MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS
by
Vuslat Topuzoglu
Submitted to the
Faculty of the School of International Service
of American University
in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
in
International Affairs of Comparative and Regional Studies of the Middle East
Chair:
Tof. Julie Mertus
U J (jH T O Prof. Carole O’Leai Dean Louis W. Goodman Apr,l 2-OOH Date
2004
American University
Washington, D.C. 20016
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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2004
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS
by
Vuslat Topuzoglu
ABSTRACT
Middle Eastern women’s lack of participation in politics has often been blamed on Islam;
however the apathy and constraints of women’s empowerment lies in patriarchal
traditions along with revolutionary movements be it independence or liberation from an
occupying force. Prophet Muhammad, the first political and revolutionary leader in the
Middle Eastern and those that followed him as a revolutionary leader, set the social,
political and legal framework of the whole country, especially in women’s
empowerment. The purpose of this study will be to describe and evaluate the political
empowerment and participation, or lack thereof, for Middle Eastern women using a
multi-case study design to understand a larger phenomenon through an extensive study of
three specific instances: Iran, Kuwait and Turkey. These countries were picked
systematically because they are a good representation of their ethnic group and
government type and they represent different political, social and cultural paradigms in
the region.
ii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...... ii
INTRODUCTION...... 1
Methodology & Research Design
Definitions
Expected Findings
Chapter
1. LITERATURE REVIEW...... 12
2. ISLAM...... 24
Islam’s Influence on Women’s Rights
Culture or Religion
Issues of Concern
3. IRAN...... 40
The Revolution
The Emergence of Sister Mary
Iran After the Revolution
4. KUWAIT ...... 55
The Bani Utub Tradition
The Discovery of Oil
Samidat
iii
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Ottoman Women
Ataturk and Women
Saibe
The Great Divide
CONCLUSION...... 84
Summary
Suggestions
BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 97
iv
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION
Middle Eastern women’s lack of participation in politics has often been blamed
on Islam, however the apathy and constraints of women’s empowerment lies in
patriarchal-cultural traditions along with revolutionary movements be it independence or
liberation from an occupying force.1 Prophet Muhammad, the first political and
revolutionary leader in the Middle Eastern and those who followed him as revolutionary
leaders, set the social, political and legal framework of the whole country, especially in
women’s empowerment. The purpose of this study will be to describe and evaluate the
political empowerment and participation, or lack thereof, for Middle Eastern women
using a multi-case study designed to understand a larger phenomenon through an
extensive study of three specific instances: Iran, Kuwait and Turkey.
The main goal of a case study is to understand a certain phenomenon by studying
specific cases. In the instance of this project the phenomenon that will be studied is
Middle Eastern women’s participation in politics. Lessons from different parts of the
Middle East will be drawn in order for girls and other women to learn from their sisters'
experiences. The goal for this project is not to only satisfy the writer’s hunger for
knowledge, but also to introduce new concepts that will help girls and women across the
globe to gain knowledge and encouragement to stand up and speak up for their own
rights.
1
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 Methodology and Research Design
A case study is a “bounded system,” as refered to by John Creswell, of cases,
single or multiple, where detailed, in-depth data collection with multiple sources of
information is used to study a program, an event, or an activity of individuals bounded by
a specific time or place.2 Authors Gretchen B. Rossman and Sharon F. Rallis define case
studies as holistic, heuristic and inductive, and contend that in qualitative research it
offers a descriptive illustration of a complex situation.3 Case studies help the reader
understand a certain phenomenon through a close study of specific events by providing
exhaustive detail and complexity. The critic of case studies is that it generalizes findings
and either oversimplifies or exaggerates a situation which leads to a distorted conclusion.
However, as suggested by R.K. Yin, in her study, interpretation of the findings should go
beyond what the author has written and should be analyzed by the readers as well. She
argues that generalization of case studies is not a statistical one, as in a sample for the
whole universe, but an analytic generalization which illustrates or represents a theory. 4
When conducting a case study it is beneficial to use more than one case to make
an argument. This makes the statement and theory stronger since the study will offer a
greater variety. However in conducting a multi-case study, it is essential to look at similar
cases. There must be commonalities within the subjects that are being studied. For
example, when studying the effectiveness of health care systems one must look at
countries that provide the same health benefits and infrastructures.
The three countries that are explored in this multi-case study are Iran, Kuwait and
Turkey—all these countries were picked for specific reasons. Each of these countries lie
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in the Middle East and although they share certain commonalities such as culture,
religion and history, they represent different political and social paradigms in the region.
These varying differences at first might seem like a downside to picking these three
countries in particular; however, their diversity helps understand the issue from a broader
perspective. They are similar enough to group together in this case study because they are
all countries that are in the Middle East and are Muslim in religion yet they different
enough to gain an expansive viewpoint. These countries were picked systematically
because they are a good representation of their ethnic group and government type. Iran is
the remnant of a Persian Empire of an Indo-European descent whose language is Farsi. It
is the only country whose majority is Shia’a Muslim and current government a theocratic
republic based on Islam. Kuwait is a good model for the Arab world. Arabic is the
official language and historically Kuwaiti’s are Bedouins or tribal nomads, the country is
predominantly Sunni, and its government is a nominal constitutional monarchy. Although
Kuwait is very patriarchal and traditional it is still one of the most modem and
technologically advanced countries in the Middle East. Turkey is a good representation of
a secular, westem-style, democratic Muslim state in the Middle East. Ethnically, Turks
are Turkic and their spoken language is Turkish.5 The government is a secular republican
parliamentary democracy.
The chapters on each of the countries are divided into a brief history, current
standing of women in the respective country and an epitome of the most famous female
figures. General knowledge of history helps shape the current political standing of each
country which is essential when detailing female empowerment. Each country’s history
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will be discussed briefly as to how it relates to the topic. For this project, a woman's
perception is vital, as well as interviews, autobiographies, and testimonials that are
essential in understanding the evolving role of women. Because of the time restraints and
the difficulty with clearance personal interviews were not able to be conducted. The
testimonials that are used in this study are from various authors in books, journals and
newspaper articles. For each country there is one “female representative”, or an epitome,
in some cases they were individuals and in some instances it was group of women as will
be seen in the case of Kuwait. Each epitome defines a time, a movement and history for
their countries. Some of these women started out as insubordinates and ended up being
political leaders; others started out as leaders and became outsiders.
The first chapter will outline a literature review of the current research on the
issue of Islam, women, empowerment, gender roles and politics. The second chapter is on
Islam. A brief history of the religion is discussed along with the Prophet’s life. Islam’s
influence on Middle Eastern women will also be detailed along with answering the
question of whether it is religion or culture that hinders Middle Eastern women’s
participation in politics. The third chapter looks at Iran as the first case study and details
the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini’s influence over female empowerment. The
epitome for Iran will be Massoumeh Ebtekar who was Iran’s first female Vice-President.
The fourth chapter will look at Kuwait and will discuss tribal tradition along with
the discovery of oil and as to what kind of role it plays in women participating in society.
The epitome for Kuwait will be a group of women known as “samidat” who were
females that helped liberate Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation. The fifth chapter is on
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Turkey. Women’s role in the Ottoman Empire along with vindication brought by Kemal
Ataturk will be discussed. The epitome for this case study is Tansu filler who was
Turkey’s first female Prime Minister. The final chapter will be a summary of the findings
and will also offer suggestions.
The benefits of this approach is that it offers a broad view of the Middle East
since each of these countries represent a certain aspect of social and cultural life in the
Middle East. The Shia-Islamic, Sunni-Secular and tribal Sunni-Shia perspectives are
represented in this study. Also, studying the history of each of the countries gives good
background information and limits unnecessary analysis and lets the reader see the
context of the information and an epitome gives an example of females in action. The
limitation with this approach is that it does only look at three countries hence the
conclusions and suggestions that are drawn can only be applied in countries that are
similar to the ones discussed in this study. For example, countries such as Pakistan,
Bangladesh and other Islamic countries might not fit under the categories and
generalizations of this study. Hence, while reviewing this research it is necessary to
realize that this study is not just about Muslim women but of Middle Eastern women.
This thesis discusses three very important topics, the Middle Eastern women,
Islam and female empowerment. These concepts are discussed often; however it isn’t
always within the context of each other. Most write and research the region within the
context of the West. They define feminism and empowerment through their own lives
and their own society. In order to measure different levels of empowerment, these levels
need to be explained in the context of the Middle East. When discussing gender issues in
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reference to regions such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East, feminism and female
empowerment are usually defined in Western terms. Western women fought for access
to employment, education, childcare, and contraception, and abortion, equality in the
workplace, changing family roles, and remedy for sexual harassment in the workplace.
Middle Eastern women sought equality also, but did not want to change the family roles
like the western women had; they still wanted to be revered as mothers and wives, but
alongside this they also wanted the right to work, right to divorce, and most importantly,
equal political representation. The Western definition of female empowerment is sexual
liberation, whereas Middle Eastern women define it as a legal one.
When discussing topics such as feminism, it must be within the context of the
certain groups own culture and nationality. Each culture defines this term according to
what is most important to them. As will be seen in the next section of this chapter,
females living in certain parts of the world have a different definition of feminism and
what they expect out of women’s rights. Therefore, before any of this is discussed in
further detail, the definition and characterization must be clear, especially of powerful
words such as female empowerment.
Definitions
The term Middle East refers to the area of the world comprising the current
political states of Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine (the Occupied
Territories), Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Turkey and Iran. This area is equivalent to that of the
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continental United States or about thirty times the size of Britain. The inhabitants of this
region have been there since 15,000 B.C. as the fourth glacial period ended. Although
most of the Middle East is covered by deserts it has a warm climate and fertile soil
suitable for animals, plants and human beings. 6 The Middle East’s vastness is spread
into three continents—Africa, Asia and Europe. Its features of linguistics, religion,
political and historical are all complex and vary according to each nation.7 The shifting
boundaries of cultural and historical realities have often added more countries such as
Afghanistan and Pakistan to the list of Middle Eastern countries. For the purposes of this
study only those countries listed above will encompass the definition of Middle East.
The issue of woman is one that is discussed by all cultures, ethnic groups and by
every religion. As argued by Guity Nashat, as urban life expanded and trade flourished
there became a further specialization and division of labor. This started the roles of
females and males. Males started to work outside the home and females because they
could bear children, who in turn would end up being an extra hand and extra labor,
started to stay inside the home and became more domestic.8
The most important concept in this study is the idea of female empowerment—
this notion must be looked at from a Middle Eastern context. Female empowerment in the
Middle East means access and control to things such as material and human resources
along with education and information. Middle Eastern women unlike their counterparts in
the West do not want to be equal to males, they see an inherently different gap and ability
of each gender. They also accept the duties placed on each gender; the female being the
one who can bear children and run the household and the male being the one who takes
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care of duties women physically are not able to do—as in the protector and the body
guard of the family. Female empowerment in this study means the ability of females to
participate in the society and politics the same way a male can, this means, voting rights,
able to be an elected official, a fair and just divorce proceedings, inheritance rights and
not to be seen as emotionally too weak to participate in judicial and political decisions
making as defined by Srilatha Batliwala who is a researcher from India. 9
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, a professor of History and Islam at Georgetown
University, gives examples of the difference between Western feminism and Middle
Eastern feminism, in the book she edited,Islam, Gender and Social Change. According
to Haddad, western feminist want to abolish division of labor based on gender so females
and males can work at the same job with the same pay as equals. Middle Eastern feminist
problem with labor issues would be to ask for more time during the day so a mother
might be able to spend more time feeding her children or having lunch with them. They
might ask to be let go earlier in order to tend to their household duties. Another instance
is reproductive health. Western women have often fought for abortion rights and easy
access to the over-the-counter morning after pill. The Middle Eastern feminists have
tolerated abortion only if it dangered the life of the mother and the child, and instead of
asking for the morning after pill to be readily available they would ask for birth control
pills. 10 Empowerment to women in the Middle East only consists of those elements
mentioned above because in this region religiosity and modesty are emphasized and
treasured.
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One small example is of Abu Dhabi, in this small Gulf country, in public
transportations, such as the metro, there are two types of train-cars—one integrated, with
both sexes, and one with just females. In an endeavor to capture the essence of Middle
Eastern women, this conversation was overheard during a dinner at a mosque. A female
professor from Egypt, who was visiting her son in Washington, was commenting to her
friends about being in Abu Dhabi and really enjoying the option of having two different
cars, males-female and just female. She was angered at how such a notion of segregating
metro cars was not available in Egypt, she repeatedly commented, “We are Muslims in
Egypt also, how come we do not have such a facility in Cairo. I detest taking the bus,
being squeezed in with men. The Gulf, now that’s a progressive place.” Although this
women does not speak for all Egyptians or females for that matter, her demand for a
sexually free atmosphere in public shows the kinds of rights women seek in the Middle
East.
Most Western feminism wants a gender blind-fold for there to be no difference
between a man and a woman. Middle Eastern feminist want to emphasize the difference
between both sexes and ask for privileges due to the fact of being a female and having
more responsibility then males. The Western notion of sexual liberation is not a factor in
Middle Eastern women’s empowerment, instead it is contractual liberation. As
emphasized by female politicians such as Massoumeh Ebtekar and professors such as
Leila Ahmed, Middle Eastern women want the power that is promised to the from Islam
and along side this they also want to have a voice in the society and be able to participate
in politics, as that of the women during the Prophet Muhammad’s time.
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Expected Findines
Originally the expected findings were based on the notion that even though Islam
did enhance women’s role in society based on the Shari’a, the written law, it was not
applied in the Sunnah which is defined as the life of the Prophet. As will be seen in the
research below these new laws that were implemented because Islam was in fact
practiced in the Sunnah. This is an extremely detrimental finding when studying
women’s empowerment. Prophet Muhammed, for Muslims are the embodiment of the
perfect male, all Muslim males are to follow in his footsteps and use him as an example.
Seeing that women were active in politics and the society during the Prophet’s lifetime
should encourage men of the current century to follow along the same route. It is
expected that Islam when applied properly will advance women participating in politics.
It is also the contention of the writer that revolutions and revolutionary leaders
play an important role in setting the tone for women’s future empowerment. The first
political leader for Middle Eastern was the Prophet Muhammad he set the initial system
for accepting women as part of the society. Others like Ayatollah Khomeini and Ataturk
helped in advancing women because of their own views. Political involvement takes on
forms such as voting rights, holding positions such as parliamentarians, judges and heads
of state. Women are only able to vindicate themselves only in a society which has had a
revolutionary leader asking for women’s rights. This paper will discuss these
phenomenons with using historical examples and a multi case study.
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1 Serpil Qakir in her bookActivities o f Ottoman Women argues that Turkish woman, unlike her counterparts in Arabia and Persia, had a lot of rights. She claims that once the Turks adopted Islam this is when the strain began on Middle Eastern Women’s participation in politics. Although this is true certain extend, one must realize that the Turks not only adopted Islam, they also took a lot of the Arab patriarchal culture. Another prominent historian, Bernard Lewis, in his bookWhat Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East argues that it was not Islam which enhanced women but the idea of modernization each Middle Eastern country started to adopt. However he fails to take notice of dozens of examples as to how Islam enhanced women. These examples will be discussed in this research. 2 John W. Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998), 36-39. 3 Gretchen B. Rossman & Sharon F. Rallis. Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998), 70. 4 R.K. Yin.Case Study Research: Design and Methods. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998), 23 5 CIA World Fact Book http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html December 18. 2003. 6 Sydney Nettleton Fisher and William Ochsenwald, eds.The Middle East: A History Volume I—Fifth Edition. (New York, NY: McGrawHill, 1996), 1-7. 7 Dale Eickelman. The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), 1-3. 8 Guity Nashat & Lois Beck, eds.Women in Iran From the Rise o f Islam to 1800. (Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2003), 11. 9 Srilatha Batliwala, “What is female empowerment?” Paper presented at a conference in Stockholm on International Seminar on Women’s Empowerment. April, 25, 1997. Although this theoretical framework of female empowerment is in the context of South Asia, her analysis of the definition of female empowerment can also be applied to this research. 10 Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and John L. Esposito, eds. Islam,Gender and Social Change. (New York, NY: Oxford, 1998), 23.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
There is a considerable amount of literature written on the topic of Middle Eastern
women and female empowerment. This chapter will give a brief over view of some of the
literature. The literature described here will be divided into sections on Islam, Middle
East, Political Participation, and on each of the countries, Turkey, Kuwait and Iran. The
authors of the books below were a determinant factor in choosing the literature. All of the
writers are either professors, or journalists who have studied the region and issues
extensively. They have been the pioneers for studies in the Middle East and are well
recognized and honored for their work.
