Baroness Hussein-Ece
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the situation of women in the Middle East after the events of the Arab Spring.
Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)
My Lords, when Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010, he became the catalyst for a wave of protests that triggered revolutions against dictatorial regimes that had ruled the Middle East for decades and generations. These protest movements called for social justice for impoverished citizens who faced rising unemployment, reduced living standards and a lack of political freedom and free speech. Men and women all wanted dignity as well as democracy. While each country had its own specific challenges and difficulties, these common themes emerged as calls from the protestors began to echo across the region. The demand for human rights came from both men and women, with women playing an active and unprecedented role in the protests and revolutions.
The changes sweeping countries affected by the events of the Arab uprisings presented opportunities to establish real progressive changes in the attitudes towards and treatment of women across the Arab world. However, in taking a long, hard look, and despite the existence of international resolutions drafted to protect and empower women, the challenges facing women remain overwhelming. In particular, the initial small gains made by women on the front lines of their respective revolutions are in real danger of regression as religious and male-dominated conservatism occupies the power vacuum in some countries.
The Arab uprisings were, it is fair to say, among the most important and powerful events of the past 100 years, some say since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The aftermath of the revolutions has brought a backlash against the rights of citizens, particularly women, when we contrast the current status of women’s rights in these countries with the roles played by women of all ages, ideologies, ethnicities and social backgrounds in the uprisings in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. When dictators began to fall, there was relief and a sense that women would be able to gain political empowerment. The Arab spring signalled many new beginnings, possibilities and, most of all, hope for a better future. On 25 January 2011, as we watched millions of Egyptians demonstrating in Tahrir Square, demanding jobs, freedom, social justice and the removal of the then President Mubarak, the voices of millions of women, Copts, Muslims and Bedouin stood together in a truly historical moment.
Another triumph for women during the Arab spring was their constant presence throughout the social media sphere. Some commentators dubbed it the “social media revolution” and debate has continued about the effects and role of social media in the Arab spring. It marked a turning point of instant news and access to what was happening on the ground. I read many tweets from women in real time who were taking part in a revolution. Yet these women found themselves suddenly targeted by the authorities and by factions. We saw the horror of violence against women unfold in Tahrir Square. It was clear that those carrying out gang rapes were organised, well paid and well protected. They were in the hundreds. Did it stop the women? The following days saw the insurgence of women protesters boldly increasing—multiplied, loud and fearless.
The Egyptian experience perhaps brought a sharp focus upon these attacks. During the Tahrir Square protests, most shockingly, there were numerous reports of police sexual attacks on female protestors—and, infamously, the virginity tests. Egyptian military doctors subjected some female demonstrators to invasive virginity tests, following police arrests for demonstrating. A young Egyptian woman, Samira Ibrahim fought to take her case to court, along with other female protestors. While an order was put out demanding an end to the practice, the military court cleared the doctor who had performed the test. These appalling tactics were used to scare off the growing presence of women during the Egyptian protests.
Alongside these reports came stories of the sexual assault of female journalists. CBS reporter Lara Logan came to the attention of western media when she reported her story of having been sexually assaulted by men while she was reporting at the demonstrations. Following this, further stories reported a young British journalist, Natasha Smith, and an American-Egyptian commentator, Mona Eltahawy, were subjected to similar attacks. So when dictators began to fall, there was relief that women would be able to taste what political empowerment felt like. The Arab spring signalled many new beginnings, possibilities and most of all, hope for a better future. However the rise to power of religiously-dominated patriarchal parties in Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya meant new restrictions imposed on women. The post-revolution regression of female equality has been most acute in Egypt, first and disappointingly under the elected Government of the Muslim Brotherhood, and presently under the transitional Government. Women were not represented at all in the constitutional committee under the Muslim Brotherhood, and though they now make up 5% of the membership under the transitional Government, they remain largely isolated from decision-making positions and structures.
In Morocco, there were eight women in the previous Cabinet; today there is only one. Earlier this year, the Moroccan Parliament adopted a decree lowering the age of marriage for girls from 18 to 16, which is considered a major setback. A first draft of the electoral law in Libya reserved 10% of seats in the constituent assembly for women, but the quota was later abandoned. In Yemen, despite the country’s commitment to international women’s rights conventions, the transitional Government has failed to implement and enforce even existing laws designed to protect women. In Syria, the situation is most acute and declining. The conflict, ongoing since early 2012, has left more than 100,000 Syrians dead—including 6,000 children—and estimates for Syrian refugees living in Lebanon now top 1 million. Refugees, in particular women, have faced isolation, marginalisation and violence in refugee camps. Many of these women refugees face sexual harassment in public places such as where they obtain their assistance coupons. Those left fighting for democratic choice within Syria face disproportionate punishment for their actions, including detainment, torture and assault. Syrian women leaders have emphasised the urgent need for Geneva II—which has sadly been delayed yet again—and for Syrian women to be part of that political process.
