United States Institute of Peace • www.usip.org • Tel. 202.457.1700 • Fax. 202.429.6063

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE

© USIP 2013 • All rights reserved.

“Despite their involvement 

in past revolutions, whether 

against native dictators or 

foreign occupiers, women in 

the Middle East have yet to 

attain the degree of political 

representation that reflects 

the scope of their contributions 

in deposing regimes.”

June 28, 2013

Democracy, Like Revolution, 

is Unattainable Without Women

Summary

•	 The biggest challenge facing women in Arab Spring countriesistransforming their leadership

and attendant influence during the revolutionsinto high-level governance positions, both

elected and appointed, after the revolutions.

•	 To achieve this goal, reform effortsshould include: 1) amending election lawsto increase

the proportion of women represented at the local,state, and national levels; 2) increasing

high-level employment opportunities; and 3) using public education to highlight the role of

women and counter perceptions of traditional gender roles. 

Sahar F. Aziz

E-mail: sfaziz@law.txwes.edu

PEACEBRIEF152

Introduction

Contrary to popular media coverage, the Arab Spring was not the first time Arab women took on

leadership rolesin populist uprisings. Asfar back asthe 1919 Egyptian revolution against the British

occupation, women in the Middle East have played pivotal rolesin both political movements and

mass protests. Indeed, women constituted a significant proportion ofstreet protesters during the

1960s Algerian revolution, the Iranian revolution of 1979, and in Palestine during the First Intifada.

This Peace Brief positsthat the biggest challenge facing women in Arab Spring countriesistransforming their leadership and attendant influence during the revolutionsinto high level governance

positions, both elected and appointed, after the revolutions.

Despite their involvement in past revolutions, whether against native dictators or foreign

occupiers, women in the Middle East have yet to attain the degree of political representation that

reflectsthe scope of their contributionsin deposing regimes. Assoon asthe conflicts end and the

revolutionary fervor is over,society hasreverted back to traditional gender roles wherein women are

expected to stay out of the political process beyond exercising any voting rightsthey may have. Their

social and political positionsremain largely unaffected notwithstanding theirsacrifices. However,

without women’s participation in social and political institutions, nations are unable to develop

healthy and sustainable democracies. And as a result, democracy repeatedly eludesthe nations of

the Middle East.

What will differentiate the Arab Spring revolutionsfrom past onesisthe degree to which the

political revolution triggers a social revolution wherein women gain meaningful accessto and

representation in political institutions. Notwithstanding their increased participation in the public

sphere as workers,1 women’sinterests have been woefully underrepresented in the political process.

Thus, women’s participation in the formal workforce, albeit at disproportionately lower ratesthan

men,should not be mistaken for political representation and equal treatment before the law. 
© USIP 2013 • All rights reserved.

Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women

page 2 • PB 152 • June 28, 2013

Accordingly, those concerned with achieving substantive equality should focus on the following

three key measures: 1) amend election lawsto increase the proportion of women represented in

local,state, and national politics; 2) increase high-level employment opportunitiesfor women; and

3) reform public education curriculumsto highlight the role of women in the revolutions and the

various professionsto counter perceptions of women’sinability or disinterest in roles outside of the

home and to communicate to the youth how sustainable democracies depend on equal participation by women. In combination, these steps will increase the likelihood of a more equitable society

wherein women are sufficiently empowered to minimize gender disparities and meaningfully

contribute toward the nation’s progress.

Amend Election Laws to Promote Political Representation 

At lessthan 10 percent, the proportion of women representativesin Arab parliamentsremainsthe

lowest in the world.2 While post-revolution amendmentsto election lawsimprove transparency

and independent oversight of electoral processes, additional legislative amendments are needed

to establish a fair, free, and accessible electoral processfor all citizens.

Historic biases coupled with unequal accessto elected office nearly guarantee women’sinability

to obtain adequate representation in pursuit of their diverse interests. As a result, remedial programs

such as quotas or gender ordering on party lists are warranted. As women’s participation in electoral

politics normalizes over time, remedial measures can be phased out.

A comparison of Egypt and Tunisia highlightsthe importance of proactive measuresto ensure

adequate representation of women in political office. After decades of international advocacy

calling for more female representation in parliament, as well as a U.N. recommendation forspecial

measuresto increase women’srepresentation in Egyptian public life,4 the Mubarak government

relented in 2010 and mandated a quota for 64 women to serve in the People’s Assembly. As a

result, female parliamentariansincreased from five membersin 2005 to 64 in 2010.

Soon aftertaking control ofthe executivebranch in 2011, Egypt’s SupremeCouncil oftheArmed

Forces eliminated the quota and replaced itwith a requirementthatpoliticalpartiesparticipating in

proportionalrepresentation districtsinclude atleast one female candidate anywhere on theirparty lists.

