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The Role of Women in the Arab Spring… and Their Shaky Future in a New Middle East. A New York Times article this morning highlights one of the particularly worrying elements of any revolution and one of the things that needs to be closely watched as the Arab spring unfolds and new governments solidify.  Women often lose out after revolutions.  No matter how brilliant the greater cause of the revolution and no matter the critical roles women play in bringing about change, a shift in government is usually an opportunity for any progress to be lost and for the women who played important parts to be overlooked.  

In Libya’s new rebel government, which continues to increase in size and organisatio, women only hold two of the more than forty positions of power. The Times quoted a discontented Enas Eldrasy, who left the transitional council because she was relegated to busy work, as saying “When the revolution started, women had a big role. “Now, it’s dissolved, it’s disappeared. I don’t know why.” Other women who have involved themselves from early stages, and there are many, also express disappointment.  There have been efforts to focus on women, as in a recent conference in Benghazi, but those tend to pursue traditional rather than strategic gender interests, focusing on the womens’ roles as mothers, caretakers and supporters of the rebels, not as leaders, power-holders, or the rebels themselves.

In the newly forming governments of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, and in the powerful movements, protests and calls for reform that are taking place from one end of the Middle East to the other, the role of women is a tenuous one. This is not because of where these revolutions are taking place or because of the natures of these revolutions and revolutionaries themselves.  It’s a disturbing trend seen in revolutions and transitional governance in general.  I’d strongly suggest reading some of the more academic discussions of women in revolutionary, transitional and democratising political processes.  One good place to start might be with Georgina Waylen’s 1994 article for World Politics.

It doesn’t have to turn out this way, of course. The above photo, of women in Benghazi is from a page on a rebel website honouring the women who have fought and protested. It clearly is not the case that these women have not earned the respect of many revolutionaries. I hope that these revolutions have it in them to break the trends and the barriers, as they have so far proved successful in shattering other opinions and firmly held notions.