Honour, Politics, and Women in the Middle East:

a survey of Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran

by

Luiza Kulchetscki

                                                

            I think we can all agree that women are underrepresented politically in almost every area of the world. This is particularly true in regions in the Middle East, where not only are women a small part of the political arena, but have little to no status in almost all other aspects of society. The women in these regions have, for decades, pursued opportunities to have their voices heard, yet have been met with extreme authoritarian and patriarchal resistance. The graph below illustrates this reality, showing how the Middle East is one of the areas in the world with the lowest percentages of female political involvement.

            (a) Map taken from Women Stats Projects, scaled to 2010.

            Perhaps we can also agree, as do most scholars, that when women do become more closely involved in the political process, societies benefit in important ways. Some authors have claimed that one of the best ways to improve economic, social, and political stability in a nation is precisely by investing in women, promoting their participation, and focusing on issues that they are concerned about. In other words, how societies treat their women can be reflexive of how well that society functions. 

            In examining how women are treated in the Middle East, one of the most extreme acts of mistreatment is known as the so-called honour killings—the murder of women for suspected deviation from sexual norms imposed by that society. The range of potential deviations is wide, often involving, but not limited to, infidelity in marriage, premarital sex, victimization of rape, etc. The killing of the perpetrator of sexual misconduct presumably restores the family to its untarnished honour. The sad reality is that year after year these socially accepted killings continue to go largely unreported, uninvestigated, and unpunished. There is no reason to believe that these killings are going down, not even with the wave of democratization that has come with recent events and changes in government.

            (b) Map taken from Women Stats Projects, scaled to 2009

            Yet if women’s participation in society helps to create a healthier, better functioning society, one that ideally yields lower levels of crime, does the level of female involvement in the political process influence the rates of honour killings? Perhaps it would make a difference in the occurrences of these murders of honour if more women in these areas had a greater voice in how they are treated. If on one hand there are women being killed, and on the other hand there are women fighting to be in a position where they can make a difference, can women themselves have an impact on women and how they are treated? If so, is involvement in politics one of those ways?

            An extensive survey of four different countries in the Middle East that have been known for their ongoing practice of honour killings, and have also been known to be more liberal in governmental policies than others in the region, reveals that the answer to this puzzle is inconclusive. This is largely due to the lack of reliable data. While the numbers remain uncertain and limited, the table below summarizes what little information was available for the four countries comprising the past fifteen years.

	Seats in office held by women	NGOs	Average reported honour killings in a year
Egypt	13 (2000-2007) to 1 (2008-2013)	24,500 to 40,000, but now large decline with strict barriers to funding.	52 in 1997, but no current data.
Jordan	avg. of 15 throughout	3000 to approximately 1246	34 (2000-2003) to 15 (2011)
Turkey	45 (2000-2007) to 80 (2008-2013)	84,000, but only 420 public benefit organizations.	1086 (2001-2006) to 396 (2007) to 138 (2010)
Iran	9 (2000-2003) to 12 (2004-2007) to 13 (2008-2013)	2500, but large decline today due to gov. restrictions.	no available data

           

            These numbers are ambiguous. While they represent an attempt to understand the relation between women in politics and women who are victims of murder, and whether the political empowerment of women has had an impact on the rates of honour killings, the relationship between these variables remains hard to prove given the available information. At first glance, the table seems to indicate that the number of women in politics is increasing (except for Egypt, where elections are to be held in April of 2013), honour killings seem to be decreasing, while functioning NGOs are on a steady decline, we should consider the nature of the data.

            First, honour killings are considered a “family” matter and are not often reported to the police, making it difficult to assess patterns of growth or decline over time. Specialists believe that in each of the countries studied the real numbers of honour killings is at least twice the amount reported, if not more. Also, the decline in numbers over the years can be attributed to the fact that the passing of legislation that ensures greater punishment to murderers has led families to pressure women into committing suicide in the name of honour, thus freeing themselves of the lawful consequences but still cleaning their family name.

            Second, while the number of women in upper level legislations is readily accessible, it is more difficult to find precise numbers of women in city councils and lower legislative houses to get a full picture of the true extent of female politicians in government. Women who do hold seats in upper houses are so few in numbers, that it seems unlikely that such a small percentage of women can bring about significant changes in male dominated authoritarian systems.