On 29 October, Syrian activists and leaders gathered alongside 80 others in Jordan for the Arab Regional Training on Women, Peace and Security, organised by women’s rights organisation Karama in partnership with the UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality and the UN Development Programme. It was held to build the capacity of civil society leaders to implement international resolutions on women, peace and security, and to lobby for national action plans advocating women’s inclusion in the transition and the peacebuilding process. When we reflect on what the Arab spring did, it would be impossible to provide a full analysis of its effects on the lives of women, primarily because in many instances the Arab spring—or autumn as it has now been dubbed—continues in various forms, as the many countries continue to adjust constantly to new rules of law, governance and uncertainty. However, for the first time in recent Middle Eastern history, women played a crucial role in defining their country’s future. It gave women a platform for their voices to be heard and their stories to be shared, but the news, as I have briefly outlined, is not promising. Many women feel their lives and their rights have deteriorated. Rebeca Grynspan, the UN Under-Secretary-General and associate administrator of the UN Development Programme, stated:
“The character of this century will be determined by our ability to walk towards gender equality. All the studies not only suggest that if you tackle gender equality, you empower women, but you also will be much more effective in fighting poverty and hunger”.
The measure of democratic success is weighed in the treatment of women, their advancements in politics, media and social spaces and the ways in which women’s issues are defined and responded to. I would therefore ask for an assurance from the Minister that, when meeting delegations or when Geneva II is finally convened, the United Kingdom will take a strong lead in ensuring that there will be representation from women and that women’s rights will be on the table and part of that discussion. It surely cannot be right that women’s voices continue to be suppressed by male-dominated talks that affect the lives of 50% of the MENA—Middle East and north Africa—countries. I am grateful for the helpful briefing from Karama, whose founder is Hibaaq Osman. I look forward to hearing from other noble Lords, in particular from my noble friend Lady Hodgson, who will be making her maiden speech.
Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on securing this very important debate. The position of women in the Middle East is a constant source of concern for many of us. At first, I thought that the so-called Arab spring was good news for women in those countries but, sadly, the effects are not proving universally beneficial.
Women played a great role in many countries’ demonstrations and protests. As we have heard, they were not afraid to be out on the streets with their men, and they displayed even greater courage than our own sisters in the suffragette movement did at the beginning of the last century. In fact, it is not very long since women in this country had few rights.
The Arab spring started in Tunisia and spread quickly. The leaders of Egypt, Libya and Yemen were overthrown. The protests in Syria have led to a tragic civil war in that most beautiful country. Before the Arab uprisings, women enjoyed some rights—Islam did not mean necessarily that women were oppressed. Although not strictly an Arab country—and I have to put in a plug here—Iran was and is quite remarkable in its encouragement of women’s education and their freedom to use contraception. Iran is often quoted in family planning circles for its amazing 1.9 fertility rate. That is less than the replacement level and it means that women are having fewer children.
Family planning, despite the ayatollahs, is thriving in Islamic Iran. In some countries where Islamists predominantly led the uprisings, there has been a falling back for women’s rights and freedom, but not in Iran. It was beginning to happen in Egypt under the Morsi presidency, where women’s rights were being talked about. However, that was a tragedy for Egypt because, together with other restrictions that we have heard about, it gave a cause célèbre for a coup by the army, which I have to say should have been condemned by our Government. Whether we like them or not, the way for democratically elected Governments in the Middle East—the Hamas-led Government in Palestine was another example in 2006—to be removed is at the ballot box, not at the point of a gun. I do not like the coalition Government very much, as noble Lords may have noticed, but we have to wait until they are dispatched, or not, at the next election. We lose all credibility if we preach democracy and then refuse to recognise the decision of the electorate in other countries.
I want to make a special plea for our Government to recognise what has been going on in Bahrain since the Arab uprisings and to recognise the treatment of women there in particular. Hundreds of women have been sacked for participating in pro-democracy demonstrations, and even those who got their jobs back have had to give up their trade union membership and employment rights. They cannot vote or participate in any way with the political process there. Women have been arrested in their homes in the middle of the night; they have been tortured and sexually abused; and some have gone on hunger strike.
