Research Report
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Research Report Women in Transition: the role of Women and the Arab Springs 2.0 in Sudan and Algeria December 2020 The project has been implemented thanks to a contribution of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under the III National Plan on Women Peace and Security 1 The research project has been coordinated by Lorenzo Coslovi. Researchers: For CeSPI Lorenzo Coslovi Aurora Ianni Erika Marcheggiani For Algeria, Interface medias: Tin Hinane El Kadi For Sudan, Al-Harisat 2 Table of contents INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 4 SECTION 1. ITALY’S COMMITMENT TO THE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY AGENDA ........... 5 1.1. Recognizing the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution .............................................. 5 1.2. Italy’s commitment to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda ...................................................... 8 1.3. The choice of Sudan and Algeria .................................................................................................... 10 1.4. Italy’s main interventions for enhancing women’s empowerment and gender equality in Sudan and Algeria11 SECTION 2. WOMEN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY LANDSCAPE IN SUDAN AND ALGERIA: VOICES FROM THE GROUND.................................................................................................................... 17 2.a. WOMEN’S STRUGGLE IN THE SUDANESE TRANSITION. ........................................................ 17 2.a.1. Background context and state of play ............................................................................................ 18 2.a.2. Women Role in Society in Sudan .................................................................................................. 18 2.a.3. The change in women roles in Sudan ............................................................................................ 19 2.a.4. The Gender Gap in development and fundamental rights ............................................................. 20 2.a.5. Sexual and gender-based violence ................................................................................................. 21 2.a.6. Inequality and gender politics in Sudan and the effect of political Islam ...................................... 21 2.a.7. History, structure and progress of women activism in Sudan........................................................ 24 2.a.8. Brief historical overview of women activism in Sudan ................................................................. 24 2.a.9. Structure and progress of women activism in Sudan ..................................................................... 24 2.a.10. Women’s role during and after revolution ................................................................................... 26 2.a.11. Women’s role in revolution ......................................................................................................... 26 2.a.12. Women’s Role in the Democratic Transition Process ................................................................. 28 2.a.13. Women’s demands during revolution, their achievements and current challenges ..................... 29 2.a.14. Conclusion and recommendations ............................................................................................... 33 2.b. WOMEN’S ROLE IN ALGERIA’S PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT ......................................... 35 2.b.1. Brief History of the Evolution of Women’s Struggles .................................................................. 35 2.b.2. 1954-1980: the War for independence and the aftermath of independence .................................. 35 2.b.3. The 1980s-1990s: The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the Civil War ................................... 36 2.b.4. 2000-2019: Socio-economic improvement for women and political instrumentalisation of women's rights by the regime .................................................................................................................. 37 2.b.5. The February 22 Movement and Women’s Rights ........................................................................ 38 2.b.6. The 2020 Constitution and Women’s Rights ................................................................................. 40 2.b.7. Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................ 41 2.c. REVOLUTION FROM ABROAD: THE MOBILIZATION OF ALGERIAN AND SUDANESE WOMEN IN ITALY ................................................................................................................................... 43 2.c.1. Algerian and Sudanese women’s presence in Italy: an overview .................................................. 43 2.c.2. The mobilization of Algerian and Sudanese women in Italy ......................................................... 44 2.c.3. Demands and proposals to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment processes ....... 48 2.c.4. Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 49 SECTION 3. MAIN FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITALY ............................. 50 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 53 3 WOMEN IN TRANSITION: THE ROLE OF WOMEN AND THE ARAB SPRING 2.0 IN SUDAN AND ALGERIA INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY This document was drafted in the framework of the project “Women in transition: the role of women and the Arab Spring 2.0 in Sudan and Algeria”, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under the call for proposals “Women, Peace and Security”. The project aimed to analyze the recent evolution of women’s empowerment process, on a decision- making and cultural level, in the contexts of Sudan and Algeria, which, in 2019, experienced the beginning of a transitional government and the appointment of a new head of government, respectively. The recent waves of protest in both countries shared the common involvement and mobilization of women, which warrants close examination, considering, moreover, the countries’ long-standing tradition of female activism. Starting from this observation, and by means of a cross- sectional analysis containing the findings of the desk and field research conducted between Italy, Algeria and Sudan, the project aimed to examine forms and types of female action during the latest waves of protest, as well as its demands and the results achieved thus far as to the advancement of women’s rights, especially with reference to the decision-making sphere. Concurrently, the research provided an overview of Italy's interventions for women empowerment in the target countries. The combination of these two different levels and perspectives allowed to put forth several policy recommendations concerning Italy, which could provide useful guidance for potential future actions and interventions relative to women’s empowerment in Sudan and Algeria. The first section of the document, by CeSPI, provides an overview of the process leading up to the adoption of UN Resolution 1325 and Italy’s commitment to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, with reference to the choice of Sudan and Algeria as case studies of the research. Concurrently, a first overview of the Italian initiatives (cooperation measures concerning both the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and NGOs) is presented, as regards women empowerment/gender equality in the two countries. This section highlights the results of analyzing the information retrieved from the literature available online and by consulting the sector’s stakeholders. The second section illustrates the case studies of Sudan and Algeria, which present information about the countries’ institutional framework regarding gender equality, the history of local female activism and the results of the field research. The latter collected the voices of women of different cultural and political contexts, as regards their role in the transition process and in the protests, their integration into the political and social life of their countries, and their future prospects. The field research was carried out through qualitative interviews involving Sudanese and Algerian women in the two countries, as well as a limited group of Sudanese and Algerian women of the diaspora in Italy. Some of those interviews have been filmed and subtitled in Italian and will constitute a living archive of women’s voices available for the italian audience. The third section summarizes the principal research findings and contains policy recommendations to Italy to steer future interventions concerning women empowerment in the two target countries. 4 SECTION 1. ITALY’S COMMITMENT TO THE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY AGENDA 1.1. Recognizing the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution Nowadays, women empowerment and gender equality are universally acknowledged among the fundamental conditions to maintain international peace and security. Especially in contexts of crisis and transition, to respect and acknowledge women’s human rights, as well as their full and equal involvement in decision-making areas, represent key elements for achieving social and political stability. The path which led to recognize with an ad hoc international instrument women’s significant contribution to conflict prevention