            Finally, the column of NGOs, viewed here as an extended and indirect form of political participation of which women can be a part, can also be misleading, as the numbers represent the total amount of NGOs in each country, whether they concern women’s issues or not. Thus, it should be noted that only a small fraction of all NGOs are directly related to female empowerment and physical protection. New government imposed barriers to entry and to funding has not only led to a steady decline in the number of functioning NGOs in the area, but also to tremendous backlash from the people involved locally and from the international community, where much of the funding comes from. This fight for the continuation of NGOs reflects their efficiency over the years in bringing the media and the international community’s attention to issues such as human rights and law enforcement, and have helped to bring concerns such as honour killings and other crimes against women to the political agenda of their local governments.

            In areas like Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran, where extreme traditions and patriarchy continue to prevail, it is difficult to measure the impact of direct female involvement in politics in the improvement of women’s security and lifestyle. Yet the ongoing collaboration of women who rally together in political movements, and who are able to take part of organizations such as NGOs seems to be a more efficient method to promote nonviolence, greater equality, and the basic right to live, given the current circumstances.

           

           

           

            

Females and the Olympics

What do the names Noor Al-Maliki, Missy Franklin, Gabby Douglas, Mary Lou Retton, and Rūta Meilutytė all have in common? Do you even know who Al-Maliki and Meilutytė are? Based off the three women you could probably guess that these women have all broken Olympic records. Noor was an athlete from Qatar during the 2012 Olympic Games; the first time Qatar ever sent a female athlete along with Brunei and Saudi Arabia, making the 2012 games the first time every participating country sent female athletes. Missy is an American swimmer who competed for the US in the 2012 games as well. She was 17 when she competed and won 5 gold medals making her the most decorated female US Olympian in a single games, in the US. Gabby was the first ever African-American to win the women’s all-around in Gymnastics, and a part of the team all-around gold medal champions, the first time this has ever happened in the US. Mary Lou was the first American to win the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all around competition. Rūta is a Lithuanian swimmer who won Gold in breast stroke at the age of 15 during the 2012 game. She was youngest Lithuanian athlete to win Olympic Gold, and also the first athlete since independence to win a swimming medal. 

A female Olympian participating in lawn tennis

Since the Olympic Games were brought back in 1896, female participation has come a long way. Women were not allowed to participate in 1896, but were in 1900, in a few select sports including lawn tennis. The International Olympic Committee is the governing body of the Olympic Games; they did not allow females to participate in administration at the international level until 1981, 81 years after females were allowed to participate as athletes. Since then however the IOC has made great efforts to eliminate gender bias in the Olympic arena. They have set quotas for women in national Olympic committees. They have passed many rules regarding addition of new sporting events into the games which must include both male and female events. The IOC has been granted permanent observer status in the UN as a part of the women and children committee. They put on conferences every year, or every couple of years just depending, on females and sports and how we can encourage young girls to continue on with the sports and things that they have developed a passion and love for.

Western politics have been a key component in advancing the equality of women in the games. Title IX, a bill passed in the 1970s in the United States aimed at eliminating gender bias in education and athletics, was a large influencing factor. Title IX allowed for more female athletes at the high school level; there are to be equal numbers of male and female athletes, not teams, meaning there are typically a few more girls’ teams due to large demand of football athletes. This created a push (also a rule included in the bill) for female collegiate athletes, but where to go from there? Males have more opportunities to aim for higher athletic goals in college, as many there are many professional leagues, but what about girls? International play was, and still is for the majority of women’s sports, the only option for post-college play. This created a large push for more female Olympians, and correspondingly, events. Another example of Western political influence is from 2012; Saudi Arabia, Brunei, and Qatar were extremely hesitant about sending females and many western states wanted the IOC to put pressure on these countries to send females or not be able to participate, ultimately they did send women without IOC force. 