It is essential to look at Islam prior to dealing with social and political issues
regarding the region. Religion in the Middle East plays an immense role in every aspect
of society. Two scholarly books which give an in-depth description of Islam is Karen
Armstrong’s,Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet 1 and Akbar Ahmed’s Islam
Today. While Armstrong provides a concise biography of man, a husband, a politician
and a Prophet, Akbar Ahmed discredits stereotypes such as subordination of women,
contempt for other religions and opposition to the modem world. Both books give a
succinct history of Islam and debunk some of it misconceptions. Another good source of
information on Islam has been from the non-profit organization Muslim Women’s
League. On their website they have many published articles, one essential to this study
12
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has been Women in Society: Political Participation. This article gives a good
background on Islamic law pertaining to politics and women’s participation, along with
•5 example of women in political roles in Islam’s history.
A general knowledge of Middle Eastern history is also needed when studying this
subject. Bernard Lewis’ book,The Arabs in History4, answers the question of ‘Who are
the Arabs and what has been their place in course of human history?’ this otherThe book,
Middle East: A Brief History o f the Last 2,000 Years5, complements the prior book in
understanding the historical climate of the region. Another book by, Sydney Nettleton
Fisher and William Ochsenwald’s isThe Middle East: A History. The authors start with
600 A.D. and go through until the end of the Ottoman Empire discussing social, political
and historical aspects of the region.
One of the most thought provoking books on gender and politics in the Middle
East is Muslim Women and the Politics o f Participation edited by Mahnaz Afkhami and
Erika Friedl. This book is based on the proceedings of the conference, “Beijing and
Beyond: Implementing the Platform for Action in Muslim Societies” and was written to
provide a process for implementation. It has contributions from many writers and they
detail women’s rights issues in Muslim societies, strategies for change and International
Organizations and Implementations for the Platform for Action. This book provides a
simple background on issues and provides suggestion for change.6 Another book that
helps as a general reference isIslam, Gender and Social Change edited by Yvonne
Yazbeck Haddad and John L. Esposito. This book too offers insight into the world of
Islam and gender issues with various contribution authors and case studies.
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Esposito sums up the gender issue regarding the Middle East,
Women in Muslim societies have been subject of images and generalizations, romantic orientalist tales and feminist expose. Muslim reformers and apologetic tracts. For many non-Muslims, the subject of women in Islam is characterized by the images of deserts and harems, chadors and hijabs, segregation and subordination. Subjugation and second-class citizenship probably best describes the perception of Muslim women in the West. Some Muslims counter that Islam has liberated women, but, at the same time, they often present an ideal none accompanied by the problems and issues encountered in the diversity of the Muslim experience.
In the same book Haddad makes the argument that tradition is very significant factor in
the Middle East especially to the Arabs. She contents that the Arabs are in a constant
struggle with Israel and in order to say united and be bound to each other, they uphold
their traditions and refuse to give it up.7
In the book titledMiddle Eastern Muslim Women Speak edited by Elizabeth
Wamock Femea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan various women are looked at in explaining
Islam and gender. These women are artist, poets, singers or political freedom fighters.
The editors make a fundamental argument is to where Islam and culture fits into female
empowerment. They draw on the figure below to explain their point of view. “At one
extreme end of the line stands the Qur’an, the codification of the word of God and the
ideal touchstone to which all actions of life are to be conformed ad related. At the other
extreme end of the line lie the forces of tribal and family customs, the word of men.”
Qur’an Tribal and family custom (The word of God) ^ (The word of men)
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Their argument is female’s placement in Islam lies neither closer to the Qur’anic
viewpoint or the traditional and cultural framework but instead lies somewhere in the
middle, depending on social and economic positions of the individual involved, the
environment and the composition of the family group.8 However the research below
shows how in the Middle East tribal and cultural factors play more of a role in
influencing women’s participation in society and politics as opposed to religion. This
argument will be discussed in this research.
In most instances even the most scholarly literature mentions the veil or hijab,
and how it had impacted the role of women in society. A woman covering herself has
become one of the defining ways of measuring empowerment or vindication. The three
countries that are looked at all approach the idea of the hijab differently, in Iran hijab is
mandatory, in Kuwait it is recommended but not forced, in Turkey it is forbidden in any
public spheres such as government building, schools or work settings. Hijab is always
brought into the mainstream when women’s empowerment is discussed however, there is
no indication that it has hindered or advanced women participating in politics Hijab has
become the scapegoat in most studies—there are a lot of other underlying issues that need
to be analyzed before the notion of the veil if brought to the forefront.
The history of hijab goes back to the time before Islam which is also known as the
Age of Ignorance, or Jahalia. The hijab, during this time, became an indicator of a
women’s social status, this was a way for women to indicate to the rest of the society that
they are not to be bothered. With the advent of Islam, the hijab became religious, it was
first decreed that the Prophet’s wives cover themselves to avoid envy and the “evil eye.”
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Hence, since the Prophet’s wives are supposed to be an exemplary of the perfect Muslim
women, females started to cover themselves as well. The Qur’an states,Tell the “
believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display o f their adornment
only that which is apparent and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal
their adornment” (Qur’an 24:31) “That will be better, that so they may be recognized
and not annoyed. ” (Qur ’an 33:59) There is no reference to any other body part other then
the breasts—however hair and faces also started to be covered because of old tribal
tradition. The hijab• in theth 20 century has become a way of either defining oneself as a
Muslim, or rebelling against it. Although at times it has been used as a cover for
insurgents smuggling information, food, or weapons, as will be seen later on, it is not a
defining factor in women’s empowerment, especially with reference to political
participation. For this reason, the argument about hijab is not mentioned in this research
as opposed to the study conducted by the writers below.
Leila Ahmad in Women and Gender in Islam blames the importance of the veil to
“colonial discourse”. She argues that colonial influence set the term for the veil and
helped it emerge as a symbol of resistance.9 Another theme researchers have looked at is
the impact of religion and culture when explaining the discrepancy in women’s
vindication. Fatima Memissi inThe Veil and the Male Elite discusses veiling and the
influence of culture in dealing with women’s empowerment. She argues that Islam’s
intention was never to deny women their rights but it arose out of pre-existing social
traditions especially patriarchal ones. She is very strong in her conviction that what has
been revealed with the Qur’an has been distorted and misinterpreted do to the male
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elites.10 Amina Wadud makes this argument also Qur’anin and Woman: Rereading the
Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective. Wadud agrees with most progressive Islamic
thinkers that the Qur’an because it was written from a males perspective, it had some
bias. She breaks down the specific texts and interprets them from a female perspective;
she also breaks down certain Arabic terms and explains their meanings. This helps the
reader to see a different point of view.11 The lessons that will be drawn from these writers
are everything expects the notion of hijab.
In reference to each specific country in this study there is not an abundance of
literature concerning Middle Eastern women and politics. Yesim Arat, a professor at
Bogazici University in Istanbul, has been one of the pioneers in studying Turkish
women’s participation in politics. Her book,The Patriarchal Paradox, examines how
women in Turkey really are not taking full advantage of their rights. She argues that since
Turkish women were given the right to vote without a struggle they have been
unappreciative of it and have fallen into the trap of patriarchal norms. 12 Emel
Dogramaci, another Turkish scholar in her bookTurkish titled, Women: Yesterday and
Today, makes the argument the Turkish women before the advent of Islam were
politically and socially much more active.13 She argues that Islam brought exoneration to
women of the Arabia, who were extremely oppressed but it hindered Turkish women
activity who had a lot more freedom to begin with, then Arab women. Although what she
contends is correct, Turkish women were empowered compared to Arab women, she fails
to note that the reason Islam hindered Turkish women was because Turks adopted Islam
along with Arab cultural traditions.
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Another source for Turkey was a report from a NGO in Turkey, Women for
Women’s Human Rights. The author of a report written for thisA Brief NGO, Overview
of Women’s Movements in Turkey and The Influence of Political Discourse, Pinar
Ilkkaracan outlines and analyzes historical debates about Islam, westernization and
gender issues in Turkey. She argues that it has been ideological differences that have put
a strain on women’s empowerment in Turkey with a great divide between the Kemalist,
Radicalist and the Islamist.14
Kuwait has often been one of the quietest nations in the world. Kuwait was
brought into the world scene with the discovery of oil in the early 20th century and again
when Iraq invaded the tiny country. Kuwait is still a work in progress when it comes to
gender issues, because of this there was not a lot of literature pertaining to female
empowerment in Kuwait. The limited number of scholars studying this country goes to
show how secluded and introverted they are—and goes to show how it is extremely
difficult to study such a nation that is skeptical of outsiders wanting information.
Some general historical information was taken from the Kuwait Information
Office in Washington DC. Their extensive website also consists of a special section on
women with articles written by university professors such as Dr. Taghreed Alqudsi-
Ghobra. Dr. Ghobra argues, in her article on education and modernization, that although
Middle Eastern women still have some obstacles ahead of themselves when it comes to
empowerment they are not as oppressed as the Western media and stereotypes makes
them out to be.15 Haya al-Mughni, a female Kuwaiti, blames a lack of female political
activity in Kuwait not only to patriarchal norms, like Arat, but also on the women of the
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society. She states inWomen in Kuwait: the Politics o f Gender, that women in Kuwait
have been too busy classifying themselves with certain societal ranking and in doing so
have forgotten the real cause of their struggle. They have often formed women’s
organizations but these groups only consisted of socialites and often excluded the middle
class and working women. There was no unification.16
Another scholar on Kuwait, Anh Nga Longva, in her articleKuwaiti titled,
Women at the Crossroads: Privileged Development and the Constraints of Ethnic
Stratification, argues that in order to preserve Kuwaiti identity, especially since Kuwaiti
nationals are a minority, there must be certain rules of self-presentation and conduct
adopted by the nationals to emphasize their distance from the expatriates.17 However she
has failed to realize the negative impact this has had on women, especially those of a
lower social standing. As argued by Mughni, one of the reasons why women in Kuwait
haven’t been politically successful is because of the great divide between social status of
women especially by markings such a dress code and attitude towards women. If this
status continues to be a defining factor for Kuwaitis and especially women, as suggested
by Longva, it will continue to place people into groups based on social and economic
standings as opposed to the much needed purposeful front, as in women’s rights.
For women in Iran two important factors affected their involvement in politics,
one being the Islamic Revolution and the other Ayatollah Khomeini. There are two good
sources detailing both of these factors. The first is Robin Wright’s,The Last Great
Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in 18 Iran. Wright, a journalist for the
Washington Post has been reporting on Iran since 1973. Her argument is the results of
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the Islamic Revolution, its political, religious and cultural trends are eventually going to
lead Iran into its last Great Revolution of a modem era—similar to that of the French
Revolution. Wright’s input and research gives a new hope and understanding for the
women of Iran. The second book is Elaine Sciolino’sPersian Mirrors: The Elusive Face
o f Iran. Sciolino, a journalist for the New York Times, she was also one of two women
who accompanied Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran from exile; she along with other
journalist got a view into the life and mind of man who transformed Iran.19
A publication for Women Living Under Muslim Laws, which is an organization
run out of Africa, Middle East, Asia and the United Kingdom, written by Dr. Homa
Hoodfar for their 21st DossierMuslim is Women on the Threshold o f the Twenty-First
Century. In this article she uses Iran as a case study by explaining the implications of the
Revolution on women’s rights.20 Azadeh Kian’s Women article, and Politics in Post-
Islamist Iran: the Gender Conscious Drive to Change makes the argument that Islamist
women were expecting a lot more from the implementation of the Shari’a.21 The research
below will add to Kian’s findings by showing that the gender inequality that Iranian
women faced caused to be more politically active.
Another source of information for this research has been various Women’s
organizations and their publications. Women Living Under Muslim Law (WLUML) is an
organization that was started in 1984 because of female political prisoner in Algeria and
Morocco. The organization has grown since then to cover women’s rights all over the
world and to, “break women’s isolation and to provide linkage and support to all women
whose lives may be affected by Muslim law.” Their website is available in Arabic,
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English and French. Another organization, Muslim Women’s League (MWL) was
formed to, “implement values of Islam and thereby reclaim the status of women as free,
equal and vital contributors to Islam.” This organization is based in the United States and
is run out of California. A final organization that needs mentioning is, Women for
Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) this organization is based out of Istanbul, Turkey and
their website is available in both English and Turkish. Their mission statement is, “to
promote women’s human rights and to support the active and broad participation of
women as free individuals and equal citizens in the establishment and maintenance of a
democratic and peaceful order at national, regional and international levels.”
These organizations, in particular, have done an immense amount of work
concerning women in the Middle East. They publish articles and research done by
credible authors on their website, along with posting relevant news information. They
also network, promote and sponsor various conferences in their endeavor to support
women’s rights. These types of organizations have helped in informing and educating the
general public, students and others on this topic.
All of these resources provide concise information regarding the issues that are
discussed in this study. These sources have shown in their own research how Islam in fact
has promoted women’s rights and it has been cultural biases that have been holding
women back. They outline the specific influence of Islam and culture on women along
with the impact of liberation movements and leaders. The one aspect that has not been
looked at by others is the question of whether a revolutionary leaders, be it in an Islamic
Republic or in a secular government, affects women’s participation and to what extent,
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especially within the context of these three countries.
Each of these countries faced a revolution or an occupation and eventually won
their freedom and women made a major impact in gaining this independence. Although
this thought of females being active during a revolution and occupation has been touched
on slightly there is no substantive analysis of how the mind-set of a political leader,
especially a revolutionary one, sets the social, political and legal framework of the whole
country in every aspect. Leaders such as Ayatollah Khomeini and Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk played an immense role in shaping the future for their respective countries. Their
ideals become embedded into the society and they become almost idolized. This research
will pioneer what kind of impact revolutionary leaders had in shaping women’s
empowerment.
1 Karen Armstrong. Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1993) 2 Akbar Ahmed. Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World. (New York, N Y : I.B. Tauris, 2001) 3 “Women in Society: Political Participation” article from Muslim Women’s League. www.mwlusa.org/pub_book_polrights.html 4 Bernard Lewis. The Arabs in History. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993) 5 Bernard Lewis. The Middle East: A Brief History o f the Last 2,000 Years. (New Y ork, N Y : T ouchstone, 1995) 6 Mahnaz Afkhami and Erika Friedl, eds. Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation. (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Press, 1997) 7 Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and John L. Esposito, eds.Islam, Gender and Social Change. (New York, NY: Oxford, 1998), xi. 8 Elizabeth Wamock Femea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan, eds. Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak. (Austin, TX: University of Texas, 1977), xix. 9 Leila Ahmad. Women and Gender in Islam. (New Have, CT: Yale University, 1992) 10 Fatima Memissi. The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation o f Women's Rights in Islam. (Persueur Book, 1991) 11 Amina Wadud. Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective. (New York, NY: Oxford, 1999) 12 Yesim Arat. The Patriarchal Paradox: Women Politicians in Turkey. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Press, 1989) 13 Emel Dogramaci. Turkiye ’de Kadinin Dunu ve Bugunu. (Istanbul, Turkey: Kultur, 1997)
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14 Pinar Ilkkaracan. “A Brief Overview of'Women’s Empowerment in Turkey and the Influence of Political Discourse.” Women for Women’s Human Rights, (www.wwhr.org’) September 1997. 15 Taghreed Alqudsi-Ghobra. “Women in Kuwait: Educated, Modem and Middle Eastern.” Kuwait Information Office, (www.kuwait-info.org/Kuwaiti Women/women in kuwait.htmO December 15, 2003. 16 Haya al-Mughni. Women in Kuwait: The Politics o f Gender. (London, England: Saqi, 2001) 17 Anh Nga Longva. “Kuwaiti Women at a Crossroads: Privileged Development and the Constraints of Ethnic Stratification.”International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 25 (1993): 443-456. 18 Robin Wright.The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in (New Iran. York, NY: Vintage Books, 2001) 19 Elaine Sciolino.Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face o f Iran. (New York, NY: Touchstone, 2000) 20 Homa Hoodfar. “Muslim Women on the Threshold of the Twenty-First Century.” Women Living Under Muslim Laws (www.wluml.org) Dossier 21, September 1998. 21 Azadeh Kian. “Women and Politics in Post-Islamist Iran: the Gender Conscious Drive to Change.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 24 (1997) 75-96.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 2
ISLAM
This chapter will address the issue of Islam and women. A brief history of the religion
will be discussed as well as Prophet Muhammad’s life. Islam’s influence on Middle
Eastern women will also be detailed along with answering the question of whether it is
religion or culture that hinders Middle Eastern women’s participation in politics. This
chapter will conclude with certain issues of concern regarding women in the Middle East.
