The Foreign Service Journal, May 2012

M A Y 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 25 third of what their male coun- terparts made. The situation was worse in Egypt and Syria, where the eco- nomic position of women slipped every year from 2006 to 2010. And ever since the inception of the WEF Gender Gap Report, Yemen has consistently ranked at the bottom. Most Yemeni women remain illiterate and have very limited opportunities, with many living in confined conditions. Cautious Optimism A year after the Arab Spring began, the picture for women is mixed. In Tunisia, the birthplace of the movement, all major political parties in the newly elected Constituent Assembly have pledged to uphold women’s rights, including the Islam-based Ennahda. With an electoral system that requires parties to alter- nate between male and female candidates, 30 percent of assembly members are women. Four of the six com- mittees drafting the new constitution are headed by women. Yet even in this atmosphere of cautious optimism, the women of Tunisia have told us that the world must remain vigilant. Only three out of 41 transitional cabi- net posts went to women, and none were in key de- partments. There have been several worrying instances of unofficial segregation by sex in universities, movie theatres and even polling places. As Tunisians work to balance their secular govern- ment traditions with the democratic wishes of a con- servative society, women elsewhere in the region are battling for core civil rights. In other countries in the region, many of the best-organized political forces are apathetic or even openly hostile to women’s rights and participation. No one knows whether conservative forces, especially in Egypt, will begin using their new powers to restrict women’s participation across society. For example, after the protests ended, Egypt’s transitional military council simply excluded women from the decision-making process. Egyptian women witnessed the power of collective action in Tahrir Square, and so last year thousands of activists — from across the po- litical, ideological and religious spectra — gathered to write the charter that distilled the core de- mands of Egyptian women: equal political, economic and legal citizenship. They hope this powerful document will rally others as they lobby to enshrine equal citizenship into Egypt’s new constitution. In Yemen, the exit of President Ali Abdullah Saleh was negotiated among men representing the political opposition and the country’s Arab neighbors. Women and youth, who had been so essential to the popular movement, were excluded. With the election of the new president, the situation remains delicate; a security crisis could instigate further political, economic and so- cial marginalization of women and youth. Hopes for Libya’s future are high, but the challenges are great; Moammar Qadhafi spent decades systemati- cally destroying his country’s core institutions. The re- bellion was led by volunteers, who are working to rebuild the basic institutions of the state. So far, the Transitional National Council has given women only a very small role in the formal transition process. Even so, women have seized their new freedoms to or- ganize outside of government. They are effective civil so- ciety leaders, working with local councils and the national government, addressing the crucially important needs of a post-conflict society, including providing basic civics ed- ucation to fellow citizens, and developing and lobbying for real solutions to the disarming, demobilization and reintegration of former rebels. In Syria, women are play- ing important roles in keeping the protest movement alive to counter the regime’s wanton violence. Women who long for progress in each of these coun- tries are realistic about the challenges they confront. They understand that changing deeply held cultural and religious norms will take a generation, but this is an un- dertaking that they willingly accept. They seek our con- sistent, strong support of efforts to retain and expand their rights and participation. Although women’s empowerment is often viewed as a secondary priority in times of transition, it is precisely at these times that women can play a crucial role. Their involvement can ensure an enduring peace and a con- F OCUS “The women of the Arab Spring have come alive, and they will not go back to sleep.” — Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni Nobel Laureate