differences; however it was the subject of the rights of women that required identifying it in the insight of the Western counties (Panara and Wilson, 2013). “The increase in articles from a wide spectre of British, European and American journalists on the role of women sought to use women's rights and gender issues as a mark of success of the Arab Spring” (Arshad, 2013). Individuals across the Western countries kept watching with tempted breath as the Arab Spring gradually stretched out across the Middle East, hoping for new social equalities and moderate renewals as old tyrannical administrations were brought down and revolted against. “As has become a common part of Western discourse, the measurement of democratic success is weighed in the treatment of women, their advancement in politics, media and social spaces and the ways in which women's issues are defined and responded to” (Arshad, 2013). Although the Arab Spring was not a movement based on gender inequality, it marked a defining moment for the position of women among the public and the beginning of women participating in revolutions and movements was a momentous symbol in the altering dynamics that were about to take place in the country (Andersson and Djeflat, 2013). “While the revolutions were not defined by the role of women there was a general call by both men and women for regime change and revolution - but significantly the gender identities of the revolutionaries was not the focus of the revolutions” (Arshad, 2013). Nonetheless, the ousting of the conventional governments reflected that there were initiations for old measures to be ended. Women in Egypt established that they had right of entry to newer and wider addressees who were paying attention to them and they were now permitted for their rights to be heard to be heard (Arshad, 2013). It has been mentioned by most academics, politicians, commentators and as well as participants, in regard to the rights of women in the country that the Arab Spring has been a “turning point” for women across the countries in the Middle East (Arshad, 2013). The women through their presence during the Arab Spring have challenged the patriarchal standards of the social order; and the development of these noticeable women has brought about a standard swing in the argument on women in these countries that include Egypt as well (Rosin, 2012). “Yet their roles during the revolution, and now in the development of new, post-revolution societies, demands some attention and it is not without facing numerous challenges that these women foray into the public space” (Arshad, 2013). Conclusion: From the above study, it can be concluded that women in Egypt had certain rights earlier that were not prevalent in many other countries. However, with modernity in place in the country and the recent uprisings and movements in the country, where women took part effectively along with the men in the country, the women seem to have started losing almost all of their rights. The men in the society have started dictating more on the women. However with the Arab Spring and their involvement in the movements, the women have made their prominence among the public that reflects on the fact that these women would not lose their struggles without a fight. The women in Egypt are thus continuing their fights for equality of rights along with the men in their country. References Abu-Lughod, L. (1998). Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Al-Ali, N.S. (n.d.). Women’s Movements in the Middle East: Case Studies of Egypt and Turkey. 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