Islam’s Influence on Women’s Rights
In 570 A.D. a male child was bom in Arabia to the Quraish tribe—he was named
Muhammad meaning “highly praised.” He became an orphan very early on in his
childhood and eventually came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. His family was not
very well off and Muhammad had to get a job from outside of his family because his
father had not left him any capital. He started working for a twice married widow
Khadijah—because Muhammad was known for being extremely honest Khadijah
employed him without any worries. He would take her caravan from Arabia to as far as
Syria. Khadijah who was fifteen years his senior and of a higher social status then
Muhammad proposed marriage to him and he accepted. Khadijah was very well off and
after his marriage to her, Muhammad did not need to work as much and consequently he
had a lot of free time to meditate and ponder life’s worries. On one of his meditation
24
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trips to Mount Hira Muhammad received the first message from God. He came home in
disbelief and thinking he was hallucinating to the arms of Khadijah who consoled him.
From then on, Islam soon took light with Muhammad as the Prophet and Khadijah as his
first convert.
Nabia Abbott, in her article for the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, contends that
although Prophet Muhammad pushed for women’s equality, he insisted on placing
women always below males. Her argument is fallible because she disregards the
advancement Islam brought to pre-Islam Arabia. She makes her argument by presenting
examples, such as Umm Kulthum who had left the city of Makkah on her own without a
male escort and that her brothers followed her and made her return home. 1 However she
fails to acknowledge the environment was a war zone during this time. Women were
kidnapped and forced into marriage and slavery. Islam did not hinder women but it
pressured the males to protect the women and rescued women from being seen as
chattels.
The period of time before Islam is known as the age of Jahalia or “the age of
ignorance.” During this period women’s rights depended on two factors, where they
resided and what their social status was. Women like Khadijah, who owned their own
businesses, had male employees, and were socially stable enough to propose marriage
were plentiful. There were also, high priestess or rulers such as Queen Semiramis of
Babylon or concubines. The other determinant factor of women in Pre-Islam Arabia was
whether they were Bedouins or settled tribes people. Women from settled tribes tended to
have more power since the males would often be away trading, hence the atmosphere
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would be free for women to take over. There were also however, women of lower
economical and social status who had absolutely no rights and were only seen as property
and entertainment for males. For these females the world seemed full of misogynist—
women did not have any rights to property or to inheritance and female infanticide was
popularly practiced.
A female newborn was seen as a curse and male seen as a reason for celebration
as exemplified by a Qur’anic verse,“When one o f them is told o f the birth o f a female
child, his face is overcast with gloom because o f the ominous news he has had. Shall he
preserve it despite the disgrace involved or bury it in the ground?” (16:58-61) In such
primitive societies as Arabia, bloodshed was not permitted in child-murders, hence they
would be buried alive. The Qur’an outlawed these barbaric and unruly traditions,“Do not
kill your children for fear of poverty: it is we who shall provide sustenance for them as
well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great sin. ” (17:31).
The institution of marriage at this time undermined a women’s right to choose her
husband. There were five types of marriages in Pre-Islam Arabia. Marriage by
agreement, which is where a man and woman’s family sets up a marriage agreement. The
second type was marriage by capture, where in times of war women were captured and
pressured into marriage. The third was marriage by purchase where a women’s family
gave her away for a price. Marriage by inheritance, was the fourth type, where upon a
death the heir would also inherent his wife. The final type was temporary marriage,
where strangers and travelers could pay a certain price to “marry” women for a short
while purely to have intercourse. Men could also marry and divorce women easily in
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numerous numbers and often times when they took on a new wife they would leave the
other without notice or any compensation.
Islam abolished these cruel practices and set new guidelines for marriage and
divorce. With the advent of Islam, women were to receive a mahr or a dowry for a
marriage, this was paid to her and she was in no way obligated to contribute it to her
newly formed families’ wealth and until the husband pays it off he is considered to be in
debt to his wife. It was her own money that she could spend at her own discretion. Once a
marriage contract was singed and it was consummated the man has to provide a nafaqa,
in the form of food, shelter, nourishment, clothing and other necessities. If a husband
were to disappear and leave without sufficient funds his assets would be assigned to the
wife. The Qur’an repeatedly praises women, puts heaven at the “foot of the mother”,
and warns against the use of injurious statements by a husband against his wife. (Qur’an
58:2-4). As contended by Leila Ahmed, with Islam women of the Middle East got a fair
and equal status in society.
Islam brought to the Arab community and especially to women, freedom and the
guidance to lead a successful and faithful society. Islam gave women the right to inherent
and to own property, a right to a divorce, outlawed female infanticide and restricted the
number of wives a man could take. Some of these rights were not enjoyed even by
European women at this time. There is also the misunderstood issue of women’s clothing
in Islam. Because it is so different then the western way of dress most people are taken
aback by it. All that the Qur’an asks is that a women dress humbly to advert attention to
her body,‘‘Tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display o f
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their adornment only that which is apparent and to draw their veils over their bosoms,
and not to reveal their adornment" (Qur’an 24:31) "That will be better, that so they may
be recognized and not annoyed.” (Qur’an 33:59) This statement does not mean a
woman’s face needs to be covered or her whole body is hidden in a burka, it simply states
that it must not draw sexual attention, and that it is alright to be recognized but not lust
after. 4
Some argue including Serpil Qakir that history and law was written from a man’s
perspective. Her argument being that women were entirely excluded from important
historical facts, such as their participation in wars, education and family relations. 5
Although this is true in most instances, especially the history of the Western cultures, this
is not the case when the Middle East is concerned. The simplest example being, the
period right after Muhammad’s death. His words, his actions, his theology, his principles
were mostly prescribed into texts from women especially from his wife Aisha. Before the
Qur’an was put into textual form his wives and daughters were consulted, they verbally
contributed to Islam’s history while the males put it in written form.6 In some aspects it
can be said that early Islamic history was written mostly by women. Prophet
Muhammad’s favorite wife Aisha was a constant source of information when the Sunnah
was being written, as will be seen below.
From a Muslim women’s perspective, if applied correctly, Islam does not deny
women of anything. If there are restrictions on women today it is because of clerics and
imams who do not interpret the holy Qur’an like the way it was meant to be. There is
nothing in the Qur’an that says women must be covered from head to toe and nothing in
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the Qur’an that says a woman cannot take part in a society by being teachers, doctors, or
judges. Qur’an also teaches Muslims to look at the life of Prophet Muhammad and to
follow in his footsteps for he is the ideal human being. During the Prophets time women
were part of everyday society, his first wife was a business woman who proposed
marriage to him, and his favorite wife led battles after his death in his honor. Prophet
Muhammad preached for women to be treated as equals for they are equal to man in the
eyes of God. Clerics have often times ignored decrees that went against the tribal norm or
they adamantly interpreted Islam within the context of a tribal culture.
Culture or Religion
Elizabeth Wamock Femea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan point out that women’s
place in the Middle East varies with two extreme poles. At one end it is the Qur’an, or the
word of God and at the other end is traditional and cultural factors, or the word of men.
Their argument is female’s placement in Islam lies neither closer to the Qur’anic
viewpoint or the traditional and cultural framework but that in most cases it lies
somewhere in between depending on social and economic positions of the individual
involved, the environment and the composition family.7 This argument is not sound
because if true form of Islam was followed by all then women would have their
vindication. Instead misogynists have interpreted Islam and Prophet Muhammad’s
teachings into fitting their own point of view—lack of political involvement by women is
not obstructed by Islam but by tradition.
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Most of the misconceptions about the ability of women are culturally and
traditionally based as opposed to the popular religious theory. When Islam entered the
region, the Prophets words and actions got distorted to fit the already embedded tradition
of the Arab people. The Qur’an states,"I shall not lose sight o f the labor o f any o f you
who labors in My way, be it man or woman; each o f you is equal to the other (3:195)."
On the Day of Judgment, the first person to step into heaven will be the Virgin Mary and
the rest following according “to the purpose of their hearts.” Islam brought a gender
blindfold to the people of Arabia, and religion does not explain the lack of political
participation.
Most from the Middle East often talk about Islam and returning to the days of
Prophet Muhammad, they castigate those who do not adhere to Islam yet they fail to see
the reality behind their objections. In actuality most women would probably prefer to
return to the days of the Prophet Muhammad, women at this time fought in wars, ran
marketplaces, lead others in prayer and even ran municipalities. Their dowry and nafaqa
amounted to a tremendous amount of money and gave them economic independence.
Islam has never hindered women; in fact it has given women a lot more then what she
used to have. The constraints that Middle Eastern women face today are not due to Islam
but do to the fact that those living in the region have twisted Islam in such a way that it is
mostly compromised of cultural beliefs as opposed to religious.
If we look at the beginning of mankind, all major religions believe in Adam and
Eve as the first created human beings. In Greco-Roman and Biblical-Judaic allegations it
has always been Eve who had fallen under the spell of Satan and had forced Adam to
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taste the forbidden fruit. However, Amina Wadud in her interpretation of the Qur’an,
points out that blame is not given to only one sex, the Arabic dual form is used to
describe how Satan has temptedboth Adam and Eve and both disobeyed Allah. The
women is not singled out as in other religions as being the temptress of evil.8 This stigma
has haunted women of the Western world ever-since the beginning of time. Whereas the
Qur’an never listed a fault with one distinct sex. The Qur’an again unlike the other books
does not formulate in its pages the proper conduct, ways of prayer and etcetera. The
Qur’an is a general philosophical text that mostly discusses the belief in one God, belief
in all the Prophets and Muhammad being the last to serve and dictates certain morals.
When it discusses human beings it does not go into detail about each sex. It discusses
them as one entity divided into two formats, female and male. It does not differentiate
between them and does not prescribe a certain stereotypical role to men or women.
The law about a man having the right to marry four wives is often brought up
when discussing the rights of women. Although this is an important factor that might
hinder the status of women, we must look at this subject in its own context. In order to
understand a book, a single chapter cannot be read. During Jahalia, men were able to
marry as many wives as they wished and could then divorce or simply just disappear
from their lives. A ruler either a religious one or a divine one, cannot simply change
cultural norms instantly and expect the people to adhere to it. For this simple reason,
when Islam came of light, the cultural practice of having multiple wives was still kept
logistically but a very important restriction was made. The Qur’an states that a man can
have more then one wife if and only if he is able to treat them equally. This meaning that
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if he buys one gift for one, he must buy the same gift for the other. If he performs a
certain sexual act with one, he then must perform the same act with the other, making
sure he gives the same amount of pleasure to both, or all.
If thought about it logically it is conceivably impossible for any human being to
treat two different persons, let alone four, exactly the same. The Qur’an elaborates on this
by stating that this act of polygamy is not something that can be performed by all beings.
Amina Wadud, who has read the Qur’an and translated it from a females perspective
points out that, after stating if polygamous all wives must be treated equally, the Qur’an
goes on to use the form of the Arabic negative connoting meaning “permanent
impossibility” simply interpreted as men should not be polygamous.9 The reason
polygamy has even found its way into Islam as argued by Akbar Ahmed, was due to the
fact that while Islam was coming of light, Arabia was war tom, there were many orphans
and widows left behind. Because they were not tended to they were in great danger in this
war-like tribal atmosphere, hence the Qur’an decreed unto the people to marry widows,
by allowing man up to four wives, so she would have a male protectorate and to adopt
orphans so they would have a home.10 Even the Prophets only virgin bride was Aisha, the
rest were women who were widowed due to the warring circumstances. However this
was ignored by people of this region because inherently they were used to being
polygamous and they disregarded the timely manner of the circumstances of taking on
more on one wife.
A leader in an Islamic state receives their legitimacy through a process called
bai’ah—it is known as a symbolic contract between the people and the leader. The leader
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promises to adhere to Islamic law and the people promise their loyalty to the leader. In
order to become a leader and be legitimized, both men and women have to give their
bai’ah—women were included in political decisions in early Islam.11 The Qur’an goes to
confirm this by stating,“O Prophet! Whenever believing women come unto thee to
pledge their allegiance to thee...then accept, their pledge o f allegiance. ” (60:12)
According to Islamic scholars such as Ibn Hazm, women could participate in
political life and could also be judges and imams. He sights A1 Shafa bint Abdullah ibn
abd Shams who was appointed by the second caliph Umar, as the manager over the
market of Medina. He also claims that an Islamic leader does not necessarily have to take
on the role of an imam—although it is desirable. There are many instance when the
Prophet Muhammad, although he was the bai’ah leader did not conduct the daily prayer.
This goes to show it is not necessary to lead prayer while being the leader. The Hadiths,
or the teachings of the Prophet, dictate four criteria for leading a prayer; an ability to read
the Qur’an, knowledge of the Qur’an, knowledge of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad
and being accepted by the congregation. As-Sayyid Sabiq another renowned Islamic
scholar from Al-Azhar claims only someone with a legitimate excuse not to pray and an
incapacitated person is prohibited from leading prayer. Also anyone who is an evildoer or
someone who changes the religion is discouraged from leading prayer. Thus, the issue of
gender is never mentioned.
Prophet’s favorite wife, Aisha used to lead other women in prayer all the time.
There is also, Umm Waraqa, who knew the Qur’an well and was instructed by the
Prophet to lead her ‘ahl dariha’ (which literally means home but can be interrupted as
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neighborhood or village) in prayer which consisted of both men and women. She also
wanted to be a martyr and asked to participate in battle, Prophet Muhammad let her
participate in the Battle of Badr and referred to her as the “female martyr.” Another
example is that of Ghalaza who led her male warriors in prayer after capturing the city of
Kufa—she is also known for reciting two of the longest chapter in the Qur’an from
memory. This goes to show that although women religious leaders is not commonly
accepted one cannot ignore the tremendous examples of women taking a lead role during
the Prophets time.
Islam has seen many women participating in political life. Sumaya Zawgat Yasir
was the fist martyr in Islam—she was tortured and killed because she was a Muslim.
Umm Imara fought with Prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud and protected him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab has said, “I heard the Prophet saying ‘On the day of Uhud, I never
looked right or left without seeing Umm Imara fighting to defend me.’” Nasiba bint Kaab
was another famous female warrior who fought with the Prophet in the Battle of Uhud
and with Caliph Abu Bakr in the Ridda war.12 Muslim men are supposed to look unto the
Prophet as an example and if they see that the Prophet accepted and encouraged such
women as those mentioned above why is it that the Muslim men of today still refuse to
see the illegitimacy of discouraging women from political life.
The most famous and revered of women politicians in the Middle East is Prophet
Muhammad’s favorite wife Aisha. After the Prophets death it was decreed that his wives
were to live in seclusion and to lead solitary lives, however Aisha was the only one brave
enough to throw herself into the realm public life. She fought vehemently to keep the
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Prophet’s memory alive and tried to turn Arabian political life into something that
Muhammad would want. Prophet Muhammad was not only a religious figure in Arabia
he was also a great political leader. When he died there became great controversy over
who would rule as a caliph. Arabia became divided into two views, one side thought it
should be those closest to the Prophet since they knew his teachings and methods better,
and others following the tribal tradition thought it should be the Prophet’s family. The
day the Prophet was laid to rest, Abu Bakr was chosen by the community as the first
caliph or leader. The controversy started to brew up because half of the community
wanted Ali in power, who was the Prophets first cousin, adopted son, and his son-in-law.
Ali was consoled by being promised he would be the second caliph, however Umar took
reign, again Ali was promised he’d be the third however, Uthman was chosen. This
inconsistency created tension in the community. 13
Uthman one of the Prophet’s companions and linked to him through marriage
became the third caliph but was assassinated by those who wanted Ali in power.
Uthman’s assassination motivated Aisha to take action and thus began the first civil war
in an Islamic society with the Battle of the Camel. The men of Arabia followed Aisha
along with two male Companions of the Prophet into battle. This event shows not only
her power but also her prestige and the respect she received by everyone, mostly men.
She was revered by the community because she was known as the favorite, the one that
would be buried next to the Prophet and the one that would be with him in heaven.
Although some opposed her participation they gave her respect and did not contend her
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participation. Even those who were against her and wanted Ali in power did not touch her
and defended her honor when she was disrespected.
