Politics In Middle East Essay

Promotions of women’s rights and empowering women have been central components in the search for democracy in the Arab world. The participation of Arab women in the political and economic arena remains among the lowest in the world. This is evident from the low percentage of women in parliament, cabinet and the workforce. Many times the women have been portrayed as veiled, oppressed, and invisible (Sadiki, 2004, 253). This is true in reality though in most cases it is unconstitutional. Sadiki argues that women’s participation in political and economic issues in Arab countries is dependent on the socio-economic and political forces in the history of the country (Sadiki, 2004, 267). Thus the problem of women’s rights is not reflective of Islamic region rather it can be explained by the patriarchal nature of the society. Men have been the ones predominantly reading and interpreting the Quran. This has led to women not being allowed work or socialize publicly. (Sadaki, 2004, 285). The economic and social position of a family also influence the rights available to a woman; for instance in Iraq, a wealthy family is more likely to educate its daughters than a poor family. Islamic religion does not relegate the woman to a position below the man, rather it points out that she is a ‘twin’ to the man and promotes inclusiveness in all issues, economic, political and social (Sadiki, 2005, 266). In an interview with Lubabah-ul-Fadh, a Muslim woman activist, Lubahah states that because she is Muslim and Islamist she is free from injustice and despotism. She therefore supports democracy that empowers women economically and politically (Sadiki, 2004, 284). She however is of the view that Muslim women’s foremost role is that of being a moral educator for the younger generation to ensure Muslim culture and religion are adhered to. For her, giving up parliamentary positions so women can pursue this goal is worthwhile (Sadiki, 2004, 284). This illustrates the effect of certain Islamist movements in Arab countries. Different alliances among female Islamists has resulted in little consensus on women’s participation in the Islamic Action Front. Western influence has to some degree enhanced authoritarian form of government in Arab countries. The focus on oil in Arab countries has led to sidelining of the issues of women rights as governments try to meet demands for oil and amass wealth for the regime in power. This however has also been used to influence decisions made by Arab country governments for example by placing embargoes on their oil so that conflicts can be resolved (Sadiki 2004, 283). Western influence therefore has not been entirely negative. Positive outcomes of western influence include improvement of family status laws resulting from incumbent governments in Arab countries wanting to show their zeal for reform which has been influenced by international pressure. The women in Iraq during Saddam’s military dictatorship experienced more human rights freedoms than during the period of Bush’s Administration Democratic Iraq. The US led occupation therefore has not benefited the struggle for women’s rights especially because it favors an extremist interpretation of the constitution. Arab women have been moving forward in the struggle for empowerment. Some of the developments include the appointment of more women to parliament in Jordan and Egypt by the Arab government. The United States is working through the MEPI to provide training on political issues to female political candidates so as to raise the number of women legislators. The Beijing Fourth World Conference in women led to other conferences which aimed at canvassing the recommendations of Beijing conference of a 30 percent quota for women in parliamentary representation. These include the Egyptian women and Democratic transformation and the Jordanian woman and Electoral Law conferences. (Sadiki, 2004, 269). In Tunisia the rigorous push for gender equity in policies led to the creation of councils for women and development to advice government departments regarding policy formulation and also the creation of a Ministry of Women and the Family and a National Observatory for Women. (Sadiki, 2004, 283). Participation of women in political and economic so far has not had an effect of changing the policies that are made. It has however helped to improve children’s welfare, the personal lives and economic power of Arab women. It however has not had much impact on the political systems of the day in Arab countries and will most likely not have much effect since in most Arab countries the political structure is such that changes in the position of women can be absorbed. This is true for countries like Egypt, Jordan and Morocco where authoritarianism and limited democratic freedoms co-exist. Islamist movements have had a negative impact on the struggle for women empowerment; fundamentalist activists consider women’s rights issues and the participation of women in the public to be ‘western’ and aimed at degrading the morals and culture of traditional Islamic region. Some women activists see that the more important role of a woman is maintaining Islam tradition and so women can until this is achieved give up involvement in political issues (Sadiki, 2004, 285). Religion has had a significant role in shaping the beliefs, policies and behavior of people in the Middle East region. Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are important points of focus as far as religion is concerned, and also in the case of Jerusalem, a significant center of conflict. The Arab-Israel conflict is not the only source of instability in the region, as evidenced by a history of conflict long before the existence of the Jewish state, Israel and also presence of conflict not related to Israel clashes between Iraq and US (Cleveland, 2004, 222-224). The departure of Britain and France from the Middle East in the 1950s, the formation of the Israel state and the importance of the oil industry all contribute greatly to the conflict in the Middle East. As a result, the US became increasingly involved in Middle East issues becoming a great force in the oil industry and a source of stability. The Soviet Union sought to open new areas for the Cold War and formed alliances with Egypt (under Nasser) and Iraq. These regimes failed to deliver on their promises leading to Arabic despotism and embracing of Islamism among counties like Iraq and Egypt. With the fall of the Soviet Union these countries (Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and Iraq) embraced Arab nationalism. This later led to Iran-Iraq war invading Kuwait and in the 1990s and the US intervened by evicting Iraq from Kuwait with the help of allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia leading to US military occupation of the Persian Gulf, a source of great offence to Muslims. (Lewis, 2005, 2-5). The current situation is one that is of continued conflicts especially Arab-Israeli conflict. Anti western regimes in Arab countries seek to destroy Israel, and defeat the US. The portions of land given to the Jews after World War II are surrounded by Muslim countries, this land and other portions that have been taken over by Israel during wars against Arab countries have continued to fuel the conflict between Palestinians and Israeli. East Jerusalem is a part of Israel, considered holy for Muslims. Palestinians see Israelis as invaders of their nation; as such they have built a military network that attacks innocent Israeli civilians. Israelis protect themselves from these attacks by using military force to control Palestinians, these involves having checkpoints for Palestinians between cities. Most of the water supply is controlled by Israelis who give Palestinians little access to water compared to their needs increasing the humiliation and sense of abuse felt by the Palestinians. (Cleveland, 2004, 22-224). Attacks by Israeli soldiers has led to destruction of much of the Palestinian government because of destruction of records, equipment, electricity supplies, roads, electricity supplies and other infrastructure. The continued construction of settlements in Palestinian territory is seen as a reason for further increase in conflict between Israel and Palestine, ruining any chances of peace in the region. (Lewis, 2005, pp2, 3). Demands of Palestinians that Palestinian refugees be allowed to have their land back have not been solvable because if Palestinians reoccupy their land, Israel as a Jewish state will end because Israel then would have more Palestinians than Israelis. As such this is not an option Israelis want to consider. Both Palestinians and Jews have been forced to live in exile at some point in their histories. The Jews have faced much persecution wile many Palestinians are misused by depots of the Middle East who have their own narrow domestic agenda. Western foreign policy, a strong Israel state and a decline in the stabilities of nations with unfriendly regimes have maintained the conflict in the Middle East. The conflict in the region is likely to continue mainly because of the nature of leadership. Despotism and autocratic rule have become part of the system so much that this remains a major obstacle to development of democratic institutions that would be more inclined to control and stop the conflict (Lewis 2005, 2-3). The information revolution is also destined to affect the present situation in the Middle East. The availability of information from various media influences the security dynamics. Television programs have been known to propagate untrue information that leads to escalation of conflict, but television has also allowed the people of Middle East to see vibrant democracies in action (like in Israel) which is unheard of in most Arab countries. This increases the likelihood for people to push for and embrace democracy that allows uninhibited disagreement and argument of ideas in an orderly manner. Pressure from the international community for political reform is likely to increase stability in the region leading to more demands of equitable distribution of resources. Political reform is slow with a greater focus on liberalization rather than democratization since liberalization allows more openness and discussion while the government of the day retains power (Benched and Byman, 2003, pp55). Slow political reform is more likely to maintain stability compared to rapid political reform. However, if the reforms do not continue at a steady pace frustrations by the people are more likely to increase causing conflict that could even lead to regimes being overthrown (Bensahel and Byman, 2003, pp55). Works Cited Lewis B, 2005 Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East, council on Foreign Affairs retrieved from www.foreignaffirs.org/20050511faessay84305.p50/bernard-lewis/freedom-and-justice-in -the-modern-midle-east.html Cleveland WL 2004 A history of he Modern Middle East, 3rd Ed Westview Press ISBN 0-8133-4048-9 pp 222-255 Sadiki L 2005 The Search for Arab Democracy, Columbia University Press ISBN 023112581X Bensabel N and Byman D, 2003 The Future Security Environment In The Middle East: Conflict, Stability and Political Change, RAND Corporation ISBN 0-83303290-9