A teacher who led a protest march—I have the details—was arrested, tortured, sentenced and refused permission to work again. A young mother and activist—sick with cancer, as it happened—was made to stand in a doorway while she was sexually abused, all for wearing a political T-shirt. A heavily pregnant woman was jailed with no charge because she objected to her husband’s arrest at a checkpoint. At least 13 women have died in Bahrain, with no one being held accountable.
There are many other examples—I have a long list—and the men have suffered too, but this is a country that we are friends with. It is our ally and supplier of oil, and we have done nothing about these abuses during the uprisings in Bahrain. We should be ashamed. Sooner or later, this will all come back to haunt us.
Finally, there is some good news. Over the past 10 years, a quiet revolution has been going on in the Middle East. Health services and education have improved in most countries, although sadly not in Yemen. Iraq had very fine health services but they are subject to great strain at the moment. Gender equality has been achieved in education in most Middle Eastern countries, although, as we have heard, opportunities afterwards are still very limited. Maternal mortality has dropped dramatically, although again, not in Yemen. In Yemen 110 women per 100,000 still lose their lives in childbirth, which is very high indeed, but in other countries the rate has come down and the most remarkable thing of all is that over the past 20 years women have been following the example of their sisters in Iran and accessing family planning to limit their families.
The Arab spring, we are told, was led by the explosion in the number of young people wanting a better, different life. The women want a better, different life but a researcher in the USA, Professor Eberstadt, calls it the “youth quake”, which I rather like. However, the drop in family size all over Middle Eastern countries will balance that out eventually and reap a huge benefit for women. Later marriage, which is also occurring, and fewer babies mean better health for women, a longer time in education, a better family income as mothers join the workforce and, I hope, more time to forge their way into the constipated—if noble Lords will excuse the medical term—male politics all over the Middle East. In the future we can expect a “women quake” and good luck to them. We will be here, ready to help.
Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)
My Lords, it is an enormous honour to enter this House. I rise with some trepidation to make my maiden speech and I am delighted to be able to do so on this important subject. I begin by thanking my supporters and all who have made me so incredibly welcome. I am truly grateful to Peers on all sides of the House and to all the staff. Although new to the Palace of Westminster, I am not new to the political world, having worked for many years as a volunteer in the Conservative Party, including chairing the Conservative Women’s Organisation, being an elected member on the board and chairing the Conservative Party conference in 2011.
On a visit to Washington with the Conservative Women’s Organisation in 2006, we met groups of women from Afghanistan and Iraq. Talking to them made me realise how difficult their lives were and encouraged me on my return to set up the Conservative Women’s Muslim Group to promote understanding and dialogue. That meeting awoke in me a very strong interest in international women’s issues, particularly in conflict and post-conflict countries, which I have continued to work on since, including visiting a number of such countries to listen to the women there. I also sit on the steering board of the Foreign Secretary’s initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflict countries and I pay him great tribute for his courage and resolve in driving this subject up the global political agenda.
Time is short so I now turn to the subject of our discussion. I pay tribute to the noble Baroness for securing this debate about the situation of women after the Arab spring—or rather, the Arab storm, as described by a Tunisian friend—because where regime change has occurred, women’s rights are rolling backwards. I begin by quoting from a Saferworld report entitled It’s Dangerous to be the First:
“Women’s visibility in the 2011 wave of protests that shook the Middle East marked a watershed. Although women’s activism was not new in 2011, their centrality to the uprisings was remarkable. In the political transitions that followed, women appear to have come under increased pressure to ‘leave politics to men’ and ‘return to normalcy’”.
Looking to Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, I should like to raise a couple of the most pressing issues. First, all these countries suffer from an enormous lack of security. This affects women disproportionately, making it extremely hard for them to take part in public life. Security and justice in these countries are in the hands of men. A Tunisian lawyer e-mailed me last week, saying:
“We are really suffering and struggling—terrorism now is a part of our living. The radical Islamist groups are out of control and they can act whenever and wherever they want”.
An activist from Women4Libya wrote similarly to me, saying:
“I’ve known many friends and family members who at the very worst are intimidated and are victims to theft, abductions, sexual harassment/attack and violent death”.
Also, we have seen in our media the reports of violence in Egypt, including women being sexually abused and raped in Tahrir Square. It was Jinnah, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who said:
“No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men”.
Secondly, the writing of new constitutions is a source of much anxiety. Women’s voices need to be heard to ensure that gender equality is embedded. In September 2012, I participated in a British Council workshop in Tunis on drafting constitutions with Libyan women but I understand that only six seats of the 60-member constitutional drafting committee in Libya will be allocated to women.