However the Battle of the Camel was not successful one for Aisha and it put Ali
in power. The Mothers of the Believers, wives of the Prophet, were supposed to be an
example of the perfect female in Islamic society just as the Prophet Muhammad is the
perfect human example of the male in Islamic society. Because the most prestigious
Mother of the Believers failed in battle and political participation and retrieved into
seclusion women of an Islamic society were not to participate in politics. It is argued that
her failure prompted the exclusion of women from public life. However, as Denise
Spellberg points out in her article, this argument is purely misogynistic.
First of all Aisha was nearly a participant in battle, she was neither the first nor
the last opponent of Ali. After her defeat the women of that society did not stop fighting
in battle, in fact they participated in numerous numbers in other civil wars. Secondly,
Aisha derived her political power from two male’s figures, her father and her husband—
she did not ascend her prestige and power by herself. Her unique position was derived
purely from Islamic prestige and this should set her as a new exemplary status, as
opposed to a failure. Thirdly and most importantly, her seclusion from politics opened up
a new venue of respect for her because of her knowledge of the faith. Her powerful
memory and authority in religious matters was crucial to the Islamic society—she
schooled the community from medicine to the methods of worship sighting the Prophet
as an example. When the Qur’an was being put into a written form, Aisha was consulted
along with the rest of the Prophets Wives and daughters. 14
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Issues of Concern
Aisha was the first Muslim female to participate in politics. Whether she won the
battle or failed should not be the defining moment for women, the most important aspect
is that she threw herself out there. Instead of focusing on the failure of her participation
as a community women should notice her achievement. She participated when all other
wives of the Prophet sat home in seclusion—she was the first and definitely should not be
the last. She was the one that knew the Prophet the most and by partaking in politics she
silently, by her actions, proved that the Prophet would have approved of her involvement.
The opposition she faced was patriarchal and not religious.
Today many Muslim feminists realize that they need to get rid of misogynism that
tradition has brought and instead of following a Western path they are looking in the
Islamic past to get through to the conservatists. Women are going back to ancient roots of
Islamic law to prove their right to equality and they see the Prophet Muhammad’s era as
the golden age for women’s rights. Historian Hatoon Ajwad Al-Fassi along with other
female scholars are going through Islamic texts to prove that women often petitioned
Prophet Muhammad directly during his lifetime. By doing so, they are showing a new
basis for feminism and are proving that it is not derived from the West. A Saudi woman
sums up this battle of culture versus religion, “Traditions are not sacred, only the Qur’an
and the Sunnah are sacred.” 15
Although this study focus’s only on woman’s participation in politics it is also
essential to see what other kinds of empowerment women in the Middle East need. The
major problems as laid out by Muslim Women’s League for Middle Eastern women, are;
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• Family laws pertaining to marriage and divorce that reinforce the image of
relationships based on a hierarchy with the rights of the husband superseding
those of the wife and that prevent women from being in control of their lives.
• Violence against women which occurs in the home, community, and as a
consequence of warfare which is claimed by some to be allowed by Islam when it
is not.
• Abuse of certain Islamic practices that affect women negatively, such as
polygamy and temporary marriage, when applied out of context and without
abiding by Islamic restrictions.
• Excluding women from religious activities such as attendance in the mosque
which has clearly been established as the Muslim woman's right.
• Failure to promote the importance of a woman's contribution to society beyond
child-bearing.
• Failure to enable women to take advantage of rights of property ownership and
inheritance outlined by Islam.
• Focusing on the behavior of women as a marker for morality in society and
subjecting them to harassment, intimidation or discrimination.
• Lack of awareness of the important role of men in contributing significantly in
sharing household responsibilities and child-rearing as exemplified by Prophet
Muhammad. 16
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All of these issues are interrelated and today Muslim women face the challenge of getting
over these barriers.
1 Nabia Abbott. “Women and the State in Early Islam.”Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1 (April 1942): 106-126. 2 Karen Armstrong. Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. (New York, NY: Harper, 1993) 45-91 3 “Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia.” Muslim Women’s League (www.mwlusa.org/nublications/essavs/herstorv.htmh 4 Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992) 41-45 5 Serpil Qakir, Osmanh Kadin Hareketi. (Istanbul, Turkey: Metis Yayinlan, 1996) 12-18 6 Leila Ahmed. 47 7 Elizabeth Wamock Femea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan, eds. Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak. (Austin, TX: University of Texas, 1979) 8 Amina Wadud, Qur'an and Women Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999) 25 9 Ibid 63 10 Akbar Ahmed. Islam Today (New York, NY: I.B. Tauris, 2001) 152-154 11 Muslim Women’s League, www.mwlusa.org/pub book polirights.html November 12, 2002. 12 Ibid 13 Sydney Nettleton Fisher and William Ochsenwald. The Middle East: A History. (New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 1997) 38-47 14 Denise A. Spellberg, “Political Action and Public Example: Aisha and the Battle of the Camel.” In Women in Middle Eastern History: Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender. Nikkie R. Keddie & Beth Baron, eds. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993) 45-55 15 “Saudi Arabia: Women Use Qur’an to Advance Equality.”New York Times, December 28, 2003. 16 “Issues of Concern for Muslim Women.” Muslim Women’s League. http://www.mwlusa.org/publications/positionpapers/issues.html
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IRAN
This chapter is a case study on Iran and gender issues. First a brief history of pre-Islam
and the Shah’s reign will be looked as it relates to gender issues. Afterwards, the Islamic
Revolution of 1979 along with Khomeini’s return and influence on female empowerment
will be discussed. The epitome for this chapter will be Massoumeh Ebtekar, who during
the US Embassy take-over was named “Sister Mary.” At the time she was the spoke’s
person for the student organization who orchestrated the take-over she would later
become the first female Vice President of the Islamic Republic and a avid Islamic
feminist. The chapter will conclude with the current political standing of females in Iran.
The Revolution
Iranians feel passionately about their national identity. Iran is the second non-
Arab country in the Middle East. It borders Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and the
Caspian Sea along with Iraq and Pakistan. It is a land consisting of 1,648 million square
kilometers and is slighter larger then Alaska. Its population is 68, 278, 826 and its male to
female ratio is 1.04 males per female. 1 They are one of the worlds few civilizations that
has enjoyed permanence since ancient times. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a country
rich in culture, religion and politics—everyday is a struggle to combine all three into the
lives of its citizens. Iranians are unified through their Farsi language, their Shiism and
40
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their national identity, which separates them from other Middle Eastern countries. Every
day, every minute, every second, its citizens struggle with their own definition of
modernity and democracy.
As argued by Mary Elaine Hegland, in Iran usually it has always been women in
villages that been involved in community politics. Especially wives of traders, usually
upper class women, because without husbands around they could easily participate in the
political arena. These women also had more time then peasant women who usually did
not have servants like the trader wives. Trader’s wives would uphold their political
awareness and participation mostly due to social interactions. Since the men were usually
away on business women were left to take care of social, economic and political issues.
This is similar to the time of the Jahalia when men would often leave to take caravans
across the desert and would leave their wives in charge of the community, economically
and politically. This occurrence was mostly found in the rural areas of Iran.
However as the Shah started to bring in land reforms and centralization of the
government and westernization increased, the political participation of village women
started to deteriorate. The social and political arena in Iran started to change at a fast
pace. At this point village women lost their place in politics and the urban women slowly
started to gain theirs.2 In 1963, the Shah granted women the right to vote and the clergy
in Qom, a city known as the theology center, were outraged. Ayatollah Khomeini,
pushing for an Islamic Revolution, sent a telegram to the Shah stating, “By granting
voting rights to women, the government has disregarded Islam and has caused anxiety
among the Ulama and other Muslims.” 3
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Although Khomeini kept making statements such as these women continued to
back him up. Many Iranians, especially women felt their culture and religion was being
dominated by western ideas because the Shah had become a western puppet. The women
of Iran, secular and Islamists, wanted to take back their religiosity and incorporate the
idea of women’s political empowerment not only in villages but also on a national level.
The struggle of women in Iran was first to take back their religion and culture and not fall
victim to westernization they felt they could do this by backing Khomeini. Hence this
started women’s political participation which in turn encouraged Khomeini to take a new
stance on gender issues. As women started to march and fight vehemently for the
downfall of the Shah, Khomeini realized what a valuable asset he had in women. He
retracted his previous statements and in a sermon he said, “Women have the right to
intervene in politics. It is their duty...Islam is a political religion. In Islam, everything,
even prayer, is political.” 4
Khomeini encouraged Islamist women’s activities in the political struggle
contrary to the traditionalist Shia’a view. He realized women’s alliance to the Islamic
Republic would in turn benefit him especially while the referendum for the Islamic
Republic was being passed. He has said, “God is satisfied with women’s great service. It
is a sin to sabotage this (women’s activity in the public sphere).. .All of you (women)
should vote. Vote for the Islamic Republic. Not a word less, not a word more.. .You have
priority over men” 5
Thus, Iran became reborn with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. After
returning from exile, he stated, “What the nation wants is an Islamic Republic. Not just a
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Republic, not a democratic Republic, not a democratic Islamic Republic. Do not use the
word, “democratic” to describe it. That is the Western style.”6 With this one statement
Khomeini let the world know Iran was about to revolutionize. Alexis de Tocqueville once
said on the French Revolution, “Never was any such event so inevitable, yet so
completely unforeseen,” this holds true for Iran’s revolution.
The women of Iran played a critical role in the revolution by marching along side
men, supporting their husbands, and encouraging them to fight. One of the most vivid
images of the Iranian Revolution is a slew of women in black chador’s marching in city
squares and protesting against the Shah. Many Iranian women credit Khomeini with
liberating them, but not in a Westernized way but in an Islamic way. Khomeini pushed
for women to be integrated into social, political and economic lives, Massoumeh Ebtekar
explains, “Khomeini was very serious about integrating women in social, political,
educational and economic activities. He took every opportunity to make clear that he
didn’t want women to go back into isolation. He wanted women not to comply
necessarily with Western standards, but he said that there was no obstacle for women’s
advancement in Islam.” He also advocated to families living in tribal areas to send their
daughters to school. He declared that children of troops killed in the war should remain
with their mothers instead of the custody going to the nearest male. When conservative
clerics wanted to put walls between males and females in school, Khomeini contested and
thought they should study together.7
Khomeini’s main concern for women was for them to exhibit prestige and dignity.
Many Iranian women agree with Khomeini, they feel once they are covered and dressed
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in a modest way the only thing for a man to pay attention to is the words that are coming
out of her mouth, not how she’s dressed, not her make-up or her jewelry. This is
modernization and liberation Islamic style. For Iranians, women’s empowerment wasn’t
the main issue, women had an over abundance of political and social rights during the
shah’s time, for them, the most important thing was their religion and they wanted to
resurface it. They wanted to feel like Muslim women not Western women they wanted to
idealize Mothers of the Believers not Eleanor Roosevelt or Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Emergence of Sister Mary
Iran like any newly formed Republic had to struggle to keep afloat. One of the
most enduring negative images of Iran was the take over of the American Embassy in
Tehran. Days after Khomeini’s return, to Iran, the embassy was stormed by Islamic
zealots and leftists and with only 13 marine guards in the embassy the Americans
surrendered. The take over lasted only hours. Khomeini immediately sent a delegation of
mullah’s to the embassy and apologized for the acts that were “contrary to his beliefs.”
Iran and the US continued doing business after this event. However, on November the
4th of the same year Iranian students stormed into the embassy with a new plan of seizure
intentionally it was to only last a couple of days. The Organization of Islamic Students
met that morning and discussed the takeover plans, gave out assignments and ID badges
and told the students to head, one by one, to the embassy as they walked they chanted,
“Death to America.”
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On January 27th of 2000, at a State Department Briefing on Terrorism, the
Deputy Coordinator for Counter Terrorism with the State Department, Mr. John W.
Limbert who was also a hostage in the takeover, described the event, “At that moment we
could have been taken over by a bunch of 80 year old women with umbrellas.” According
to Limbert, there were only two security guards at the door but one was missing from his
post. The protestors moved women and children in the front in order to defend the men
and even though there were 4 or 5 marines in the building they succumbed to the mob.
Mr. Limbert was the only Farsi speaker in the Embassy he recalls negotiating with the
mob but to no avail. One of the students recalled years later, “We expected that American
youth, seeing how they reacted to Vietnam, would be supportive of us. We took no issue
with the United States as a country. We were simply saying that we had a problem with
the way the United States treated Iran. We expected Americans to understand this.. .but it
did not turn out that way.” 8 The biggest shocker in the whole event came when
Ayatollah Khomeini gave his blessing. Khomeini once again proving his deviousness let
the seizure continue because it broke the monotony of his political deadlock. Fifty-two
hostages were taken and held for 444 days.
The spokesperson for the students was known as “Sister Mary,” Massoumeh
Ebtekar, she was nineteen years old and filled with rage. She was constantly on American
news recounting American crimes against Iran and threatening to put the hostages on trial
if the deposed shah was not returned to Iran. Although a significant amount of her
childhood was spent in the US this did not alter her political views. She was once asked
by an ABC News correspondent whether she could ever kill the hostages, she replied,
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“Yes, when I’ve seen an American gun being lifted up and killing my brothers and sisters
in the streets, of course.” 9 The embassy take-over ended abruptly one day and the
hostages were released.
After this event, Ebtekar got awarded with an editor’s position Kayhan at the
International, and English paper, which was headed by Mohammad Khatami. Ebtekar in
her growing years became an adamant feminist although she defines the term differently,
“Feminisms is not a word we use in Iran.. .It has Western meaning that include sexual
liberation. But if you mean equal rights and equal status and dignity as a human being,
then we’ve advanced since the revolution.” As the republic slowly settled, issues such as
the shah, the United States, and Iraq slowly subsided and the people finally began to
focus internally, in Ebtekar’s case it was empowerment of women.
She founded the Center for Women’s Studies and Research, she created an
intellectual journal on women’s issues, represented Iran at the United Nations summit on
women, she designed a university curriculum for women’s studies, ran a symposium on
the role of women in Islam, and she also became Iran’s highest ranking women as the
Vice President of President Khatami. When asked by Robin Wright what it was like to be
a female politician in Iran she answered with, “I haven’t sensed any negative feeling in
terms of being a woman sitting on the cabinet not able to get my ideas through. On the
contrary, they have been very understanding, very supportive. I’ve heard many, not only
in the cabinet say, ‘Now that we have a woman on the team, we have to help her. We
have to make sure that she succeeds.”
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In Iran a woman’s testimony in court only counts as half of that of a male, but
Ebtekar sits as an equal among the other vice presidents. A woman needs a male’s
permission to do almost anything in Iran, but Ebtekar has often threatened industries with
notices of closure if they weren’t up to the environmental codes. In mosques, airports,
factories, and schools men and women are separated however Ebtekar sits side by side
with her male colleagues in the cabinet and even prayers in the same room as them. The
process of empowering women is apparent and unavoidable. Ebtekar’s appointment was
a symbolic process of a turn around in Iran, the last years of the shah there were two
women in the cabinet, now Iranian women had come a full circle and were participating
in politics along with holding on to their faith as they had always wanted. 10
Iran After the Revolution
Iran’s new government initially failed its people’s expectations and their
interpretation of Islam differed from its public. There became a new saying in Iran, “We
used to drink in public and pray in private. Now we pray in public and drink in private.”
Beauty parlors and aerobic studios’ were closed, and colorful hijabs were frowned upon.
Colors such as, black, brown, and earthly green became the only acceptable color of
wardrobe for women. The legal age a girl could get married became nine. A woman
could not divorce her husband as easily as he could. If women wanted to leave her
husband, a judge in court would most likely ask, “Does he support you, give you enough
money, does he perform his manly duties?” and if she answers yes, she is denied.
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Ties were outlawed for men because it represented the west, and beards became
almost mandatory. The moral police invaded people’s homes if they suspected anything
that went against the republic, whether it is a political gathering or a party with both
sexes. Unmarried men and women were not allowed to interact in public, there was even
the story of a young man who dressed in a chador so he could go out in public with his
girlfriend. Music was banned along with clapping. During a theatrical performance,
Iranian style, the man and wife were never allowed to touch, the women was always
covered even though in real life she probably did not wear a hijab in the home. 11 After
the revolution the clerics dismissed virtually all women in high government places
including 22 members of Parliament, 330 local councils, 5 mayors and thousands of
educators, diplomats and civil servants. The zealots pushed for submissive women who
did not seek personal or professional satisfaction but nowhere in the Qur’an does it say
women should be bound to the home.