The Olympics have been and continue to be an international stage for countries to show their legitimacy, and politics to be debated on the field by athletes. The games during the Cold War are evidence of this statement, Hitler and Nazi Germany hosting in 1936, China allowing Taiwan to compete as a separate nation state, the expulsion of South Africa because of their laws of Apartheid, and many more. The outcomes of female participation are endless and infinite as we may never know the full extent of what opportunities it provides, especially in the Middle East as many doors are just now being opened; but do know that being told you play like a girl will no longer be considered an insult.

Round One Sweden vs. Netherlands: Prostitution Laws

Sweden vs. Netherlands

In 1999, the world witnessed a new legislation take place in the country of Sweden (Ritter 2008).They passed a legislation which criminalized the buyer of sex only, with no legal impact on the seller of sex. Sweden is not the only country receiving international attention for their prostitution laws. The Netherlands decided to completely legalize prostitution and the running of brothels in 2000 (Siegel 2009). This allowed for prostitutes to be ‘in the system’ through being regarded as any worker, being responsible to pay taxes etc. The question that arises is why two countries in Europe choose two very different legislative approaches in regards to prostitution? Is one better than the other?

Why should I care about prostitution?

 So, you are probably wondering why this matters. Prostitution does not affect me, right? You might be surprised. The effects of prostitution have been thoroughly studied by scholars such as Gould (2001). The literature suggests that prostitution is often linked to violence and crime, which both affect society. Prostitutes were often found to be bearers of worrisome diseases such as HIV/AIDS, addicted to drugs or alcohol, and often connected to criminal activity. When Sweden decided to change their approach to prostitution legislation, it was due to an increased worry regarding the international sex trade. A growing sex industry was a threat to Sweden because of the consequences that come from establishments of the international sex industry, such as child pornography, trafficking, organized crime etc. (Wagenaar 2006).

What did Sweden do? They came up with a way to make their country inhospitable to these groups. Through criminalizing the buyer only, thus taking away the demand for sexual services, sex rings had trouble establishing in Sweden. According to the sex traffickers, there were plenty of better options compared to Sweden.

What are some of the results?

The results of the implementation of the Swedish law have been exactly what the Swedish government was hoping for. The law was implemented to combat gender inequality in society as Swedes view prostitution as male dominance of women, and to decrease crime and violence. There was a big commitment from law enforcement and the government to make the legislation a reality. A total of $5 million was dedicated to the police force alone in combating the perpetrators of the new law, and it has yielded good results. Prostitution dropped by 40%, and recruitment to prostitution is almost non-existent (Danna 2012).

What happened to the Netherlands and their approach? Well, in order to understand why the Netherlands chose their type of legislation and what has happened since the implementation of a fully legalized prostitution business. In the Netherlands, there is a small bronze figure of a woman that is centrally located in the famous Red Light District. It portrays a woman waiting by an open door for a client. Below the statue is the phrase: “Respect sex workers all over the world” (Siegel 2009). Thus, the lifestyle of a prostitute in the Netherlands has a different respect compared to a Swedish prostitute. The fight to legalization was done to realize women’s rights, with major women’s rights movements fighting for the legislation itself.

The results in Netherland have not been as great compared to Sweden. Even though the new legislation is supposed to give the Dutch law enforcement more rights to protect the prostitutes, this has often backfired. Since many prostitutes were smuggled into the Netherlands illegally, they are not in the ‘system’, thus forced deeper into organized crime (Siegel 2009). A study also found that the overall health of prostitutes has gone down since its implementation in 2000 (Daalder 2007). Since the law was implemented to protect prostitutes, one can conclude that the effects have not been as great as intended.  

What is the best approach?

So what legislative approach is the best one? Well, comparing the two is difficult for a couple of reasons. Even though they are close in proximity, the two countries have a very different view on gender equality and women in general. What Sweden views as oppressive towards women, the Netherlands view as liberating. In Sweden, feminist movements are fighting for women to be liberated from prostitution, while women’s groups in the Netherlands are insisting on keeping all options open to women when it comes to work. The takeaway point here is to realize that comparisons between two countries are often more complex than simply comparing crime statistics. There is a history and a social mindset in each of these countries that needs to be accounted for as well. For Sweden, prostitution is unacceptable in society. In contrast, the prostitution business is necessary in a gender equal Dutch society. As similar as the countries may seem, both with amazing cheese and chocolate, their attitude towards the prostitution business differ greatly which has resulted in their different legislative approaches. 