Article 11 of the new Egyptian constitution of 2012 mandates the state,
“to guarantee equality between men and women in political, social, economic and cultural fields without breaching the principles of Islamic Sharia”.
However, Islamic Sharia can be interpreted to forbid women to go out unaccompanied, to encourage early marriage and to insist on their being veiled. Following the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood, a 50-member constituent assembly is tasked with amending this constitution, but only five members are women.
In Tunisia, although 27% of parliamentarians are women, nearly all come from the Islamist party, which fielded politically inexperienced women candidates. Thus, I am told that their participation in the writing of the constitution is almost worthless and they only toe the party line.
Across the whole region has crept a dangerous fundamentalist credo suggesting that women’s rights belong with the ousted dictators and that women in leadership roles is un-Islamic. To achieve true democracy in these countries there has to be peace, security and equality for everyone, not just for half the population. I would ask the Minister to ensure that the British Government exert all the influence that they can to enable women to play their equal and rightful part in helping to take their countries forward.
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, it is a privilege to welcome my noble friend Lady Hodgson to your Lordships’ House, particularly after such a thoroughly knowledgeable and passionate speech. As a former president of the Conservative Women’s Organisation, she joins an illustrious group of women on the Conservative Benches who have previously held that position: my noble friends Lady Byford, Lady Seccombe and Lady Anelay, who are with us this afternoon. I know that in that role she founded the Conservative Women’s Muslim Group, whose events I have had the privilege of attending. She is also known for her encouragement of many women in the preparatory stages of standing for election to the other place. Among her other roles outside your Lordships’ House, my noble friend Lady Hodgson is patron of the Afghan Connection and a member of the Association of Oxfam. I understand that she not only listens to women’s concerns but has unfortunately got a little too close to the action on occasion in Afghanistan. Of course, she is known for her expertise in gender issues and international development and will make a worthy contribution to your Lordships’ House, but I also know from having worked alongside her in Conservative Campaign Headquarters that she brings with her a natural warmth and kindness to everyone she meets.
For many women in the Middle East, the Arab spring has brought little change in terms of the law but not in terms of courage. The simple act of a woman driving a car in Saudi Arabia is a protest and putting such footage on YouTube is courageous, as every computer is, I believe, traceable by the regime. That shows how much we women sometimes take for granted in the UK but we should not be too complacent as Tunisia’s Parliament now has 27% women and the UK has only 23%. However, all eyes in the Arab world are on Egypt, which is currently writing its new constitution, and it is Egypt that I wish to focus on this afternoon.
The position of women in Egyptian society since the military intervention earlier this year has now arrived at a tipping point. Previously, under President Mubarak, women were sparse in the political arena and were not really visible. The protests in January 2011 included mass protest by women, and it looked as though the tide was turning. However, under the period of rule by SCAF and then President Morsi matters started to decline again.
In my own visit to Egypt in October 2011, I found women in Alexandria scared to go out in public. This was not only because the lack of a police force meant a decline in law and order, but because they felt under increased pressure to veil themselves whenever in public. Christian families were reportedly asking their daughters to wear headscarves so they could not be picked out in any way. The radicals were empowered as women were objectified. There were reports of acid attacks and other assaults, and the security forces did nothing.
However, I believe that two factors halted this declining trajectory. The Morsi regime tried to hand power to the Al-Azhar University, but the university refused to take it. Its members did not want to be the ultimate interpreters of the constitution in Egypt, which is what President Morsi offered them. They would not allow him to remove the Grand Imam, and I understand that in future that post will not be appointed by the President. These were key moves towards a theocratic state, and they were thwarted. As the only pan-Sunni institution to have survived the fall of the Caliphate in 1924, Al-Azhar’s influence extends across the Sunni world. I believe women across the region will in future be very grateful for the institutional independence and courage shown by Al-Azhar. I do hope that Her Majesty’s Government have thanked them too.
The second matter is the women themselves, who could see how this trajectory would affect them and their daughters in the future. A fear barrier was broken in 2011 and it was not going to be resurrected. Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, who was in Egypt during the anti-Morsi protests this year, recalled to me that he saw a young veiled woman in Tahrir Square holding a placard of Morsi with a red cross through it. This action would have been unthinkable three years ago, as would the current presence of women in the Egyptian media as talk show hosts and political commentators, and—due to the cost of living in Egypt—as an increasingly vital part of the labour market. Women have been given a platform and have risen to the occasion. Feminism is not being seen as some kind of foreign import but increasingly as an Egyptian value. Egyptian women were not going to allow the revolution of 2011 to be taken from them.