The people of Iran had protested against the Shah because they did not want to be
so western. However they also did not want such a strict government. Imagine a line
where at one endpoint you have Islam and at the other end point you have the West with
the Iranians floating around in between the two points. Both differ considerably and
although they do meet in the middle it is very hard to get there. During the shah’s time
the people were pushed towards the west so dramatically that the only way to get to the
middle was to first head into a strict rule of Islam then slowly come back into the middle,
where most wanted to be. The society wanted to shift from religious conservatism into a
democratic society that valued Islam.
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The Shah’s government was too liberal for Iranians it favored the west too much
and Iranian culture was diminishing. Khomeini’s government was at the opposite end of
the spectrum, it became too constricting, didn’t let the public breathe and Iranians wanted
an Islamic republic but not one that controlled their every move. The shah’s government
and Khomeini’s government was extremely bipolar—people searched and wanted
something in the middle. As Robin Wright argues the results of the Islamic Revolution,
its political, religious and cultural trends are eventually going to lead Iran into its last
Great Revolution of a modem era—similar to that of the French Revolution. She contents
that although the revolution happened in the early 80’s it is still continuing, Iran is still in
a revolutionary process. That middle ground and the man that would take Iran into its last
“Great Revolution” appeared in 1997 with Mohammed Khatami.
Mohammed Khatami was elected the President with a sweeping victory and
pushed for honesty, civil society, and governmental dependability in his candidacy. He
felt that the government had become stable enough to guarantee its citizens constitutional
rights, including freedom of press, life, assembly and thought. In his inaugural address,
Khatami claimed, “An Islamic government is one that considers it to be the servant of the
people, not their master. A government’s authority is not realized by coercion or
arbitrariness, but by legal acts, by respect for rights and by encouraging people’s
participation in decision-making. People must believe that they have the right to
determine their own destiny and that there are limits to government.” 12 Khatami, upon
taking office appointed a woman Vice President and elected 13 women as judges,
forgoing the notion that women are too emotional to make substantial decisions.
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With the backing of their president the women of Iran slowly came out of their
shells. They started doing things that were not even thought of as possible during
Khomeini’s reign. As chronicled by Robin Wright during her stay in Iran, women opened
up aerobic studios in their homes, covered the windows with black sheets so people
outside could not see in. They had become wiser in their pursuit to carry on their lives,
instead of having the fear being shut down looming over them, the studio owners went to
the Minister of Health and Medical Education with a proposal stating that the studio was
not doing anything un-Islamic. It was only promoting good health in an all female local
with no possible male intrusion. They even took to the streets, still wearing their chador;
they jogged and did jumping jacks by a riverside. It also became common to see men
steps away, hiding behind trees and trying to follow along with the routine of the
workout.
New beauty parlors began to open up, again with blacked out windows. Women
would come in take off their chador or hijab, get their hair done, their make-up done,
gossip over tea and go home to their husbands looking beautiful. Women were fine with
covering themselves but they were going to do it their way. Whether it be showing a little
hair, wearing jeans under their chador’s or wearing visible make-up. Even Khatami’s
mother was reported and photographed at an ifthar diner with a colorful hijab, a beautiful
pearl necklace and red lipstick. 13
It is important to note that a leader in a country and his stance on gender rights is
essential in promoting and encouraging women to participate in politics. Khomeini
advocated political participation of women during the Revolution because he knew that
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he needed their vote in the referendum to become the new leader of Iran. Although his
ideas were not as pure as one would like he still recognized the need for women in
politics and society. Khatami on the other hand realized women play an intricate role in
politics for all the right reasons. Being extremely liberal compared to his counterparts he
knew in order for Iran to grow internationally and domestically the other half of its
population had to partake in social, economic and political issues. The mindset of a leader
plays a great role in promoting women’s rights.
A revolutionary leader sets the tone for the country for years to come. They
become the idealized perfect political figure, a source of reference when things go astray.
For this reason it is essential that a revolutionary leader in the beginning outlines their
views and stance on women’s issues. Khomeini constantly pushed for women to be
integrated into the society but in an Islamic fashion, with hijab in mind. He defined the
term for an Islamic feminist and people like Ebtekar and others still continue on this path.
At once the people of Iran were frustrated with the Shah, they wanted their
spirituality to be a factor in their everyday lives and in came Khomeini, and then after
Khomeini brought religion back, they now strived for modernity, Islamic style and this is
where reformist Khatami came in. Iran is still fighting the revolution, they want to prove
to the rest of the world and to themselves that they can be an Islamic Republic and are
modem at the same time. They have outlined their own definition of feminism and
modernity, which incorporated the core values of Islam.
The west often criticizes nations such as Iran for being undemocratic and un
modem however Iran is one country that is not listing to the critics and is not looking to
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other countries as examples, because they realize their uniqueness to incorporate Islam
into their democracy and modernity. Hence the Nobel Peace Committee tried to send this
message to the Bush Administration, according to some, by awarding the 2003 Nobel
Peace Prize to Shirin Ebadi, a human rights lawyer and former judge from Iran.
Ebadi was one of the first female judges in Iran; however, she lost her post after
the Revolution. She later obtained a license to practice as an attorney and became the
nations lead human rights activist. Ebadi was in Paris when the award was announced
and when she returned to Iran she was met with a delegation of supporters. The
welcoming committee included besides from thousands of women, Zahra Eshraqi, the
granddaughter of Khomeini and the wife of Mohammed Reza Khatami who is the brother
of the president. Many conservatives criticized Eshraqi for attending and said she
dishonored her grandfather. Eshraqi in her defense claimed she had made the right
decision with congratulating Ebadi.14
This is a small glimpse into the political struggle of women; even a small gesture
by Zahra Eshraqi was critiqued. Women of Iran often have to defend their every move
concerning political issues. It is important to take into account how far women have come
in Iran. If we take a look at look at Iran at this point in time, it does not look as modem or
democratic as it should be, it seems to be lagging behind compared to the rest of the
world. But we cannot study social norms and political participation by only viewing the
current status, we must first take a look at its history and evaluate whether there has been
some progress.
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The women of Iran have changed the Republic, immensely. They gathered as
women and decided to participate to oust the Shah. They wanted political and social
rights but they also did not want to loose their religion, to Westoxication, as Khomeini
called it. During Khomeini’s time, they were content with exhibiting their religious ideas
but they did not want it to be forced on them, they also felt that they could be mothers
and wives and be active in the community. Again women realized how much power they
had in unison, one voice is not as loud as the voice of many.
What worked so well for women of Iran was their alliance to each other. Unlike
women in other countries they did not have issues such as class to tear them apart. As
will be mentioned below, class differences hindered the political participation of women
in Kuwait. They became so focused on who they should include in their organizations
that they lost sight of what is important.
In a country that’s in political turmoil, before an issue such as women’s political
rights is discussed countries own internal needs need to be met. Iran is a perfect example
of this, after the Shah and Khomeini Iranians needed to fix their internal political and
economic struggles before they could turn to social issues such as women’s rights.
1 CIA World Fact Book, December 18, 2003. 2 Mary Elaine Hegland. “Political Roles of Iranian Village Women.”Middle East Report. (January 1986): 14-19. 3 From Khomeini’s telegram sent to the Shah. October 9, 1962 Sahifeh-I Nur, Vol. 22, p. 29. 4 Azedeh Kian. “Women and Politics in the Post-Islamist Iran: the Gender Conscious Drive to Change.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 24 (1997): 75-96. 5 Ibid 77 6 Elaine Sciolino.Persian Mirrors, The Elusive Face of Iran. (New York, NY : Touchstone, 2000): 68 7 Robin Wright. TheLast Great Revolution, Turmoil and Transformation in (New Iran. York, NY: Vintage Books, 2001.): 147-150 8 Ibid 254-255 9 Ibid 145
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 10 Ibid quotes of Ebtekar are from pages 147-149 11 Sciolino 131-153 12 Wright 64 13 Sciolino 69-80 14 Ziba Mir-Hosseini. “Shirin Ebadi’s Nobel Peace Prize Highlights Tension in Iran.”Middle East Report. (October 27, 2003)
54
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KUWAIT
This chapter is a case study on Kuwait in reference to gender issues. First, the tribal
tradition will be discussed because it still plays and important role in the political and
social atmosphere in Kuwait. Next, the discovery of oil is discussed because of its role in
turning Kuwait into one of the most modem nations in the Gulf. The epitome for Kuwait
is not a particular person but a group of women knowssamidat as the who were females
that helped liberate Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation. Their struggle to liberate their
country and themselves from patriarchal limitations will be discussed, along with the
current standing and restraints they face.
The Bani Utub Tradition
Kuwait is a small Arab country bordering the Persian Gulf between Iraq and
Saudi Arabia and its total area is about 17,820 square kilometers, which makes it slightly
larger then New Jersey. Its population is 2,183,161 but Kuwaiti nationals make up
891,807 of the population. It’s male to female ratio is 1.52 males per females.1 This small
countries only popularity came out of the invasion of 1990. They keep mostly to
themselves and are not major international players except with fellow Arabs.
Since its existence, Kuwait has been struggling to separate itself and to keep its
independence from Iraq and other Arab nations. Historically, ethnic Kuwaitis belong to
55
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the Bani Utub family of the Aniza tribe, but were expelled from the tribe due to an intra-
tribal conflict in the seventeenth century. They took refuge in Qatar for about fifty years,
but after a clash with the ruler of Qatar they moved northward. They then lived in
Mahraq of Bahrain and then Khor al-Sabiya a southern part of Basra. They finally settled
in the north-eastern part of Arabia where the Bani Khalid tribe had already established a
settlement. The Bani Utub and Bani Khalid formed a friendly relationship and the Khalid
family let the Utub's reside in the region with their own independence. Eventually the
Bani Khalid lost power due to the poor management of the sheikdom and the growing
power of the Wahhabis in Central Arabia. By 1752, the Bani Utub had complete control
of Kuwait.
Historically, ethnic Kuwaitis are nomadic people, like most of the Arabs they do
not belong to just one particular region of Arabia. The community, which is seen as the
greater extension of a family, is essential to survival. Each member of the community has
certain duties. Bearing children and motherhood is emphasized because a child in turn not
only means another helping hand it also means the survival of the family name. Hence,
the social and gender roles are maintained and embedded into everyday lives. Tribes are
set up where those who can contribute to the community the most are the leaders. A
person owing for example lots of and camels, which are know as war machines, is
considered wealthy, thus the economic status becomes a determinate factor for power.
This is also where status and class comes into view. The tribal leaders who own camels
are those whose voice is respected in the community they are of a higher status then
someone who does not own anything and only helps out the tribe with everyday duties.
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This system of hierarchy, tribal and patriarchal tradition is automatically set and becomes
the accepted norm.
Ali Al-Wardi, a famed Iraqi sociologist, in his book on nomadism and settled
people, describes three types of nomadic people. The first group is nomads living with
settled people and adjusting to their environment, the second group of people is the
nomads who reside with the settled people but their nomadic values are stronger and
subside over the urban culture, and finally the third group of people are those who are
dominated by the urban cultures. An example of the third group would be countries such
as Egypt and Syria, where the urban culture has affected the nomadic tradition so much
so that it almost gets forgotten.2 In the case of Kuwait, they fit the second group of
people, they have settled and modernized but their traditional values are stronger then the
urban culture. Anh Nga Longva makes the argument that in order to preserve Kuwaiti
identity, especially since Kuwaiti nationals are a minority in their own country, they have
maintained certain rules of self-presentation and conduct in order to emphasize their
distance from the expatriates. Longva argues that to separate themselves from non
nationals there has become a stronger divide between classes and traditional Kuwaiti
customs and norms are accentuated to a greater degree. 3 In the process of exemplifying
their nationality they have excluded females from their society and this is one of the
reasons why Kuwait to this day still continues to face problems with women’s
empowerment. It has accepted itself as a settled people but they have not adopted the
general norms of modernization and urbanization by letting the other half of their society
participate.
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The Discovery of Oil
Before the discovery of oil Kuwait was in an economic downfall and because of
these hardships some women became mid-wives, dressmakers or market traders, they
also were involved in pearling, fishing and trading commodities. At this point the major
economic resource in Kuwait was fishing and pearling and while the men were away at
sea for months, it was the women who ran the community, similar to the experience of
Iranian village women.4 Nonetheless, soon as the men returned home the women went
back to their domestic roles and did not even think of entering the public sphere while
men were present. For the time being they were content with the domestic duties that
were expected of them and did not think to fight for political participation.
The first large oilfield was discovered in 1938 and Kuwait began its commercial
export of crude oil in 1946. The oil revenues, by the 1960’s made Kuwait one of richest
states in the world on a per capita basis. It also allowed the state to offer services such as
new development of infrastructure, education and comprehensive healthcare and
affordable housing. Today, thanks to the oil industry, Kuwaiti citizens enjoy the luxury of
an all-inclusive welfare system, medical benefits, and free education from kindergarten to
the university level.5 This new natural resource brought modernization with rapid change
and the whole community started to restructure itself which in turn opened up a new
venue for women.
Those that were mostly concerned with this new idea of women’s emancipation
were the newly educated Kuwaiti men. According to Haya al-Mughni they read books
from Qasim Amin, George Hanna, and Taha Hussein and became influenced by their
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ideas of progress and women’s emancipation. Like any newly modernized society these
men saw their traditional ideas as backward and wanted to make changes in the society—
their goal was to move Kuwait into the civilized world and to end its isolation. The first
thing that was influenced by this thought was education. School for boys had been
established in 1887 where most of the classes consisted of Qur’anic studies. Education
for women did not come of light until pioneers like Aisha al-Ismiri who opened up a
girl’s schools out of her home in 1926. These home schools consisted of reading, writing
and lessons in embroidery and dressmaking. With modernization and booming economy
a need for women’s education was realized by Kuwaiti elites and the first state girl’s
school was opened in 1937, however this idea of educating girls was not popular and the
school along with teachers sat idle for nearly a year.6 Although many parents did not
send their girls to school, just the opening of a state school for girls was a triumphant step
for women in Kuwait, considering their only place in society at this point was to bear
children and take care of the home.
In most societies it has always been males who have first pushed for women’s
emancipation and they usually have done this on their own terms. Al-Mughni discusses
that men did push for women’s emancipation—they wanted to educate women to be
teachers, nurses and doctors so that they could replace the foreign workers that were now
filling these gender based jobs. In no society has men given up their own rights in order
to complement that of a women’s. Usually men want to liberate women as long as it does
not jeopardize gender relations of power. They also wanted women to stop wearing the
black abbayas which often was seen as an indication of a backward society. As was seen
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by the case of Iran, women’s emancipation works best when it’s initiated by women. In
the case of Kuwait and Turkey—as we will be discussed below—for there to be a
successful vindication of women’s rights these rights need to be expressed by women.
Women themselves need to define was kind of empowerment they seek and what
feminism means to them. At this point, males in Kuwait still have a contradictory view
about women’s emancipation. They want their women out of seclusion to join and
partake in the society but they do not want them crossing over gender norms. Women
realizing this contraction started to ask for equal rights and equal status.
As merchant class women started to travel and study abroad and work along side
men and they soon realized they needed to get their voice heard and with this they opened
up two women’s societies in 1963, one Cultural and Social Society (CSS), which later
became the Women’s Cultural and Social Society (WCSS) and the Arab Women’s
Development Society (AWDS).7 The organizations for the first part of their existence
consisted of mostly as a resource for killing time. They organized social events, tea
parties, sports activities for women. In some instances, like the WCSS, membership was
given only to those who knew how to read and write. In the end WCSS became a kin-
based society, almost like an American country club for women. The AWDS however,
took a different stance then the WCSS and pushed to modernize women.8
The founder of the AWDS was from a middle merchant class, so she tried to vary
her organization from that of the WCSS in order to attract member from her social
standing. WCSS were mostly debutants and women’s issues were not even a major factor
in their organization, as a matter of fact, they only added the name “Women” to their
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organization when told so by the government. AWDS however, to win the public started
to ask for equal rights of women, this group also focused just on the middle merchant
class.
