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Special Feature: Issues of Women’s Mobility in the MENA Region

During this quarter a number of news outlets throughout the region focused on women’s mobility and the rise of women-only transportation. In Egypt, women-only taxis are “being hailed as .” Female students in Jordan are working on a similar transportation service for female passengers called SheCab that would launch next year “despite the venture already having .” In Saudi Arabia women will have the opportunity to use Easy Taxi, which will in this year’s municipal elections.

Designed to combat ongoing harassment and violence, women-only transportation has in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Moreover, women throughout the region continue to face limited rights related to freedom of movement. In Iran, for example, if they are driving “with a poorly fixed veil or without their heads covered.” A female Iranian athlete was unable to compete in an international tournament because in Iran . While women throughout the region experience varying levels of restrictions on their mobility, women-only transportation in some countries offers a step in the right direction. 

Women in Politics and Public Service

The women in Saudi Arabia who decide to take advantage of Easy Taxi’s offer to provide free fares to voting centers for the December 2015 municipal elections. This historical election has received some backlash within the country; for instance, Saudis who disapprove of women’s participation in the elections have launched to discourage women from participating. These campaigns have been met by counter-campaigns supporting women’s political participation.

While the lead-up to the recent Federal National Council (FNC) in the United Arab Emirates was less controversial than the lead-up to the Saudi elections has been, some Emirati women characterized the results of the FNC elections as “.” Seventy-six of the 330 eligible candidates were women (23 percent), but of the 20 representatives that were elected (5 percent), even though of the Emiratis who voted. Omanis about women’s representation in elected councils, particularly in light of the upcoming Shura Council elections. According to the Omani Ministry of Interior, only 20 of the 596 candidates (3 percent) for the 84-person council are women.

The September local and regional elections in Morocco yielded positive results for women’s representation. Women of seats they hold in Morocco and of the

Governments have also selected women to participate in public service by appointing or recruiting them to key positions. Ghada El-Shahawy —the first women in Egyptian history to serve in this capacity. Since August the to serve as guards for parliament to “deal with changes that necessitate the development of the security system.” Saudi Arabia started the process to According to Al Arabiya’s sources, at least 100 women are needed to fill these posts. For the first time, an Israeli woman is an ambassador to an Arab country; on September 7,.

Human Rights Issues

News from the last several months about human rights in the MENA region continued to focus on women’s harassment. In some cases, social media and new technology have highlighted the issue of harassment and helped identify culprits. In Saudi Arabia women use “” they experience. Some argued that technology cannot address such a pervasive problem. Turkey, for example, has developed a without the attacker knowing, but it will “do nothing to solve Turkey’s domestic abuse problem until the country’s police and judicial system give women the protection required under Turkish law.”  In other countries, social media can be used to potentially exacerbate the problem: Egypt’s recent with its slogan “She’s not worth it, it’s not like she’s Angelina Jolie,” with many believing the campaign places blame on women for being harassed.

Women’s clothing, another perpetual source of controversy, was the subject of a number of recent articles in the region. One report indicated two while another quoted an Iranian cleric who said punishing women for not adhering to rules regarding mandatory hijab is Elsewhere, Egypt’s Cairo University recently because students complained of "poor communication" during classes. Related articles highlighted the for improper attire, among other transgressions. Egypt’s Musicians Syndicate also requiring them to wear “decent, unrevealing clothes during their performances.” Three Egyptian dancers have been .”

Notwithstanding these examples of human rights issues, there were some efforts to improve life for women in the region. Kuwait introduced —a “major step” that other Gulf countries should follow, according to activists. In early September met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a 50-day hunger strike to “promote a diplomatic arrangement to end the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict.” Recently in Tunisia the group Chouf was founded to organize, educate, and mobilize the country’s lesbian community

Women Participating in the Labor Force

Reports during the third quarter presented mixed success for women in the labor force throughout the Middle East. Women in Turkey, Iran, and the Palestinian territories continue to face setbacks in employment. According , mothers in lower socio-economic brackets have refrained from joining the labor force because the cost of child care is too high relative to the financial gains from employment. A study by the Turkish Statistics Institution found that Turkish women working in the formal sector make far less than their male counterparts; in 2014 the average occupation income was and 20,084 liras for men.

Women in Iran have also faced setbacks while trying to gain access to the workforce. Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, that unemployment is particularly high among university-educated women and single mothers. The for 3,703 vacant education positions; registration guidelines for the qualifying exam stated that women competed to fill only 630 of those positions—the rest were reserved for men.

Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian policy organization, released a report showing Palestinian women’s workforce participation rate is , despite having the highest ratio in the MENA region of girls’ primary and secondary school enrollment. The report notes low rates of entrepreneurship among women and the absence of women in two of the four major sectors in the Palestinian territories’ economies: construction and transportation.

Women elsewhere in the MENA region have had greater success in gaining entry into the workforce, especially in the private sector. In the UAE, the ratio between men and women in the workplace (SMEs), and nearly half of the country’s SMEs have a majority of female staff. The UAE has implemented programs —particularly in high-tech entrepreneurship—through the foundation of camps, workshops, and organizations such as Fun Robotics.

According to figures released by the Omani National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), between 2003 and 2015, the number of women working in the private sector (a 254 percent increase, whereas only increased by 36.5 percent). Women in Oman will benefit from a new draft law that will mandate for both private and public sector workers.

Women in Saudi Arabia are also participating in the workforce on a larger scale than they previously have. According to the Saudi Central Department of Statistics and Information, the number of women who have joined the workforce has increased by . It should be noted, however, are women, and women only represent 16.4 percent of employed Saudis.

Women in Conflict Situations

ISIS continues to commit violence and human rights violations against women in Iraq and Syria. , according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports in July, and in August ISIS . There were several reports detailing the , the reality of , and the circulated by ISIS. A number of articles also discussed what could be done to , including calls by UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict , Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , and (a Yazidi support-aid group), among others, to address the problem of sexual violence in conflict and provide support to victims.

Although women are often the victims of ISIS’s violence, some women help perpetrate such violence. Women in ISIS play a “” and articles from the past three months have profiled the women who and those in the Al-Khansaa brigade who . Some reports detailed the number of women who have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS: for example, since 2011, and . Women are also involved in recruiting efforts for ISIS or coordinating attacks, including two Moroccan women who were for plans to carry out attacks in Morocco and women through social media.

In addition to women in ISIS-controlled territories in Iraq and Syria, women in Yemen are also experiencing violence as a result of the ongoing conflict there. The UN Population Fund reports that , problems which have only intensified since the conflict began. Women’s activists in Yemen strongly condemned violations perpetrated by the Al Houthi militia, saying [yet] women were active participants in the revolution that drove Saleh out of power.” Yemeni women also recently held a rally in the country.

During this quarter there were some positive stories about women in conflict areas, including an article about a in southeast Turkey which offers workshops, training, and support for other women refugees. Another article discussed the like the YPJ, noting these women are “motivated by a desire, not only to fight ISIS and other enemies of the Kurds, but, more importantly, to bring about an egalitarian society rooted in feminism and guided by principles of social justice.”

The MENA Women Quarterly Report will continue to report on women in conflict situations, and other news stories that affect women in the region, in the months to come.