In Parliament last month, it was a privilege to hear from Mrs Mona Zulficar, vice-president of the Egyptian constitutional drafting committee and an international corporate lawyer. The very fact that a woman is in such a prominent and influential position is remarkable in itself, and her passion to ensure the rights of all Egyptians was matched only by her keenly felt responsibility on behalf of women across the Middle East and north Africa. Women’s rights groups from across the region have been contacting the Egyptian constitutional committee to say, “You have to get this right—you are our hope”.
Therefore I believe that the UK and the EU’s efforts for human rights and democracy need to focus urgently on Egypt. The immediate humanitarian crisis is of course Syria, but for the human rights and democracy brief and budget within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Egypt should be the focus. Egypt is pivotal to change in this region.
I hope that my noble friend the Minister can indicate what projects Her Majesty’s Government fund in the democracy and human rights programme, and how these prioritise women’s rights. Television, particularly satellite television, has a huge influence in Egypt. Has Her Majesty’s Government considered funding programmes that would reinforce the role of women in society?
Much of UK taxpayer support to Egypt goes through the European Union. The disturbing reports of €0.5 billion of aid being unaccounted for are concerning, not least because this should have included at least £70 million of UK taxpayers’ money. As Karel Pinxten, the European Court of Auditors member responsible for the report into EU aid to Egypt, said:
“In the past, the Commission set forward some conditions for giving aid to the country in terms of human rights, in terms of democracy, in terms of public finance management, in terms of fighting corruption”.
If EU money from female UK taxpayers is to be invested in Egypt, at the moment it should be ploughed into projects that will support the courage of Egyptian women. Respecting the rights of women should be a condition of EU support.
Baroness Uddin
My Lords, I am proud of the Committee today because there is so much change in the tone of our discussion and so much agreement, which was not always the case across the House when I came in 1998. I thank my noble friend—I consider her to be a friend—Lady Hussein-Ece for allowing us to debate this issue, and I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson. We have shared many platforms on gender matters. It is a tribute to her that I never knew that she was such a staunch Tory Party member. I look forward to hearing from her and working with her on many more occasions.
The Arab spring was the people’s revolt against dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, although its impact on women remains unclear. Women stood hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder with their men in Tunis, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere. They protested and led and organised protesters, spending days and months at the coal face of the revolution and making sure that their voices were heard across the globe.
I had the privilege of visiting Tunis following the toppling of the military rule—a couple of days after, in fact—and a few of us stood and talked with protesters on the square and with those occupying the presidential palaces. We witnessed men and women standing together for their country’s future. As a mere observer, I believed, like many others, that women would participate in the development and building of their new nations and Governments. Political parties on the ground acknowledged the importance of including women in governance. A report by UN Women noted that the high presence of women protesters calling for change raised hopes for freedom and equality for men and women in Arab societies, and it said that it was an exciting moment to hear women’s political voices campaigning for democracy. Women were able to express opinions publicly, not only about dictatorship but about their aspirations for a better future, education, employment, justice and peace. Significantly—this is a point on which I want to concentrate—many women reported their experience of violence and sexual assault, particularly at the hands of military personnel, when they took part in protests or were arrested.
As the revolution has descended into chaos, murder, summary justice, judicial killing and civil war, women and children have suffered mortifying violence, the cruellest conditions and punishment. Vulnerable women protestors were raped, beaten and arrested as a way to deter them from being on the street. Rape has been reported in Egypt, Syria and Libya, as well as in the refugee camps, where women are fleeing persecution and seeking shelter from harm.
In 2010, I raised the matter of rape as a weapon of war and conflict, and I drew your Lordships’ attention to rape being used as a weapon during the war between Pakistan and Bangladesh, when hundreds of thousands of women were raped, tortured or killed. Many have since died without seeing the perpetrators brought before the courts, without having their struggles believed and without seeing justice. We have come far since then and I applaud the Foreign Secretary for his leadership in getting rape on the agenda. I remain concerned, however, that the practicality of implementing our good intentions has yet to be worked out. Rape, including of children, continues to be used widely in today’s global conflicts. Does the Minister believe that measures are in place to ensure that agencies working on the ground can record allegations of rape so that the perpetrators can be identified and brought to justice? More importantly, what resources and medical support are being made available to women who report rape?