The problem with these organizations and the similar ones that came after them
was that they were never united in their struggle for rights. The old method of tribalism
where class and status are highly regarded as a valid form of identification did not
disappear behind the doors of these organizations. These organizations were mostly for
those women who had free time to kill and were looking for some sort of entertainment,
especially in the case of WCSS. As for the AWDS, they had the right idea of asking for
women’s rights, but they too often excluded other women. One of the biggest constraints
for Kuwaiti women is the stress they cause among themselves. Going back to their own
tribal and hierarchal society they still see class and status as an important factor. Hence
women’s organizations in Kuwait still have not gotten acknowledgement and assistance
from the government regarding women’s rights.
Samidat
The Kuwaiti’s, as a newly settled people were always faced with the threat of
fighting off outside forces, everyone from Britain, the Ottomans, Iraqi’s and even the
Saudi family wanted a piece of Kuwait. Hoping to finally diminish its border disputes on
July 20th of 1961, Kuwait gained its independence and became a part of the Arab League
and the United Nations. Automatically Iraq refused to recognize Kuwait as an
independent state with claims that the territory once being a part of the Ottoman province
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of Basra.9 Especially after the discovery of oil, Iraq continued to watch Kuwait like a
hungry hawk. On numerous occasions, it would invade Kuwait’s mainland or one of its
islands however it would soon get resolved with mediation. So on the morning of, August
2nd of 1990, when Kuwaiti’s heard tanks and explosions they automatically assumed Iraq
was playing the role of the bully and would soon retreat back, however when they looked
outside their windows they realized this wasn’t like the other time. Suddenly Iraq had
taken over Kuwait and all Kuwaiti symbols such as flags or pictures of the Crown Prince
were replaced with an Iraqi flag or a life size portrait of Saddam Hussein.
The Amir and Crown Prince left Kuwait the day after the invasion and set up an
exile government in Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Sheikh Saud Nasir Al-Sabah, during an
interview with Brian Lamb of C-Span, was asked where the Kuwaiti people were
Ambassador Al-Sabah replied with, “The Kuwaitis are in Kuwait.” Reiterating the will of
the Kuwaiti’s to fight the occupation. Ambassador Al-Sabah also confirmed that the
government was in constant contact with the resistance forces. From the begging of the
war, the government in exile knew exactly what was going on in Kuwait, who was a part
of the resistance and who wasn’t. 10 At the core of the resistance were women who were
referred to as thesamidat, which means the steadfast in Arabic.
Within the first three days of the invasion 400-500 women, old, young and some
with babies participated in a demonstration to affirm Kuwait’s rejection of Iraq. They
chanted slogans such as, “God, Country and Amir” and “Saddam keep your hands off
Kuwait.” Even after being brutally attacked women continued their fight for their
countries independence. They created nucleuses by exchanging numbers, names and
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addresses and gathering in mosques and homes to strategize. Because of so many
instances of rape women started to wear the black abbayas once again, to keep the Iraqi
soldiers eyes away from them, to express anonymity and to use abbayas as weapon of
means to smuggle things such as, underground newspapers, documents and medicine.
While Kuwaiti women took on the abbayas once again to desexualize themselves the
Kuwaiti men stopped wearing the traditional dishdasha in order hide their national
identity.
As argued by Margot Badran, during the resistance the gender roles in Kuwait
were switched and the women became to protectors of the men. Six days after the
occupation women started a newspaper, al-Kuwaitiya (The Kuwaiti Women) which was
handwritten on a single sheet with both sides disseminating information and calling
women to fight and participate in political resistance against the Iraqi’s. While the men
were hiding most women were running around from homes to mosques in order to do
political work. Fatuma Issa, a founder of the Girls Club, recalls an Iraqi soldier asking
her, “Aren’t there any men in Kuwait.” Women continued to push for resistance in every
possible way. Once the Iraqi’s took control of the public schools women resisted by
keeping their children home. Another problem that arose from the occupation was a lack
of food—again the women took control by putting their resources together and often
cooking meals to feed the whole neighborhood. They would each pitch in to make sure
everyone got a nutritious meal. Women also took orphans, the sick and disabled and
cared for them out of their homes. Awatif al-Majid, a member of the Red Crescent
Society, posed as a pregnant woman and would enter Mubarak Hospital and leave with
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medicine hidden under her abbaya. Badriya Ghanem explained, “We were organized. We
took medicine to houses. We did not know anything about medicine but...we were
doctors.”
One of the many courageous women during this ordeal was Asrar Qabandi, who
was a university educated computer specialist who worked in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. She dressed in a sari and posed as an Indian and retrieved computer disks from
the government’s central records office. She then passed on the information to the
Kuwaiti government in exile and the international media by crossing the desert into Saudi
Arabia. Unfortunately, in early November she was arrested at a checkpoint because she
was carrying a large sum of money. She was imprisoned at Meshatil, which the Iraqi’s
had turned into a “rape farm,” where women were brutally raped and tortured. She was
killed at Meshatil and her mutilated body was thrown in front of her house. 11
After Kuwait gained its second independence on Februarytki 25 women were
expecting support and emancipation from the government for all their hard work during
the occupation. They had sacrificed their lives and fought vehemently to let the world
know they did not want Saddam Hussein in their country. On many occasions the Amir,
from exile, praised women for their participation in the liberation of Kuwait and
promised them more political access to the government after the liberation. Women took
these promises to heart and expected this patriotism to pay off.
After liberation Kuwait felt incongruous pressure from Saudi Arabia and the
United States—with the Saudi’s warning Kuwait to be more cautious with whom they
trust and the Americans pushing for speeder democratization. As Kuwait struggled to
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reform and modernize this allowed the Islamist to politicize religion and to gain support.
Islamists wanted to establish a rule of Shari’a, to end Westernization and to continue
gender segregation.1 9 So when in May of 1999, when the Amir issued a decree granting
the right to vote to women and hold office the National Assembly which was mostly
made up of Islamist they struck down the measure in November of that same year. 13
Kuwaiti Islamist see Muslim women as ignorant and too emotionally sensitive for
politics and encourage men to keep their wives at home. They use Islam as a scapegoat in
their endeavor to be the sole voice of a society. They ignore the discrepancy in their
Islamic argument. If these men are as religious as they appear to be then why is it that
they are not following in Prophets footsteps to let women participate in politics? They
ignore the dozens of cases of Muslim women partaking in society during the Prophets
time. Their reasoning could be, as suggested by Longva to hold on to their tribal and
patriarchal traditions in order to separate themselves from expatriates. They do not
realize however, that a society in which only half of its citizens participate and voice their
opinion is not one that will continue to flourish.
Although women did not get their vindication with the end of the war they
continued to speak to the media and protest by showing up on Election Day to vote.
Laila al-Qadhi was one of the many women who smuggled food and money to those in
need, recalls her feelings on the government during the occupation,
“ If women had been in the government, Kuwait might not have played its part in helping a monster like Saddam become a hero...After the experiences women have been through, we cannot allow ourselves the old complacent attitude of simply accepting any crumbs
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that are thrown to us.. .Having faced death at the end of a gun barrel, and the prospect of losing my children, how can I now be afraid of people who spent the occupation in the safety of a five-star hotel?...Those who have stayed while the cowards fled deserve to participate in government.. .If we don't change now, the answer to the question 'Is Kuwait worth dying for?' has to be'N o.’"
Nahla, a 21 year old student,
"When I saw a soldier, I speeded up and hit him at about 100km an hour. He went over my bonnet and afterwards lay motionless on the ground. Before doing it I thought, 'This man has come to kill my family and to take my freedom away.' But afterwards I cried and felt terrible about what I had done.
Nabila al-Taywi, 20, an Iraqi-bom nursing student who has lived in Kuwait for 15 years,
"All women ask for is respect and basic rights. We have been treated as equals by men during the occupation and ask only for the same now.”14
All three of these women share the same views as most women in Kuwait who stayed
behind and fought for Kuwait’s independence. They were hoping to get granted rights,
just like the British women had after World War I.
Margot Badran contends there were two basic problems why the postliberation of
Kuwait did not work in the favor of women’s suffrage. The first problem she points out
was with the women’s organizations. These organizations that were bom in the 1960’s
and 1970’s were still holding on to their old values and had not changed with the times.
They were still divided by kin and class and could not unite to sufficiently campaign for
women’s rights. The younger women were able to look past the tribal norms of class
division but the older generation still held on to their values and thus created another
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divide within women themselves. The second problem they faced, according to Badran,
was a lack of support from men, both those in the government and those outside of the
government. She argues that if males are essentially the only ones who can make and
change laws, if they had fought for women’s empowerment then women in Kuwait might
be voting today. She argues that males did not want to give up their own position in the
society—they did not want to share the power. 15
Badran and Mughni in their analysis of why women in Kuwait still do not have
political rights left out one important factor: Kuwait never had a strong revolutionary
leader to set the guidelines for the society. Iran had Khomeini and as will be seen below,
Turkey had Ataturk but Kuwait never had a powerful, father-like figure to rescue it. A
revolutionary leader is almost like a hero, he sweeps in rescues the country from turmoil
and sets guidelines and procedure which are followed for years to come. A real political
leader also realizes the necessity to include all of its citizens regardless of gender. Even
Khomeini who is known for being one of the most fundamental Islamist approached
politics with gender blindness. Each nation needs one political leader that impacted the
government and society in such a way that they embody that nation. When the question,
“Name a political figure in Kuwait” is asked, there is usually silence. The Al-Sabah
family like many other monarchies in the Gulf have not done enough politically to be
seen as hero’s. They have offered their people a lot of social benefits such as welfare,
housing and education but they have not become the father’s of their country.
Kuwaiti women struggled to liberate their country and now they are struggling to
liberate themselves. They have formed localdiwaniyas, which are traditionally local
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gathering places that men frequent—yet women are using these diwaniyas that run at
night and last for a few hours to discuss international or domestic politics. They exchange
advice and comfort one another in hopes thatdiwaniyas these will one day impact
Kuwaiti women’s political role. 16 They constantly push to get their voice heard and
organize events where the issue of women’s empowerment can be discussed. In
December, for example, they added a seminar on, “The Kuwaiti Woman and Political
i -y Rights: The Society’s Perspective” to a simple book fair. They look for any kind of
medium where politics and women can be discussed.
Today there is talk of a potential proposal from the Parliament to pass a political
rights bill which will empower women.18 This speculation is being waited out by many
inside of Kuwait and outside. In the meantime in October of 2003, the cabinet approved a
bill which would grant women the right to vote and run only in municipal council
elections. This bill still needs to be passed by the Parliament—who has often refused
such approvals.19
The Kuwaiti constitution guarantees equality to all citizens’ men and women—
however the Electoral Law denies women the right to00 vote. Although the Amir is still
pushing for women’s vindication the Islamic Parliamentarians are not. Kuwaiti women
hold thirty-eight percent of the labor force, and they account for two-thirds of the
bachelors degrees in the country they are one of the most economically active in the
whole Arab world.0 1 Their participation in politics is essential for Kuwait as a nation.
Kuwaiti women need to unite in their endeavor for empowerment. Suggestions as to how
this can be achieved will be discussed in the last chapter.
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' CIA World Fact Book 2 Al-Wardi is an Iraqi socialist, he has several books on nomadism in which he dissuces these divisions. This source was taken from a lecture held at American University by Dr. Edmund Ghareeb on his discussion on nomadism and tribal life in the Middle East. The actual book was not available because it was printed in Arabic and has been scarsly found for purchase. 3 Anh Nga Longva. “Kuwaiti Women At a Crossroads: Privileged Development and the Constrains of Ethnic Stratification.” International Journal of Middle East Studies (1993) 25 443-456 4 Margot Badran. “Gender, Islam and the State, Kuwaiti Women in Struggle, Pre-Invasion to Postliberation” InIslam, Gender and Social Change. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and John L. Esposito, eds. (London, England: Oxford Press, 1998): 190-204 5 Kuwait Information Office (www.kuwait-info.org) 6 Haya al-Mughni. Women in Kuwait: The Politics o f Gender. (London, England: Saqi Books,2001): 50 7 Ibid 67 8 Ibid 73 9 William Spencer. The Middle East. (Guilford, CT: McGraw Hill, 1998): 89-92 10 State Department: C-Span Call-In interview with Ambassador Sheikh Saud Nasir Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States Interviewed by Brian Lamb. August 21, 1990. 11 Badran in Haddad & Esposito 190-208. The quotes can be found on pages, 193, 194, 197 & 198. 12 Nadia Akil Zaman. “Kuwait’s Islamist Movement and its Role in Contemporary Kuwaiti Politics”CSIS Islamic Studies Program 2 (1) ( May 1999) 13 Kuwait Information Office-USA. www.kuwait-info.org/women.html 14 Andrew Alderson. “Kuwaiti Women on the March for Voting Rights.”Sunday Times, April 7, 1991. 15 Badran 16 “ Kuwaiti Women Showing CourageKuwait ” News Agency, March 10, 2003. 17 “ Book Fair Ends With Feisty Discussion on Women’s Rights.”Kuwait Times, December 27, 2003. 18 “ Kuwait Parliament to Pass Political Rights Bill Empowering Women.”Gulf News, January 16, 2004. 19 “ Women Given Right to Vote in Local Elections.”Global News Wire, October 13, 2003. 20 Mughni 63 21 “Kuwaitis Ask For Reform to Establish Democracy.”Kuwait Times, December 12, 2003.
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TURKEY
This chapter is a case study on Turkey in reference to gender issues. First, a brief history
of Turkic and Ottoman women and their role in society will be discussed. Ataturk’s
influence on liberating women’s empowerment will be looked at next. The epitome for
this chapter will be Tansu (filler who was the first female prime minister in Turkey.
However, she did not meet Turkey’s and the worlds’ expectations, she had rarely any
influence women’s rights and in her final years in power she gained the nick names §aibe,
which means tainted.
Ottoman Woman
The only country in the world that lies on the two continents of Asia and Europe,
Tiirkiye is known to the rest of the world as the Republic of Turkey. It borders Bulgaria
and Greece from the northeast, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from the southwest,
and Iraq, Iran and Syria from the southeast. It is 780,580 square kilometers, which is
slightly larger then Texas. Its population is 68,109,469 with 1.02 males per females.1
Turkey is one of the oldest inhabited regions in the world as it was a part of the Hittite,
Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman empires. Turkic people, who were a
semi-nomadic people, lived originally in Asia in parts of what is today China and
Mongolia.
70
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Turkic women, unlike their Western counterparts, have always been seen as
valuable assets to society. Families would often times pray to the Gods for a female child
because it was seen as a blessing. In the Orhun libraries from the eighth century, every
book starts with the title, “It is the Han (the leader) who rules the land and the Hatun (his
wife) is the one who knows the land.” Both the Han and the Hatun would always have to
be present before any kind of official, social, or political decision was made. Anything
that was decreed started with, “The Han and Hatun decree...”. Married women were
seen as being sacred, and anything done to harm them would be met with horrible
consequences. Girls, before agreeing to marry a man, would challenge them to a duel. If
she beat him at the sword, she refused the marriage proposal. This proves the powerful
role women played in a Turkic society.
In the eleventh century, Turks started to migrate southward. As they traveled to
Arab lands, they took on Islam as their religion, became influenced by their traditions,
and therefore began to adopt some as their own. Although they changed many of their
cultural traditions, their fierce brutality was something they refused to give up.3 They
continued to raid cities in Arabia, and eventually made their way to Anatolia and
eventually formed the Ottoman Empire.
In the duration of the Ottoman Empire, women were split into two settings: those
of a lower class interacted daily with males outside the home as traders or as marketers,
and high society women were often in seclusion. These women mostly stayed at home,
and the only males they saw were their family members or tutors, whom in most cases
they ended up marrying since these were the only males they saw. Female socialites also
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had no reason to leave their homes, as they usually lived in huge mansions with servants,
and all merchants would go from house to house selling things such as cloth, make up,
jewelry or their trade (i.e. tailors). Because everything they could ever want was at the tip
of their fingers, they often did not leave the house. When the socialites did venture
outside the home they would often times cover themselves up as much as possible. This
was a way to show the “common people” that she was of a prestigious family and should
not be bothered at all.
Those women who could not afford to sit at home all the time, would either work
in the market selling anything from produce to carpets, cloth or jewelry- oftentimes, they
would walk through the streets knocking on every door trying to sell their merchandise.
