Substantive Representation in Arab Parliaments: Female Mps and Policy Agenda Priorities in Jordan and Tunisia
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Substantive Representation in Arab Parliaments: Female MPs and Policy Agenda Priorities in Jordan and Tunisia ADissertation Submitted to the University of Tsukuba In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Sciences Maryam Mustafa Ahmed ALKUBATI 2019 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother, Zubaida Alkubati, my greatest role model and emotional support on earth. I know you were unable to complete your education because of us, thus, I have achieved the highest level of education and I am dedicating it to you. Thank you for standing by me and supporting my dreams regardless of what social norms dictate. You have instilled a tenacity in me to always aim for the sky. I am ever so grateful for your unconditional love and support. You are and have always been an inspiration to me. Thank you for raising me to become a strong and confident woman. I hope that I have made you proud. Also, to my father, thank you for showering me with love and support. Although we are far, thank you for your continuous words of wisdom. I hope you are now convinced that a woman can achieve anything she wants. I hope I have made you proud. Also, to my siblings, aunts and, uncles who have supported me every step of the way, I also dedicate this to you. I love you all. These six years away from my family have been extremely difficult, but I have pushed myself to become a person they can be proud of. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis would not have been possible had it not been for the scholarship I received from the Japanese government (MEXT). I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my dissertation advisor, Prof. Dr. Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki, University of Tsukuba, who supported me throughout this journey. Thank you for accepting me although I had not initially been your student. Your guidance and constructive criticism enabled me to shape my thesis into the best version possible. I also owe my special thanks to: Dr. Tsujinaka Yutaka, now a professor at Tokai University, for supporting me as a master’s student and during my Doctoral research. There were times when I felt like giving up, but your words of encouragement kept me going. Thank you for always having faith in me. Dr. Takafumi Ohtomo, my co-advisor, for guiding me as a master’s student and throughout my Doctoral research. Dr. Seki Katsunori, my co-advisor, for guiding me through my Doctoral research. My colleagues and friends for their endless support and love throughout my stay in Japan. ii Table of Contents THE ARAB REGION.......................................................................................................... 4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................... 6 SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS ................................................................................ 7 THEORIES AND ARGUMENTS .......................................................................................... 7 METHODOLOGY AND SELECTION OF CASES .................................................................. 9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................ 11 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ...................................................................... 11 PATRIARCHY ................................................................................................................. 13 PATRIARCHAL BARGAIN AS A NEGOTIATION TOOL ..................................................... 15 WOMEN’S POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT ....................................................................... 16 GENDER QUOTAS AS EMPOWERMENT MECHANISMS ................................................... 19 WOMEN IN NATIONAL POLITICS .................................................................................. 20 FACTORS HINDERING WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION ....................................... 21 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE EAST ....... 23 WOMEN NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS/LEGISLATURE..................................................... 25 POLICY PRIORITIES: WOMEN’S ISSUES AND OTHER ISSUES ........................................ 29 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA ....................................................... 30 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................... 32 INTERSECTIONALITY THEORY ..................................................................................... 32 THEORIES OF REPRESENTATION ................................................................................... 34 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 36 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE ARAB REGION .................................................................... 40 WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION ........................................................................ 44 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE ARAB REGION ......... 46 SELECTION OF CASE STUDIES ...................................................................................... 48 KINGDOM OF JORDAN ................................................................................................... 49 ii WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN JORDAN ...................................................................................... 50 ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND GENDER QUOTAS ................................................................ 51 STRUCTURE OF THE JORDANIAN NATIONAL PARLIAMENT ......................................... 53 TUNISIA .......................................................................................................................... 54 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN TUNISIA ..................................................................................... 55 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT IN TUNISIA .......................................................................... 58 POST-ARAB SPRING REVOLUTION AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS .......................................... 59 ELECTORAL SYSTEM .................................................................................................... 61 STRUCTURE OF THE TUNISIAN LEGISLATURE ............................................................. 62 QUOTAS FOR WOMEN IN TUNISIA ................................................................................ 63 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 64 BACKGROUND OF CONTENT ANALYSIS ....................................................................... 65 QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 70 HUMAN CODING AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED CODING IN CONTENT ANALYSIS ........ 72 COMPUTER-ASSISTED CODING SOFTWARE ................................................................. 74 AREA OF STUDY: FEMALE MPS IN ARAB PARLIAMENTS ........................................... 75 SAMPLING METHOD OF FEMALE MPS ........................................................................ 76 THE MEDIUM OF ACCESSING FEMALE MPS SPEECHES ............................................. 79 TIME FRAME OF SPEECHES .......................................................................................... 80 POLICY AGENDA CONCEPTS ........................................................................................ 80 THE CODING SCHEME FOR POLICY AGENDA ................................................................ 84 CODE GROUPS (DICTIONARY OF TERMS) FOR POLICY AGENDA AND PRIORITIES IN ARAB PARLIAMENTS ................................................................................................................ 86 CODES LIST (DICTIONARY OF TERMS) OF POLICY AGENDA AND PRIORITIES IN ARAB PARLIAMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 87 APPLYING POLICY AGENDA CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES TO PARLIAMENTARY SPEECHES ................................................................................................................................ 90 CODERS AND TRAINING PROCESS .............................................................................. 90 CODING PROCESS ........................................................................................................ 92 ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ...................................................................... 93 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 94 BACKGROUND EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE MPS IN ARAB PARLIAMENTS .................. 96 JORDAN ........................................................................................................................ 97 TUNISIA ...................................................................................................................... 104 REFLECTION OF BACKGROUND EXPERIENCES IN SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS OF FEMALE MPS ........................................................................................................................ 114 WOMEN’S ISSUES OR NON-WOMEN’S ISSUES AS POLICY PRIORITIES IN ARAB PARLIAMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 120 PLENARY SPEECHES AND