The Arab uprising was undoubtedly a crossroads for many women in the Arab world. It opened up dialogue with women in countries and across borders and regional boundaries, aided by technology and the Facebook generation. It gave many more women a platform for their voices to be heard, albeit temporarily. The opinions of women are now extremely divided. Many have argued that the situation of women in the region has worsened post-revolution and that the uprising has eroded many of the legal frameworks that were in place and which provided some protection and some rights for women.
Samira Ibrahim wrote that a revolution has come and gone but done little for Arab women. Domestic violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation are still part of the status quo across a region covering more than 20 countries and 350 million people. Another journalist, Mona Eltahawy, wrote that:
“Until the rage shifts from the oppressors in our presidential palaces to the oppressors on our streets and in our homes, our revolution has not even begun”.
Whatever the reality on the ground, we can be certain that the uprising has wider implications. While the regimes changed in Egypt and Tunisia, calls to introduce democratic reforms have swept the region, and two of them are notable. In 2011, Moroccans overwhelmingly voted for a new constitution to include pledges to achieve equality and to,
“ban and eliminate discrimination according to gender”.
In Saudi Arabia, where the uprising may or may not have been seen as a contributory factor, however small, towards enfranchising Saudi women, a number of women have been appointed to the Shura Council and are to be given the right to vote and to stand for election in coming years. Of course, we have to be cautious and guarded. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge that the world today is a very different place from the world of 20 to 30 years ago. There have been positive steps; namely, that 139 countries and territories now guarantee gender equality in their constitutions. However, we know that none of this means an end to injustice, violence and inequality either in women’s homes or in their working lives, just as we continue our own struggle in the West and elsewhere in the world. The transformation may take generations. Given the volatility in the region, it is difficult to predict the impact of the revolution on the status of Arab women as political, social and economical changes are in transit.
Women were leaders in the uprising, campaigning for democracy, justice and peace, and demanding a say in how their countries and futures are to be shaped. It would be reckless and unwise to conclude that the Arab spring brought equal rights to women and men, but those women made historic efforts which will have defined a generation. I hope that, for our part, we will not abandon them as they march on.
Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)
My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hussein-Ece, for initiating this debate. I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson of Abinger, on her excellent maiden speech. As chair of the advisory board, Gender Action for Peace and Security, she has played a pivotal role on a cross-party basis in ensuring that this issue remains high on the policy agenda. I thank her for that. In particular, I pay tribute to GAPS for its No Women No Peace campaign, calling on the UK Government to honour commitments made to women in conflict.
As we have heard, a key characteristic of the popular uprisings in the Middle East and the north Africa region was the prominent role of women. As the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, described, there were women who were engaged in protesting, blogging, hunger-striking and organising. They were, in the spring of 2011, and continue to be a powerful force for change. However, as the noble Baronesses, Lady Hussein-Ece and Lady Hodgson, described, they are becoming increasingly sidelined from the future of their nations through a lack of inclusion in peace talks and constitution negotiations.
The report published in September by CARE International, circulated in the briefing for today’s debate, outlined just how much international donor policy needed to adapt in the wake of the Arab spring. It drew on the experiences of more than 300 men and women in Egypt, Morocco, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and found that the outlook for women in the region remains uncertain. Nearly all Middle Eastern countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report scored more poorly in 2012 than they did in 2011. At the same time, the uprisings created an explosion of new activism by women, and they are making themselves heard in transition processes such as the National Dialogue Conference in Yemen.
What is clear from the heartfelt accounts in the report is that the international community should invest in longer-term development programmes that will change the attitudes and practices that are a barrier to women’s participation in public life. We should support initiatives that will bridge the religious-secular divide that is becoming increasingly polarised. As the noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, said, women’s involvement on the front lines of the Arab spring has also been characterised by exclusion and systematic violence. Sexual assault, gang rape and public beatings were used to discourage women from taking part.
The EU meeting with Ministers from the Middle East and north Africa in Paris on 12 September on strengthening the role of women in society coincided with EU negotiations to review and revise aid and trade relations with the countries of the MENA region. While the EU has committed to promoting a “more for more” approach, whereby aid recipient states receive funding if they implement democratic reforms, the approach does not explicitly mention women’s rights. That was a point highlighted by the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge. How does the Minister think the EU will hold recipient countries to account if they fail to respect the rights of women to take part in decision-making institutions and processes?