Women who lived in the rural areas worked on the farm all day long along with the rest
of their family, but when the males retrieved into relaxation, the woman would tend to
the household duties. If the farm work the next day was too brutal for her to handle, she
would stay at home to make different kinds of crafts which she would later send with a
merchant into the cities to be sold for profit. These included items such as hand made
jewelry, embroidered scarves and tablecloths, along with hand-knit carpets. 4
Women living in the Ottoman Empire, like those in Kuwait, had a high standing
according to their class and status. One famous person during this time was Halide Edip
Adivar. As argued by many, she helped pave the way for the new Turkish woman. She
was from a well-to-do family, once divorced, and twice married with two sons. She
became interested in politics with her husbands’ influence. Her lifespan was a very
critical time for Turkey, as it was leaving the old traditions of the Empire and becoming a
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Republic. During the Independence War, she worked closely with Ataturk first as a non-
combatant private, then as corporal, translating and writing dispatches, counting guns and
soldiers. Later on in her life, she became a novelist and published many books, then took
on the role as a professor; she gave that up briefly to become a parliamentarian, but said
she missed teaching and her last days were spent teaching.5 Women of such caliber were
rare and few. The only reason why Halide Hanim got so far was because of the political
and social standing of her father, then of her husbands—without their influence she
would not have gotten as far as she did.
Although the role of women in the public sphere during the Ottoman Empire
varied according to ones social and economic standing, women of the empire did possess
rights given to them under Islam, such as the right to divorce, inheritance, and land
ownership. These simple innovations were not yet available to European women. In the
year 1717, Lady Mary, the wife of Edward W. Montague who was the British
Ambassador to Turkey, wrote several letters to her friends describing her experience in
Turkey;
Neither have they much to apprehend from the resentment of their Husbands, whose Ladys that are rich having all their money in their own hands, which they take with ‘em upon a divorce with an addition which he is oblig’d to give ‘em. Upon the whole, I look upon the Turkish women as the only free people in the Empire...’Tis true their Law permits (the men) four (4) wives, but there is no Instance of a Man of Quality that makes use of this Liberty, or a women of Rank what would suffer it.” 6
Most of her letters were about women because those were the people who she socialized
with the most. Being an English woman, Lady Mary was exceptionally amazed at the
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rights of the Ottoman women—although she mostly met those with a higher social
standing, the laws she talks about were in effect for all women.
Ataturk and Women
In 1923 the present boundaries of Turkey were established, and Turkey was
formally proclaimed a republic with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as its first president. At the
time, last names were a nonexistent in Turkey, as they were mostly known as “the son o f’
or “the mother of.” As a process of Westernizing, Mustafa KemaTs first duty was to
make everyone choose a last name. The people of the Republic gave Mustafa Kemal the
last name of “Ataturk,” which means Father of the Turks. Ataturk, with all its meaning,
really became the father of the country, as he nursed Turkey back to health from being
the Sick Man of Europe. He showed the Turks the way to democracy. Ataturk felt that in
order to be industrious and economically stable, the way of the West had to be adopted.
Everything from schooling, business practices, and social customs had to change in order
to copy that of the West. Ataturk schooled his people in the forms and ideas of a
democratic society, while he continuously pushed that in order to be a democratic
society—Turkey had to become a Westem-style country. This in political terms is known
as Kemalism, or the Kemalist point of view. Kemalism brought economic development,
separation of religion from state affairs, a disinterest in tradition, latinization of the
alphabet, promotion of Western dress, adopting the Western calendar, and a replacement
of Islamic family law by a secular civil code. As a way of modernizing and Westernizing,
Ataturk also realized that women’s emancipation was needed.7 Ataturk, always in awe of
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women, was especially impressed with the courage and militancy women showed during
the last days of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I women worked in ammunition,
food, and textile factories as well as in banks, hospitals, and administrative services. They
protested to mobilize men and women against occupying forces, formed organizations,
and wrote protest letters to the wives of leaders and at times raising funds. Some even
fought alongside men during the war. Ataturk said on women, “A civilization where
one sex is supreme can be condemned there and then, as crippled. A people who have
decided to go forward and progress must realize this quickly as possible. The failures in
our past are due to the fact that we remained passive to the face of women.” 9
Men of the society, along with Ataturk, realized a need for women’s
emancipation, not so much because they believed women deserved more rights, but
because they felt this would make them more modem as a country. The 1926 Turkish
Civil Code abolished polygamy, endorsed civil marriage, gave both sexes the right to
divorce, and accepted egalitarian inheritance laws. In 1930 the municipal law gave
women the right to elect members and be elected to municipality councils, and finally in
1934, women won the right to vote and be elected to the National Assembly. This was a
huge triumph for Turkey, as they had beaten many of their Western counterparts in
promoting women’s rights. For example, women in France did not receive the right to
vote until 1944, and not until 1960 for the women of Switzerland.10 The men of the
society had fought for women’s empowerment more than the women had. They had a
hidden agenda, as argued by Pinar Ilkkaracan, for the purpose of giving women
empowerment was to destroy the religious hegemony that was still left over from the
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Ottoman Empire, and to prove themselves as Western and modem.
Liberation, whether it be of a country or a group of people, is most appreciated
when it is done in a revolutionary fashion. If a group of people are content living under
the mle of another and all of sudden are liberated, and free to rule themselves, these
people would most likely be emotionless and unappreciative of it. On the other hand, if
there is a group of people who have been struggling for years to get their freedom, to
have their voice heard ,and seek independence—to them liberation would be a miracle.
Ataturk liberated women for impure reason. There were no protests of women asking for
this right, no marches, no petitions signed. Turkish women do not remember a suffrage.
Those in Iran pushed and fought for their rights, like those in Kuwait who are still
struggling, but the women in Turkey were just handed their rights once the country was
formed.
Elite women were content with their position in society. They enjoyed being
separated from the outside world, and their homes were their havens. Rural women did
not think about politics because they were too busy trying to adjust to the new Republic.
The clothes they once wore were no longer acceptable, the alphabet they knew was
abolished, their whole lives had changed over night, so politics or their social standing
was the last thing on their minds. Even when women did get the right to vote they most
often did not partake in politics or the society. Some did not even take advantage of
mandatory education.
This has been one of the constraints on Turkish women participating in politics. A
revolutionary process has to be done through an evolutionary development not an
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overnight process like the vindication of Turkish women. Women of Turkey were
emancipated before they even realized there was a suffrage. Because of this, only a
handful of women, who lived in big cities and were wealthy, took advantage of these
rights. 11
Saibe
As the Republic grew and got older, women slowly started to realize their place in
society and wanted to be more involved, however not so much as women. Women of
Turkey adopted the Western definition of feminism, which entailed sexual liberation,
where there is no difference between a male of a female. There is a famous political
cartoon that appeared in one of the Turkish newspapers, which depicts this thought
perfectly. It is of the Prime Minister, Tansu (filler, sitting with her one leg over the other,
which is a male custom in an Islamic society. She has the President standing across from
her and he makes the comment, “My daughter, I didn’t tell you that you can’t be prime
minister, I said you can’t be a woman.” 12 Referring to the notion that if a women wanted
to be in politics she had to give up her womanhood.
Tansu (filler was bom to a middle class family who was always very interested in
politics. Her father put all of his money into educating his daughter at the best schools.
She was sent to an American style school, Robert College, and she later got her
undergraduate degree at Bogazici University, the most prominent university in Turkey.
She later received her PhD in economics from the University of Connecticut, and became
a full-time professor in 1983. In 1990 she threw herself into politics, first by becoming a
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deputy chairperson of the True Path Party, then winning a seat in the Parliament from
Istanbul. Finally in 1993 she became the first woman Prime Minister of 1Turkey. ^
She automatically became a national icon. Women started imitating her look by
wearing colorful neck scarves and using the same perfume she did. They felt she was
making a new wave for women’s empowerment, men were proud to have such a woman
representing them. It seemed as if the whole world was in love with her. Muammer
Qadhafi of Libya called her, “a model for all Islamic women,” and European papers
referred to her as, “the symbol of modem Turkey.” However she did not turn out to be
the political saint people had thought she was. She kept her assistants on their toes, as
they were constantly afraid she was going to make blunders. She often times forgot
names of foreign heads of state, and on the way to a NATO summit in Brussels’s where
the question of Russia’s membership was on the agenda, she surprised journalists by
asking, “Isn’t Russia already a NATO member?” Besides from her political slip-ups, she
also made the mistake of not declaring her wealth when she became prime minister. She
started spending state money abnormally on private requests which prompted an
investigation. Her total assets were found to be $4.5 million in real estate in the United
States, all of which she had not declared.
She not only disappointed those in Turkey, but also her supporters abroad.
Women’s organizations were looking forward to setting her as the perfect example of
how far a woman can go as long as she is ambitious, but to no avail. She ended up being
corrupt and two-faced. After she lost her post and her party began to decline, she formed
a coalition with the Islamist party, whom in her campaign platform for the Prime Minister
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position she had called, “the murderous merchants of religion.” She then got the
nickname of§aibe, which when translated means tainted or stained.14 She wanted to
portray an image of an “iron lady,” similar to that of Margaret Thatcher. She was always
apathetic about women’s issues, and only appealed to women when she wanted their
vote. The rest of the time, as Yesim Arat puts it, “She acted like a man in politics.” 15
When (filler was in power, so were Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and Begum
Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh—three Muslim women running three different Muslim
countries. However, filler and Bhutto, like many politicians, fell victim to vice and
greed, (filler did not realize the importance of her place in the Turkish and Muslim
society. She could have set a new example to Muslim girls all over the world. She broke
down barriers and came to a place where many women and men dream of. She could
have been remembered and revered for years as a pioneer, but instead she chose to be
selfish.
The Great Divide
The 60’s and 70’s saw the emergence of left-wing ideologies, and the 80’s led to a
military intervention and a coup. During the 90’s, Turkey’s political atmosphere was split
into three with the Kemalist, Radicalist, and the Islamists fighting for supreme power,
and the women’s movement followed this theme. They became more divided in their
endeavors by trying to place themselves in one of these fields, instead of uniting under
the umbrella of feminism. Turkey, here, is at a critical point in it’s history. It is facing
many problems which might lead to a new revolution, and it will be caused by this great
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divide. It has gotten to a point that it is not just the politicians who are divided this way,
but every single organization or forum has a stance each is affiliated with the Kemalist,
Radicalist, or the Islamists. A gay and lesbian organization, for example, is not fighting
for the rights of homosexuals in Turkey, but is fighting a nationalistic battle to bring one
of these three players up to bat. Citizens are uniting under a specific affiliation, be it
homosexuality, feminism, or human rights, but soon after their organization is formed
they fight fervently to bring a certain political party into power instead of fighting their
own cause.
The Kemalist feminists were secular in their attempts, as they saw the rise of
Islam as a threat and continuously brought out all the negative things about Islam—many
times forgetting how Islam, in actuality, liberated women as opposed to oppressing them.
Kemalism has been programmed into the mind of every Turk. Before anything, most
Turks see themselves as Turks, not as women, mothers, fathers, or Muslim. This
unfortunately has led to the stifling of women’s empowerment. The focus of Kemalist
feminists has not been to liberate women or to get their voice heard—their main focus
has been to try to asphyxiate the Islamist.
Radical feminists have always been defined as the ones who push the envelope,
however in Turkey they have pushed it a little too far. Although radical women are rare
in Turkey, those that do place themselves in this category have made many foes instead
of friends.'6 A perfect example is of Duygu Asena, a journalist and a novelist who has
dared to speak words many Turkish women can not even imagine uttering. She has
brought the issue of vindication and liberation out in the public sphere, however instead
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of suggesting solutions, she continuously plays the blame game. Every talk show she has
been on, and every article or book she has written, she talks about how awful men are and
how it is a tragedy that women physically and emotionally need them.
Women in the Islamist movement, however, are making a way for themselves.
Historically Turkey has been trying to push religion out of politics, but in its endeavor to
become more secular, it has made it wrong to be religious. Currently, if you are a
religious person in Turkey, you are automatically thought of as being a fundamentalist. It
has gotten to a point where people hide their religiosity. In the late 90’s, the Welfare
Party reached out not only to the males of the population, but also to it’s females, starting
the women’s branch of the Welfare Party. Suddenly women were going from door to
door asking for votes for their Welfare Party candidates. They started by distributing
food, offering health services, and giving social support. They offered women joining
their local organization the opportunity to participate in politics, something many others
could not do.
The Welfare Party developed ways to analyze and strategize ways of getting
women involved, not only by offering material needs, but also giving women a sense of
belonging, empowerment, and political participation. They would hold meetings, ask for
support, ask what they wanted from the government, giving women a sense that they
actually had influence on what happened in the government. They continuously pushed
for women to partake in political life, and promised women candidates for the parliament
if they were elected. When they did win the election, there weren’t any women
nominated for any of the cabinet seats. Regardless, few protested. They explained the
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discrepancy and discrimination by stating that they were only protecting women because
the dress code, as Turkey does not allow women to cover her hair in a government
setting.17 The view quite possibly could be that although they were disappointed that
there wasn’t any women in the nominations, they could have felt that as long as the men
got in, maybe they could start to make a change from the inside and hope that one day the
present dress code could be lifted, then providing a time when women could participate.
The women from the Kemalist and Radicalist points of view have gotten some
recognition and power in Turkey, but instead of focusing on women’s empowerment,
they often focus on superficial issues—which is the reason why women are lagging
behind in Turkey. Twenty percent of women in Turkey are illiterate, forty percent of
women living in the country are forced into arranged marriages, and every year 2500
1 Q Turkish women die while giving birth due to poor or non-existent health care. For
women living under these circumstances, the last thing on their minds is politics. These
women from the two afore mentioned groups could have boosted up a lot of support if
they focused on women’s issues more. Today, many Turks complain that the fundamental
political parties “buy” their way into office by offering material goods to voters. The
truth is, what these parties are offering are goods that the government should be
providing anyway—they are only making up for what the government is not doing. When
people are destitute, hungry, unemployed, and in dire need of decent health care, they are
going to turn to those who provide these basic necessities. In Turkey’s case, it has been
the religious parties that have been doing this.
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1 CIA World Fact Book, December 18, 2003. 2 Emel Dogramaci. Turkiye’de Kadinin Dunu ve Bugunu (Istanbul, Turkey: Kultur Yayinlari, 1997): 3-4 3 Douglas A. Howard. The History o f Turkey. (CT: Greenwood Press, 2001): 30-33 4 Serpil Qakir, Osmanli Kadin Hareketi. (Istanbul, Turkey: Metis Yayinlari, 1996): 261-265 5 Elizabeth Wamock Femea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan, eds. Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak. (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1977): 167-192. 6 Elizabeth Wamock Femea. “An Early Ethnographer of Middle Eastern Women: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu,”Journal of Near East Studies 40 (4) (1981): 329-338. 7 Stephen Kinzer. Crescent & Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds. (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001): 35-53 8 Yesim Arat. The Patriarchal Paradox: Women Politicians in Turkey. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Press, 1989): 28. 9 Cemal Kutay. Ataturk Olmasaydi. (Istanbul, Turkey: Aksoy, 1998): 122-123. 10 Arat 29 11 Pinar Ilkkaracan. “A Brief Overview of Women’s Movements in Turkey and the Influence of Political Discourse.” Women for Women’s Human Rights Report 2 ( September 1997) 12 YesimArat. “On Gender and Citizenship in Turkey,” Middle East Report (January-March 1996): 28-31 13 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/gmpc/cc/ccb/Ciller.htm) 14 Ustun Reinart. “Ambition for All Seasons: Tansu (filler,”Middle East Review o f International Affairs. 3(1) (March 1999) 15 Yesim Arat. “ On Gender and Citizenship in Turkey,”Middle East Report, (January-March 1996): 28- 31. 16 Ilkkaracan 8 17 Ibid 11 18 Esra Erduran. “Being a Woman in Turkey.”Turkish Daily News, March 8, 2004.
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This chapter is the concluding portion of this research. It will summarize the findings of
this multi-case study by looking at Islam, women and the leaders that have helped shaped
the way for female empowerment. Current programs, lesson plans, as well as suggestions
will be briefly discussed in the latter part of the chapter in order for the community, men
as well as women, learn new concepts and new ideas to better themselves in society and
in relation to each other.
Summary
As was seen from this study, women living in the three specific countries, before
the advent of Islam had a variety of roles. As these three ethnic groups took on Islam
their societies started to change. In the case of Turkey they not only adopted the religion
of the Arabs they also took on a lot of their traditions and cultures. The Qur’an and
Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah was put into textual form with the help of those closest to
the Prophet—in most instances these were either his wives or his daughters. So in a way,
Islam’s history was written from a women’s point of view. Islam advocated the equality
of all human beings, regardless of race, creed, economic standing or gender. It
encouraged males to treat their wives with respect and honor and made numerous
references to the Virgin Mary being the first person to step into heaven, and that heaven
was at the foot of the mothers. The patriarchal societies of the Middle East never denies
84
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any of these notions, they accept them and acknowledge their existence and importance.