References

Daalder, A.L. "Prostitution in the Netherlands since the lifting of the brothel ban." Boom Juridische uitgevers 249 (2007): 1-61.

Danna, Daniela. "Client-Only Criminalization in the City of Stockholm: A Local Research on the Application of the "Swedish Model" of Prostitution Policy."Sexuality Research and Social Policy 9 (2012): 80-93.

Gould, Arthur. "The Criminalisation of Buying Sex: the Politics of Prostitution in Sweden." Journal of Social Policy 30 (2001): 437-456.

Ritter, Karl. "Sweden prostitution law attracts world interest." USA Today. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-03-16-sweden-prostitution_N.htm (accessed January 31, 2013).

Siegel, Dina. "Human trafficking and legalized prostitution in the Netherlands." Temida 12 (2009): 5.

Wagenaar, H. "Democracy and prostitution - Deliberation the legalization of brothels in the Netherlands."Administration and Society 38 (2006): 198-235.

Modern Slavery: An Empirical Study on Human Trafficking

In spite of the efforts of the international community human trafficking continues to be a problem. Within the thousands of people trafficked yearly, women and children are disproportionately represented. Although the statistics on the number of victims are not completely reliable, an empirical study is necessary to better understand the causes of human trafficking. Using observational data gathered from the International Organization for Migration as the dependent variable, the study focused on whether economic, political, or sociological factors impacted the number of victims. My argument is that these factors impact individual vulnerability of which traffickers take advantage.

The dependent variables are as follows:

1. Number of trafficked victims by country of origin
2. Number of trafficked victims by country of destination
3. Ranking of country by number of trafficked victims (Origins) 
4. Ranking of country by number of trafficked victims (Destination)

Considering that human trafficking is a black market activity the statistics available for the activity are not completely reliable. To compensate for the reliability of the numbers rankings were used along with the raw numbers.

The independent variables and their expected relationship to human trafficking are as follows:

Economic Factors:

• GDP per capita: negativePoltical:

Political Factors: 

• Failed State Index: positive
•  Polity IV : negative
•  Trafficking In persons Report: positive

Sociological Factors:

• Number of refugees by country of residence: positive
• Male/female secondary school enrollment ratio : negative
• Human Development Index: negative

Panel:

• Country (154 countries)
• Year (2006-2011)

Although HDI measures wealth of a country as well, it is included in sociological factors because it also measures quality of life of in a country. While country was used as a fixed effect, year was excluded because there is not a significant difference over the years. The TIP report rankings were not included in the model but ran as an implicit interaction with all other independent variables. My main interest in the research lies with whether displacement (measured by the number of refugees) creates a vulnerability in people that traffickers use to their benefit.

Table 1

Table 1 shows that as GDP per capita of countries increases the number of victims that end up in those countries increases while the number of victims originating from those countries decreases.  However, for the number of victims originating from countries, the results were the opposite. While independently GDP was found to be not statistically significant, the tests show that when interacted with the number of refugees in residence it was statistically significant in models for all dependent variables except when TIP report scores were low. This suggests that for countries that have weak laws against human trafficking low GDP countries have more trafficked victims originating from their country as number of refugees increase and high GDP countries have less trafficked victims originating from their country as number of refugees increase.

The research shows that the number of refugees residing in the country matters for countries with low GDP as well as a high TIP report ranking. Since dealing with human trafficking can be costly, countries with low GDP can focus on either strengthening their anti-trafficking laws, or implement protective measures for refugees to prevent.