Will the Minister indicate what steps the Government will take to factor benchmarks on women’s rights alongside wider benchmarks on good governance and human rights into the UK’s and the EU’s aid, trade and wider economic co-operation with states in the Middle East? How will he ensure that women’s rights organisations are consulted on the development of these benchmarks? An environment should be supported whereby women politicians, women’s rights organisations and women’s rights activists can freely operate and be protected from intimidation. The Government should ensure flexible funding mechanisms for women’s rights organisations so that capacity can be built and improved and communications can be established, and they should ensure that they have the resources to participate in the future direction of their nations.
In the recent debate on Syria, I referred to Oxfam’s report Shifting Sands, which highlighted that many refugee women and girls no longer have access to the resources and services that they used to have in Syria before the conflict began that enabled them to fulfil their traditional gender roles. I once again ask the Minister what assessment the Government have made and what action they are taking to understand and tailor policies to the impact of the crisis on the women affected, including violence against women and girl refugees. What steps will Her Majesty’s Government—both DfID and the FCO—take to work with Jordan, Lebanon and other states that are accepting refugees from Syria to support women refugees in earning a dignified livelihood, recognising the concerns from the local population and national authorities about the uncertain economic impact?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Hussein-Ece for bringing such an important issue to the Committee, and all noble Lords who have participated in this important debate. It would be remiss of me not to single out my noble friend Lady Hodgson, who I welcome to our Benches in the House of Lords and congratulate on her excellent maiden speech. It was both thoughtful and reflective of her great expertise across many areas, but particularly in the international field in relation to women’s rights. I look forward to working with her in the years ahead on this issue and on other matters. I wish her a very warm welcome.
I congratulate all noble Lords on their contributions. The noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, made a point about there being agreement across the board, and I believe that on this issue we all stand as one.
The UK strives to promote gender equality and to tackle violence against women as a matter of principle. We believe that human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people, regardless of gender. Where women have equal access to education, healthcare and political and economic opportunities, societies, as several noble Lords have mentioned, are healthier, more prosperous and more peaceful.
We all remember the Arab spring in 2011. Those who looked at their television screens and those who tweeted or went on to Facebook would have seen those great flags of hope, as young men and, importantly, young women came out in the hope of a new beginning. They took courageous stands in protests across the region, and enduring symbols of the Arab spring stay with us today. Men, women, youngsters and the old participated together in demonstrations, calling for a realisation of their political and economic aspirations. The noble Lord, Lord Collins of Highbury, highlighted that very well.
Since then, some—I use that word carefully—progress has been made. Many women have participated in democratic elections for the first time, shaping new Governments. In Libya, for example, women’s groups play an important role in civil society, but as my noble friend Lady Hodgson pointed out, many challenges remain in terms of political participation.
In Yemen, women now hold 126 of the 565—that is, 22%—seats in the National Dialogue Conference. I did a bit of a self-test here. I went to our House of Commons, where there are currently 146 women out of the 650 representatives, which I believe is also 22%, so perhaps the focus is not just, as it is today, on the MENA region; there is also much work for us to do elsewhere.
Prominent women are taking the lead in their societies. Let us not forget Tawakkol Karman, who jointly won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work. I have also learnt recently that she has given back the $500,000 that she won to be used in greater fights for freedoms and equality in her country. Earlier this year, my noble friend the Senior Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lady Warsi, met another prominent woman from the region, the United Arab Emirates’ Development Minister, Sheikha Lubna.
However, challenges remain. As my noble friend Lady Hussein-Ece highlighted, the future for many women across the region remains uncertain, and there have not been the gains that we had hoped for—and, more importantly, that those in the region had hoped for—in democratic or political participation and opportunity. Let us be clear: women are underrepresented at senior levels of government and commerce in the region. Moreover, they often face basic economic inequalities, such as pay gaps.
The challenge is compounded by the political crises affecting parts of the region. Many noble Lords have rightly referred to Syria, where women face the challenges inherent in living in a conflict situation. In Libya, many women have become victims of sexual and domestic violence, as the noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, highlighted, and there is weak access to medical services. In Yemen, increased instability since 2011 has seen a major humanitarian crisis. As my noble friend Lady Berridge highlighted, the hopes that we saw in Tahrir Square in Egypt have not been realised in terms of political participation.
So what is the UK doing? Several noble Lords raised questions, and it is right that we highlight the steps that the Government have taken and continue to take. We recognise that increasing women’s participation is a vital part of supporting transitions and building stability in the region. As such, the UK is taking strong action to support women’s empowerment through a number of approaches.