The problem starts with the form of implementation—too often these societies implement
factors of Islam and the Sunnah to benefit their misogynism.
As historian Gerda Lemer points out, patriarchy is the most ancient and
entrenched form of social differences predicating hierarchies based on race, class,
ethnicity, and sexual orientation.1 This form of social organization where the males of
the family or the tribe would have dominance over women and children arouse out of
increasing need to provide labor power through population growth in early societies.
Hence a women’s role in society became defined by her sexuality and reproductivity. As
Islam entered the region it sought to diminish these patriarchal norms where a women’s
only capability was to give birth—however those in power, mostly men, opted to ignore
these factor to ensure their own standing in the society.
The political leaders and clerics’ perception of Islam, in the Middle East, has
often been selective. They have been inclined to see what they would like to see and have
disregarded those that were inhospitable to their patriarchal views. Their selective
perception has led to selective adaptation of actual Islamic values. If each society in the
Middle East implemented all of that Islam teaches, today there would be a lot more
women in politics. These political leaders and clerics acknowledge the fact that during
the Prophet’s time there were many women leaders, in society, economics and politics
and even as religious leaders however they opt to ignore this fact and continue pushing
on with patriarchal traditions and norms. This social order of where only a male can be
the head of the family, community and society is misogynistic and un-Islamic. The idea
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that one human being is superior, males, while another is inferior, females, goes against
everything Islam stands for.
This entrancement of patriarchy does not matter whether the society being looked
at is an Islamic Republic, a monarchy or a secular government such as Turkey—in
reference to the Middle East this notion has been adopted from Bedouin Arabs while in
the process of converting to Islam. A good example is that of Turkish parliamentarian,
Galip Far. Although Turkey prides itself on being modem, secular and Western, it is still
a country with deep embedded non-matriarchal norms, even with the most educated of
males. Far explains his views on women in politics,
A woman cooks, she looks after a child. She has to neglect her child. Which husband will concede to this? You came from Beykoz at 2 a.m. Will the husband claim, “Great, you did a good thing? No man will assume his wife’s duties just because she is doing politics. Before anything else, being MP (parliamentarian) is an arduous task. A woman cannot endure this. It (being an MP) is carried out man to man. A voter for example, cannot tell a woman that he is unemployed. He’ll be reluctant. He won’t believe that a woman can shoulder the necessary fight. Also man is more of a demagogue.2
Far’s first problem with women being in politics is the notion that a woman has
household duties, however Arat has found in her research that woman politicians often
could afford to hire maids or rely on their mothers to relieve some of their
responsibilities. His second problem, the notion that women could not handle the
“arduous task” of being in politics, not only goes against Islam but also against Turkic
culture. It seems as if Far needs to be reminded of Hatun’s of the early Turkic people who
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ruled the land along with her husband. Unfortunately, Far’s opinion stems from the
patriarchal and cultural influence of the Arabs that were adapted by the Turks in the mist
of converting to Islam. Middle Eastern males have benefited from this notion of power
and supremacy and regardless of where the condemnation of misogynism comes from, be
it the divine word of Allah, or thousands of women protesting and asking for their rights,
it is in their own best interest to ignore these contentions.
Far is correct in the sense that women do have responsibilities to their homes and
children, especially in the context of the Middle East. Middle Eastern women take pride
in putting their womanhood and motherhood ahead of anything else. However no society
will be able to flourish with only half of its population partaking in the society. This
toleration of putting females into stereotypical roles, ignoring Islamic precedence and
laws continues in the Middle East. How is it that it a women can be a teacher or a nurse
and participate in society but she cannot partake in politics. Is she teaching and nursing
out of her home with her children, while cleaning and cooking—of course not. If it is
acceptable for a woman to do these kinds of gender biased jobs then why can they not
participate in politics?
Unfortunately patriarchy has hindered the women in the Middle East as well as
those across the globe. Ending patriarchal norms is extremely difficult and most likely
impossible. There is not one society where there is an equal amount of matriarchy and
patriarchy. However there are degrees of patriarchy and each nation should look into how
they can lower this degree. Lynne B. Iglitzin in the book sheWomen edited, in the World:
A Contemporary Study states this same view,
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The daily lives of most women in Western and non-Westem countries vary only by degree. There may be a constitutional amendment on equal rights for women in one country, or a statue barring sex discrimination in another, yet everywhere sex stereotyped views based upon traditional norms and values prevail. Such a state of affairs has persisted for so long and has been so universal that deeply rooted socialization patterns have resulted. These patterns and the set of attitudes that underline them, constitute the heritage of patriarchy which has dominated most of recorded history and remain dominate today.3
As argued by Iglitzin, these consequences of traditional norms are so embedded into
every society that it is impossible to reverse the effect. However, women can lower the
degree of the influence of tradition by calling attention to things such as religion—
especially in the Middle East where Islam plays such an integral role—to prove their
right and ability to participate in politics.
Suggestions
The most influential and lasting solution to empowering women is education.
From very early on gender roles are emphasized to children of both sexes, especially in
the Middle East. As first graders, their books are filled with pictures of a mother at home
cooking with a child in a bassinet in the background and a father working outside. The
pictures of nurses are always female and pictures of doctors always male, being a teacher
is a female job and an engineer is a male field. These kinds of stereotypes are found all
throughout the world, not just in the Middle East. To a certain extent they are true,
women are usually the one’s who are more domestic and males are not. The problem is
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not showing children these kinds of gender specific roles the problem begins when this is
all that they see.
Education is the first step in breaking down barriers for women and this process
needs to start at a very early age. School children, both boys and girls, should be thought
that females are not subordinates of males and that, they in fact, can be doctors as
opposed to nurses and engineers as opposed to teachers. Redefining the roles females can
take in a society to school age children is the first step. Also, young adults, especially
girls, need a guided format to follow in achieving and overcoming patriarchal pressures.
As suggested by Sharif Tahir in her article titled,Leadership Development for
Young Women, more needs to be done in educating children, especially girls about their
ability to move higher up in society. She outlines six different agenda’s that must be met
to encourage girls and young women to throw themselves into politics. These are;
• Leadership training workshops where girls can learn to speak in public and how
to encounter and answer arguments from anti-women’s rights activist.
• Mentorship programs which should be implemented through the education
system where leaders and students get to meet and talk one-on-one.
• Internship/fellowship programs where programs can be arranged through
mentoring where girls can get real life experience with different organizations.
• Experience sharing with conferences for girls where regional, national and
international societies, economies, cultures and politics are discussed.
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• Networking where this would consist of girls interacting with women’s
organizations and women leaders to allow for an exchange of ideas and contacts
for girls when they finish school.
• Dialogue where there should be constant communication between experienced
women leaders and girls so they can learn about their various options and voice
their own opinions.
Tahir’s sums up her ideas, “Only by involving women from all walks of life in the
political process and in program development will the varied needs of women be
addressed effectively.”4 Her suggestions for educating girls are good however it isn’t
sufficient enough. Educating girls is important and essential but we cannot exclude boys.
Boys must also learn at an early age that women can be leaders and it does not necessary
step on their masculinity. You cannot give a progressive idea only to half of a society.
International women’s organizations such as Women Living Under Muslim Law
(WLUML), Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Muslim Women’s League (MWL) are achieving
this goal of education by publishing articles, holding conferences, promoting young
women, reaching out to the media, and encouraging leaders to take notice. International
Human Rights Law Group in August of 2003 published, “Empowering Girls and Young
Women at Risk in Morocco.” They worked together with 13 different NGOs from
Morocco to raise awareness and advocate female empowerment in Morocco.5 Women’s
Learning Partnership (WLP) is another organization that promotes enhancing women’s
social activity and education. In November of 2002, they brought together women leaders
to discuss constrains and opportunities Muslim women face. Over 200 scholars,
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activities, NGO leaders and policy makers attended this event. They concluded that there
was many socio-cultural barriers to women’s political participating. Azar Nifisi, stated,
“Women are undoubtedly at the core of the struggle to achieve equality and tolerance in
the family, in the community, and between state and society in the Muslim world.
Another panelist, Mahnaz Afkhami agreed that this empowerment “must arise from
women coming to believe that their agency makes a difference and that they have the
right to determine the course of their destiny.” 6
This is a small example of the types of leadership programs and initiatives that are
being taken to enhance the rights of Middle Eastern women. However, they are limited
and more of these programs need to come of light, especially with the Gulf countries.
When discussing the Middle East the Gulf countries often tend to get forgotten however
there are the countries where women’s empowerment is the lowest. Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates still do not allow women the right to vote.
Countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates still
have not ratified the ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Extra focus is needed in these Gulf countries
along with the rest of the Middle East.7
In May of 2003, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of the President and
Chairwoman of the UAE’s General Women’s Union(GWU), invited a delegation of 11
wives of envoys of Britain, Syria, Singapore, Oman, Mexico, Mauritius, Kuwait, Ireland,
Guinea, Cameroon and Bahrain to coordinate and exchange expertise between national
and international women’s organizations. She expressed, “Such coordination will assist in
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the advancement of women and will encourage them to get engaged fully in various
national activities.”8 The most efficient way to enhance women’s rights is through
political leaders, especially female ones. When a leader or the wife of a one pushes for
women’s vindication it causes more of a stir in a society and encourages others to
participate. Queen Rania of Jordan, Sheika Mouza of Qatar, and Asma Assad of Syria are
all examples of woman who are trying to get their voice heard through their political
standing thanks to their husbands. As with any provocative issues these women are faced
with criticism from their patriarchal society—however this is not slowing them down.9
One way of improving the role of women in politics is for the wives of politicians
to set an example to the rest of the community. We find this in few Arab countries, such
as those wives that were mentioned above but we fail to see this in most countries,
especially ones who take pride in their modernity. Turkey is a good example. Former
Prime Minister Qiller, is still active in politics and Rah§an Ecevit, the Hillary Clinton of
Turkey, continues to be political however both women are not stepping up for gender
issues. The ideas suggested by Tahir would have more of an impact if they were endorsed
by wives of leaders and implemented by women’s organizations.
An important factor to consider what effects the role of women in society is the
mindset of the leaders whether it is the current political leader or a revolutionary leader of
the past. A charismatic leader sets the stage for a country, they become the embodiment
of what that country stands for. In times of when a civil code is contested it is always
refered back to what the revolutionary leader set in the formation of the country. In this
case study out of the three countries that were discussed, only Iran and Turkey had a
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revolutionary leader. Although these leaders differed immensely in their aspirations for
their government they both valued and realized the importance of including women in
politics. To this day their precedence sets the norm of their respective country.
In Iran, Khomeini realized that in order to get into power he needed the help of
women and he needed to let go of his misogynistic views. He knew above else that
women’s participation in the Revolution was exigent. He has admitted that, “Women
have done more for the movement then men, for their participation doubles the power of
men. Men can’t remain indifferent when women take part in the movement...” 10
Khomeini who is often seen as been extremely Islamist in his interpretations of the
Qur’an saw the essential value of women in politics. Although he did not use Islamic
reference to back up his view he realized that when half of the society is not counted for
it can only lead to destruction and deteriation.
Today Khomeini is still criticized heavily, even by those in the Middle East;
however they fail to realize that although he did not liberate women in a western sense he
still gave them what they were asking for. Khomeini did put many restrictions on women
and made sure everyone abided by the gender norms, however when looked at within the
context of the Revolution, he was a feminist in his own religious way. Majority of
Iranians wanted an Islamic Republic and those that did not eventually left the country.
Khomeini’s strict interpretation of Islam was needed in the beginning stages of the
reconstruction of Iran, so that they could make their way to the new Great Revolution of
modernity, as also suggested by Robin Wright.
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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was also a feminist. He granted Turkish women the right
to vote very early on in the republic, in 1935. Ataturk realized that in order to be
industrious and western the other half of the society, women, also had to partake in
political life. He wanted the rest of the world to see how modem and western Turkey
could be by beating some European countries with offering women political rights.
Although his intentions were not pure he still realized the need of women in the public
sphere. To Turks Ataturk is almost a God-like figure nothing he has done can be
criticized or discussed negatively in the public. School children are taught that their first
duty is to uphold Kemalist views and to protect their country from those who are anti-
Kemalist. Ataturk as a revolutionary leader impacted Turkey greatly and to this day his
ideas are cherished. This has made it easier on the women of Turkey by participating in
politics. If they are ever denied anything, all one needs to do is sight the vindication
Ataturk promised them and this shall suffice.
Kuwait unfortunately has not had that eclectic leader who people can idolize.
This, along with an undying deeply embedded tribal norm, has been the reason why
women’s right in Kuwait are not as strong as those in Iran and Turkey. The Kuwaiti
government, who is seen as one of the most modem Gulf States, still has not recognized a
women’s right to vote. Kuwait has a long way to go in its process to becoming one of the
great nations, only when all of its citizens can participate in politics will Kuwait see the
importance in women.
The only problem that might occur in looking for a leader to look up to, is picking
the right person for the job. For example, Hitler and Stalin are not figures who can be
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admired. A revolutionary leader needs to advocate and promote improvement in the lives
of its citizens and advances general human rights. In reference to gender issues, the leader
also needs to be aware of the need for female exoneration from the prison of ancient
traditional norms. Whether it is in politics or not, any competent leader knows the
importance of involving all people to partake in the community. When a leader seeks to
exclude a gender or ethnic group from participating, sounds and whistles should go off in
the community, this is the first indication of their incompetency, misogynism, and racial
prejudice which will eventually lead to apartheid.
As seen from this research, the people of the Middle East are extremely
patriarchal—not only in dominating women but also in the need for a father-like role
model, or a leader. The first political leader for Middle Eastern people was the Prophet
Muhammad he set the initial system for accepting women as part of the society. After his
death his successors, the caliph’s, prescribed accepted norms. When the notion of a
nationalism came out of the French Revolution and borders started to be drawn, this role
of the father figure was handed down to political leaders of each country. The fathers of
these countries have been the revolutionary leaders that have set of the current political
government. For Iran the father was Khomeini, for Turkey it was Ataturk and
unfortunately Kuwait has yet to see its revolutionary father—hopefully one might arise
out of the Al-Sabah family.
This research has shown women’s political empowerment needs to be initiated by
women themselves, especially international women’s organizations. There needs to be a
unifying element and constant lobbying of political leaders and their wives. Middle
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Eastern women need to recognize their roots and adhere to their religion and demand
their emancipation as promised to the from Islam. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has said, “Well
behaved women rarely make history!” Thus, it is the turn of the Middle Eastern women
to misbehave.
1 Sharlene Hesse Biber, Christina Gilmartin and Robin Lydenberd, eds. Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999):217. 2 Yesim Arat. The Patriarchal Paradox: Women Politicians in Turkey. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Press, 1989): 110 3 Lynne B. Iglitzin, “The Patriarchal Heritage,” in Lynne B. Iglitzin and Ruth Ross, eds.Women in the World: A Comparative Study. (American Bibliographic Center-Clio Press, 1976): 7-8. 4 Sharif Tahir. “Leadership Development for Young Women: A Model.” In Mahnaz Afkhami and Erika Friedl, Ed. Muslim Women and the Politics o f Participation. (Syracuse, N Y : Syracuse University Press, 1997): 83-93. 5 “Empowering Girls and Young Women at Risk in Morocco.”Human Rights Law Group, August 09, 2003. In their endeavor to raise awareness, a copy of this Resource Book can be sent to anyone who is working with women regarding Morocco. An email can be sent to [email protected] with the address of where the package should be sent. The Book is primarily in Arabic. Those wishing to order a book to take into account the above email address might not be accessible after a certain period of time. 6 Abby Jenkins. “Women and Leadership in Muslim Societies: Voices for Change.”Women's Learning Partnership, November 2002. 7 Women’s Learning Partnership: Facts and Figures on Politics. Updated February 2004. (http://www.leamingpartnership.Org/facts/leadership.phtml#political) 8 “Sheikha Fatima Stresses the Need for Exchange of Expertise Between Women Organizations.”Arab News, May 5, 2003. 9 Scott McLeod. “Regarding Rania.”Time Magazine, February 15, 2004. (Europe Edition) 10 Azadeh Kian. “Women and Politics in Post-Islamist Iran: the Gender Conscious Drive to Change.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 24(1) (1997): 77.
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