China's Missing Girls: The Chinese One Child Policy and Gender Equality

 Background

            The Chinese One Child Policy was created in 1979 in order to curb massive population growth. It has since been called the “largest population control effort in human history.”¹ As the name suggests, the One Child Policy allows couples to have one child per family. This policy has been encouraged through such mediums as economic benefits such as access to healthcare, education and housing. The One Child Policy has likewise been enforced through compulsory sterilizations and birth control, the absence of economic benefits and hefty fines for violations.²

           Policy implementation and compliance has not been uniform—with great differences between urban and rural areas. Scholars suggest there is stricter implementation and compliance in urban areas and a more relaxed approach to the policy in rural areas. Often this policy has been reduced to a “One and a half Child Policy” in rural areas. This discrepancy in rural and urban enforcement and compliance is largely due to urban areas close proximity to central authority. Rural areas further from central government control find it much easier to hide successive children from the government census.³

Unintended Consequences

           By and large, the One Child Policy has effectively slowed population growth. However, the family policy has also resulted in consequences that no one ever intended. The first such unintended consequence is the massive imbalance in sex ratio at birth (SRB), the number of males per 100 females at birth. The national average SRB in China is 118, with several provinces as high as 140. This gender imbalance is largely due to a male-preference culture. Parents only allowed one child push for having a boy in order to carry on the family name, provide labor and stay with parents in their old age. Traditionally in China, when a woman gets married, she immediately moves in with her new in-laws and takes care of them in their old age. The Chinese system does not provide such programs as retirement and social security for the elderly. Having a boy ensures that parents will be looked after in their old age—a sort of cultural social security system.⁴

           While a national sex ratio at birth of 118 does not seem very high, put into perspective this means that there are currently around 13 million more boys than girls in China. By the year 2020, there is expected to be 40 million marriage age men who will have no one to marry.⁵ Intense pressure for couples to have boys is not only leading to a massive gender-gap crisis, but many grave societal issues. Thousands of Chinese girls are killed each year due to female infanticide and sex-selective abortion. Nearly 100,000 baby girls are abandoned every year and end up in hundreds of Chinese orphanages. There has been a massive increase in kidnapping, prostitution and rape. Millions of girls are believed to be missing from China's population.

Research Question

         The research question focuses on the effects of the One Child Policy on gender equality. Existing literature on the One Child Policy provides many competing ideas about the effects the family policy has had on Chinese society. Some research shows that the One Child Policy has led to greater gender equality, while others argue greater gender inequality. My research reviews and analyzes the existing literature on the One Child Policy to examine the current status of Chinese women in urban and rural areas.

Data and Methods

         I decided to complete a meta-analysis, or in other words a glorified literature review to answer my research question. I gathered articles from prominent family-issue journals from 1979—when the policy was first implemented—to the present. By sorting through case studies, examples, surveys, data, observations and policy descriptions I was able to identify general patterns and relationships.

Findings

         I Found that the One Child Policy has both helped and harmed gender equality in urban and rural China. I have split my results into four categories that include the positive and negative outcomes concerning gender equality in urban and rural China.

1. Positive Outcomes in Urban Areas

-women more valued

-greater investment in daughters

-more educational and career opportunities for women

-women greater political participation

2. Negative Outcomes in Urban Areas

- “leftover women” --successful women unable to find husbands due to a clash with a cultural norm—men don't want to feel subordinate to women.

-increase in female infanticide and illegal sex-selective abortion

-increase in kidnappings

-increase in prostitution

-compulsory fertility limitation through forced sterilizations and birth control use

3. Positive Outcomes in Rural Areas

-women are able to “marry up” into better economic circumstances due to the shortage of women in urban areas.

4. Negative Outcomes in Rural Areas

-increase in sex-selective abortion which is largely available in rural areas

-increase in abandonment of females

-less ambitious care for newborn females that are sick

-increase in maltreatment of women for having a female child

Time for a Two Child Policy?

         Relaxation to a Two Child Policy is a prominent suggestion in relevant literature. However, the results of my study show that this might not be the best course of action. The One Child Policy has led to both gender equality and gender inequality. In rural and urban areas, the One Child Policy leads to various abuses against women, yet it also creates a population of scarce women that are becoming more valued and invested in. It is not yet time for a Two Child Policy—instead, the basic underlying issue of the cultural preference for sons must be addressed. China has already started a media campaign to address this issue, but this effort must be accelerated. China must help women view themselves as more valuable, and help the Chinese people view females as a valuable and integral part of society. The One Child Policy was implemented under the belief that men and women were equal in society—by addressing the cultural preference for sons, it is possible to mitigate imbalance in sex ratio at birth and increase gender equality.