The noble Lord, Lord Collins, and my noble friend Lady Berridge raised the issue of the EU fund and the donor policy. We have set up the Arab Partnership Fund, which was created in 2011 to support positive long-term reform in the region, and more than £110 million has been allocated between 2011 and 2015. Last year, approximately £2.6 million of that fund was allocated to projects that specifically benefited women. In Egypt, for example, we have provided assistance to women candidates in local elections. In Libya, we have funded work to strengthen women’s participation in the General National Congress. In Morocco, we are working to establish a women’s affairs committee in Parliament.
We have supported women’s economic empowerment in the region through our presidency of the G8 Deauville partnership. As part of that, we hosted a two-day conference in June on women’s economic empowerment, focused on creating business links between female entrepreneurs in the G8 and the region.
The noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, spoke with great clarity about some of the challenges faced by women and raised the issue of Bahrain and the Government’s position. Let me assure her that Her Majesty’s Government continue to work on supporting the process of national dialogue and political reform in Bahrain, including promoting international human rights standards and political reform. Those are key parts of the dialogue and in all our representations at ministerial level, we remind the Bahraini Government of that.
During the recent event, the DfID Secretary of State, my right honourable friend Justine Greening, announced the creation of an Arab women in business challenge fund. The UK has contributed £10 million to this fund, which will co-finance initiatives with the private sector to deliver new job opportunities for women in the region. The UK has also been working with several major law firms to establish a legal task force to recommend ways to address legal barriers to women’s economic participation. Additionally, we have selected women’s empowerment as one of the three themes of our work as co-chair of the G8-BMENA process. The aim of that work is to bring civil society and Governments in the region closer together.
I pay tribute to the work of my noble friend Lady Hodgson on the steering board currently advising the Foreign Secretary on his initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict countries. The Foreign Secretary has made clear the priority he gives that issue, and it provides a further opportunity to engage with Governments in the region on women’s rights. The declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict that the Foreign Secretary launched at the United Nations on 24 September has so far been endorsed by 134 countries, including almost all countries in the region. The noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, also spoke about that issue. I assure her that in all our discussions, whenever we meet Governments from across the MENA region, we raise the issue with them and the instances of human rights abuses, particularly sexual violence against women.
On Syria, we are undertaking gender-focused aid as part of our broader £500 million humanitarian relief effort to Syria and its neighbours. We are encouraging greater women’s participation in and around the Geneva II peace talks on Syria. Under the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, we are also focusing on improving advocacy for women’s rights. We are training doctors and human rights defenders to document human rights abuses, including sexual violence, with a view to assisting future transitional justice efforts.
Picking up a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, health services have shown improvement in those countries, but more needs to be done, particularly on sensitivity to some of the issues surrounding women.
As I said, through Geneva II, we recognise the Syrian National Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. As part of our efforts with international partners, we seek to ensure that the coalition is able to reflect and meet the aspirations of all Syrian people and reflect the representation of women in its membership.
On Egypt, I assure my noble friend Lady Berridge that FCO Ministers have made clear in their contacts with the Egyptian authorities that women’s participation is a key part of supporting transition and building stability. We will continue to raise the issue.
My noble friend Lady Hodgson raised the issue of low female representation—six seats out of 60—in Libya. We continue to urge the Libyan Government to ensure that women’s rights are fully protected under the new constitution.
I have given just some of the initiatives we are taking but the UK is working hard to strengthen the role of women across the MENA region. I fully accept that many challenges remain and the opportunities afforded by the transitions in the region have yet to lead to widespread concrete and sustainable gains for women. Now is not the time to draw back our efforts, and we shall not, but rather to maintain and strengthen them. The potential gains are huge. For example, research has shown that if female employment rates in Egypt matched those of men, GDP would increase by 34% by 2020.
In conclusion, women played a key role in the demonstrations of the Arab spring and there is an absolute need to ensure that they continue to take a central and pivotal role as we build the democracies and new constitutions of the region. This Government remain committed to backing those aspirations and to turning that hope into reality. We stood with many of the protesters in these countries—men, women, the elderly and children—as they sought to bring change, and we will stand with them in their transitional progress. We heard about the vision of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the formation of Pakistan but perhaps many of the countries that put Islam at their centre need to reflect on the origins of Islam, where women played a pivotal and central role in the empowerment and progression of the faith. I end with a quote from another lady who inspired many. Those who wish to give up hope should remember Eleanor Roosevelt’s words:
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”.
Baroness Hussein-Ece
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that very comprehensive and informative reply. I think it was very well made.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
My Lords, I hesitate to interrupt the noble Baroness but I fear she does not have the right to reply on this occasion.