As a result, only 12womenwere elected or appointed to the nowdissolved 2012 People’sAssembly and

five in the ShuraCouncil. Politicalparties exacerbated thisregression even more afterthey refused to list

female candidates atthe topoftheirparty lists, nearly guaranteeingwomen’s exclusion from parliament.

In contrast, Tunisia’s post-revolution caretaker government crafted an innovative gender ordering

system to increase women representativesin the newTunisian parliament. Candidatesfor 217 seats

divided among thirty-three districtsran as members of party lists under a proportional representation system. The electoral rules mandated that every other candidate on a party list be a woman.4 

Despite these remedial measures, in 2011 only 49 women (22.5 percent) were elected toTunisia’s

217-member National Constituent Assembly, which wasthe body tasked with drafting a new

Tunisian constitution after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was deposed. AlthoughTunisian women

candidatesfared better than their counterpartsin Egypt, full representation eludedTunisian women

candidates because parties consistently listed women second in districts where only one seat was

available, thereby guaranteeing the male candidate a seat upon the party’s victory.

Untilthe election ofwomen is normalized aspart of a nation’spolitical experience,remedial measures

are necessary to overcome entrenched cultural,religious, and socialbiases againstwomen seekingpolitical office.5 Theirpoliticalparticipationwill inform governanceprocesseswith the diverseperspectives

and interests ofwomenwho may otherwise lack spokespersonsin the male-dominated halls ofpower.
© USIP 2013 • All rights reserved.

Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women

page 3 • PB 152 • June 28, 2013

Increase High-Level Employment Opportunities

Without economic empowerment through accessto high-level jobs, women are unlikely to

translate their influence in society into political representation in parliament. But women’s political

representation is not the only cost of gender disparities. The nation’s economic development hinges

on women’s education and meaningful participation in the workforce. Neglecting women’s access

to employment and consequent political participation, thus, underminesthe revolutions’aimsto

improve the quality of life for all citizens.

Women in the Arab world face disparitiesin economic and employment opportunities.While

Arab women are not far behind the United Statesin gender pay disparities, their nations are among

the lowest ranked in terms of equal accessto employment, especially executive or high-level

positions.6 According to a 2012Women’s EconomicOpportunity study, no country in the Middle

East has a female labor participation rate above 50 percent. Similarly, theWorld Economic Forum’s

2012 Global Gender Gap Report found Arab countriesranked among the lowest in the world in

providing equal employment opportunity to women. In Egypt, for example, 28 percent of women

are unemployed while only 9.1 percent of Egyptian men are unemployed.7 These disparities exist

notwithstanding a legal framework that facially protects women from such discrimination.

Egypt’s new 2012 constitution, for example, provides a general framework for advancing women’s

economic opportunities. The Preamble guarantees“equal opportunities... without discrimination”

for all citizens. Additionally, Article 63 explicitly states“[w]ork is... guaranteed by the State on the

basis of the principles of equality, justice and equal opportunities”and guaranteesfor every worker

“the right to fair pay.”While Egypt ranksthe highest in the“wage equality forsimilar work”category

in theWorld Economic Forum’sstudy, Egyptian women experience significantly less accessto

employment opportunitiesin comparison to their male counterparts.

Similar to Egypt,Yemen’slaws on paper appear to promote women’s equality in the workplace,

but the facts on the ground show otherwise.Yemini women’s unemployment rate in 2012 was a

staggering 41 percent of those seeking employment while their male counterparts experienced a

12 percent unemployment rate.8

Reform Public Education Curriculum

Deeply embedded culturalstereotypesin the Middle East also impede women’s ability to win

seatsin parliament orserve in high-level government positions. In general,society continuesto

view women’srightful place in the home, with work outside of the home permissible so long as

it does not interfere with her domestic responsibilitiesto her family. Meanwhile, political office is

viewed asreserved for men. Not only doesit compromise her domestic responsibilities, but political rolesrequire cunning and callous decision making beyond the capacity of women perceived

as emotionally weak. Despite the advancement of women, albeit in modest numbers, in the

professions and business,such negative stereotypes persist. Until the population is educated at a

young age about the significant accomplishments of Arab women both past and present, women

will remain at the margins of political decision making. 

As a firststep in eliminating such stereotypes, and the attendant obstaclesto women’s advancement,school textbooksshould be updated to portray women as doctors, engineers, business executives, and politicians. Portrayals of women and girlsin school textbooks can have a major effect on

both a society’s perceptions of women and on girls’educational and occupational aspirations. Two

studies of Arab textbooks conducted in the 1980sfound that women tended to be portrayed mostly

in gender-based rolesinside of the home.9 These studiesfound that when women were portrayed
© USIP 2013 • All rights reserved.

Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women

page 4 • PB 152 • June 28, 2013

in ways other than as mothers or little girls, they were still relegated to traditionally feminine occupations, like teaching, nursing, and agricultural work. InYemeni textbooks, women were portrayed as

being responsible for both domestic and agricultural work.10 InTunisian textbooks, when women

were portrayed in“income-generating”professions, their activities were given a traditionally-feminine

bent,such as“baking cakes at home for theirsonsto sell in the market.” 11

With the assistance oftheUnitedNations,Tunisia andYemen started updating theirtextbooksin

the 1990s.12 In 2005, Morocco commissioned a study oftextbooksfollowing the passage of its new

Family Code.The report concluded that women were“clearly marginalized”in the textbooks with men

being prioritized over women in photos and attributing negative characteristicsto women and girls.13 

Moreover, men were shown in positions of authority almostsix times as often as women, and men were

portrayed in professionsrequiring specialized training orskills eighttimes as often as women. 14 

In a troubling reversal of the trend to portray women in their varioussocietal roles, the Egyptian

Ministry of Education in January 2013 removed from textbooksthe picture of one of Egypt’sfamous

women’srights pioneers, Doriya Shafiq, because she was not wearing a headscarf.

Aside from the secular-religiousideological controversy surrounding this decision, the removal of

indigenous women leadersfrom textbookssetsthe nation backward. As empiricalstudies demonstrate, a nation cannot prosper without meaningfully including its women in education, employment, and politics.15 For that to happen, Egyptian officials and other Arab leaders have an obligation

to increase portrayals of accomplished Arab women from various walks of life to disprove the fallacies

of negative genderstereotypes and educate citizens about the importance of gender equality for the

nation’s welfare.

Conclusion

Despite earning theirrightful place in leadership roles,Arab women have been pushed back into the

private sphere where their ability to make systemic change issignificantly constrained.Thus,the same

tenacity and courage they exhibited during the revolutions must now be directed towards creating permanent placesforthem in high government office, political party leadership, media, and civilsociety.

It remainsto be seen if the Arab Spring revolutions will bear all of the fruits of the people’slabor,

but one thing is quite clear. Democracy, like revolution, will not come to fruition without the full

participation of women.

Notes

1.	 Hausmann, Ricardo, et al,TheGlobalGenderGap Report 2012,World Economic Forum.

2.	 Ibid.

3.	 InternationalHuman RightsInstruments, Compilation ofGeneral Comments andGeneral RecommendationsAdopted byHuman RightsTreaty Bodies,General RecommendationNo. 5,U.N.Doc.

HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol. II) (May 27, 2008).

4.	 McCurdy,Daphne. Project on Middle EastDemocracy,AGuide to theTunisian Elections(2011).

5.	 Beydoun,KhaledA. FastTrackingWomenintoParliamentary SeatsintheArabWorld, 17 Southwestern

JournalofInternational Law(2011).

6.	 Kabeer,Naila.Women’sEconomicEmpowermentOffersaWin-WinScenario,TheGuardian,(Nov.6,2012).

7.	 Masriya,Aswat. Egypt:Nation’sUnemployment RateHits 13 Percent, AllAfrica (Feb. 16, 2013).

8.	 Hausmann (2012), p. 359.
© USIP 2013 • All rights reserved.

USIP provides the analysis, training and 

tools that prevent and end conflicts, 

promotes stability and professionalizes 

the field of peacebuilding.

For media inquiries, contact the office 

of Public Affairs and Communications, 

202.429.4725

2301 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington, D.C. 20037

Democracy, Like Revolution, is Unattainable Without Women

page 5 • PB 152 • June 28, 2013

9.	 King, Elizabeth, and M. Anne Hill,Women’s Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits,

and Policies, p. 162 (1993).

10.	 Ibid.

11.	 Ibid.

12.	 U.N. Committee of the Elimination of Discrimination AgainstWomen, ConcludingObservations:

Tunisia, U.N. Doc. A/50/38, (1995). U.N. Committee of the Elimination of Discrimination Against

Women, Committee Experts Troubled by Stereotypes, Prejudices Hindering Equality forYemeni

Women, (2002).

13.	 Sabir, Abderrahim. Human Rights Education Association, Review of Moroccan School Textbooks

For Gender Equality and Human Rights: Project Results(2005).

14.	 Ibid.

15.	 U.N. Statistics Division, Poverty, Decision-Making and Human Rights, inTheWorld’sWomen 2005:

Progressin Statistics(2006).

About This Brief

Sahar F. Aziz is an associate 

professor of law at Texas Wesleyan 

School of Law and a fellow at 

the Institute for Social Policy and 

Understanding. She also serves 

as the president of the Egyptian 

American Rule of Law Association 

where she works on rule of law 

projects with Egyptian lawyers, 

judges, and civil society advocates. 

Aziz is a prolific writer and frequent speaker on Egypt’s ongoing 

transition to democracy. Professor 

Aziz thanks Derek Clinger, Nancy 

Khalil and Danielle Jefferis for their 

research assistance.