References

1. Feng, Wang. 2005. Can China afford to continue its one-child policy? Asia Pacific Issues no. 77
   (Mar): 1-12.
2. Doherty, Jim P., Edward C. Norton, and James E. Veney. 2001. China’s one-child policy: The
   economic choices and consequences faced by pregnant women. Social Science and
   Medicine 52, no. 5 (Mar): 745-61.
3. Cooney, Rosemary Santana, and Jiali Li. 1994. Household registration type and compliance with the “one child” policy in China, 1979-1988. Demography 31, no. 1 (Feb): 21-32.
4. Hesketh, Therese, Lu Li, and Weixing Zhu. 2011. The consequences of son preference and sex-
   selective abortion in China and other Asian countries. Canadian Medical Association
   183, no. 12 (Sep): 1374-77.
5. Larmer, Brooke. 2013. The price of marriage in China. The New York Times: Business Day.
   <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/business/in-a-changing-china-new-matchmaking-markets.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

(S)Heros: Afghanistani Women in Parliament

            Despite there being rigid quotas that require women to make up at least 25% of parliament in Afghanistan, women do not have the opportunity to fully represent the constituents they are elected to represent. While the 68 seats reserved for women have been filled every election that the quota has been in place, women are still discriminated against and treated horribly by the other members and leaders of parliament. In fairness, many members simply fear the wrath of the Taliban, which has attempted to assassinate powerful female representatives. But there are signs of progress as women like Najia Zewari have been selected to sit on the High Peace Council, which deals with peace negotiations, and there has been no backlash yet from the Taliban, suggesting that they have accepted her membership on that committee.

            Unfortunately however, women still face many everyday challenges in parliament. Sometimes in order to be heard, they have to physically pull the microphone away from the MP, who ignores their turns to speak. Women in parliament in Afghanistan also face violence and intimidation daily. But on the bright side, due to the hard work of its female politicians, Afghanistan was one of the first countries with quota laws that has elected a woman outside of the quota. This is a monumental achievement that demonstrates that women in Afghanistan may one day be able to represent their constituents with far less pushback from those who adhere to strict cultural and social norms.

Resources:

http://www.ndi.org/afghan_women_seated_in_parliament

http://tribune.com.pk/story/458307/in-a-mans-world-the-women-politicians-of-afghanistan/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/17/world/fawzia-koofi-afghanistan-president/index.html

http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/08/the_politics_of_afghan_womens_rights

Women Lawyers: The Double Bind in Action

The law profession is a highly gendered institution in several ways; for example, women are currently concentrated in the lower ranks, and less than 25% of law firm partners are women. As of 2011, 31.9 % of all lawyers were women, which is less than a third. A website tracking women in law estimates that it will take more than a woman lawyer’s lifetime to achieve equality to men in the same profession.

            Female lawyers live the double bind everyday as they are required to be assertive, confident, and emotionless, but are still under scrutiny for whether or not they appear feminine. One study of women lawyer’s job satisfaction found that while “women are less satisfied than men with their level of responsibility, recognition for their work, chances for advancement, policies of their organization, salary, and control over amount and manner of work,” that they still reported the same level of job satisfaction as their male colleagues. Thus even though women are less happy with their work circumstances as lawyers, they are still happy with their jobs.

The good news is that because women only recently began entering the law profession in large numbers, the institution will likely improve for them over time. For example, although less than 25% of law firm partners are women, it is understandable that law firms would want to attract candidates regardless of gender that still meet the qualifications and experience necessary for such a position. It is likely that as women in the law profession now stay and gain more experience that more women will become qualified for such higher-level positions. Additionally, as more women enter into the management tier, they will hopefully improve conditions for the female lawyers below them. In the meantime, affirmative action laws could be better utilized or created to help ensure that women are receiving fair and equal consideration for advancement opportunities. 

Resources:

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-law-us

http://womeninlaw.com/WIL/?category_name=articles

Hull, Kaythleen. 1999. "The Paradox of the Contented Female Lawyer." Law and Society Review Vol. 33 Issue 2.