Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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The rising voice of Arab women

By Dahlia Hammouda

Billed as a historic occasion -- never before has there been such a high-level gathering devoted exclusively to Arab women -- the First Arab Women's Summit brought together women leaders and gender-equality campaigners from 19 Arab League member countries to consider the situation of women in the region.

Coming together at the invitation of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak spouses of Arab heads of state and other heads of delegations, along with close to 400 leading feminist figures, convened at the Cairo International Conference Centre from 18 to 20 November for the conference entitled "Challenges of the present and prospects of the future." The gathering -- jointly organised by the Arab League general secretariat, the Lebanese Al-Hariri Foundation and Egypt's National Council for Women -- was held under the chairmanship of Mrs Mubarak and the auspices of the Arab League.

The speeches of delegation heads were a mixture of impressioned fervour and constructive revolution, aimed at changing inequitable conditions while at the same time hailing achievements towards advancing women's role in society in their respective countries. The speakers were keen on shedding light on each country's unique history of women's advancement and experience, being careful to stress understanding and respect of the social differences that distinguish Arab countries, but still affirming the need to cooperate to attain the summit's main goal: creating a better life for Arab women.

Though the summit had been initially called to debate the condition of women in Arab societies, its agenda was modified to show solidarity with the Al-Aqsa Intifada. At least 240 people, most of them Arabs and many of them children, have been killed in eight weeks of violence between Palestinian stone-throwers and the Israeli army.

Mrs Mubarak denounced the "flagrant injustice" in her keynote address at the opening session. The summit's "voice of protest," she said, amounted to the "angry voice of half the Arab world's population -- its women -- against violations committed against the women and children of Palestine."

Arab first ladies similarly voiced moral support for the mothers of Palestinian "martyrs," and declarations of backing for Palestinian women all but eclipsed discussions of issues on the conference's agenda.

With emotions running high, Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-Meguid's repeated denunciation of Israeli violence in his speech before the gathering prompted five rounds of applause. He highly commended the Palestinian mother who courageously sacrifices her loved ones to "fight with unbreakable will for the freedom of her country and children."

Bahiyya Al-Hariri, member of the board of the Hariri Foundation and heading the foundation's delegation to the conference, told an audience of more than 2,000 that Palestine "will always remain the cause of all Arabs."

One by one, Arab first ladies took the floor to talk about the achievements of women and the challenges ahead. Queen Rania of Jordan said development will not achieve its goals unless women participate in it as complete and effective partners in all fields. She called for legislative reforms that achieve equality and justice for women. Herself of Palestinian origin, Queen Rania assured her Palestinian "brothers" of her country's total support for their cause.

Soha Arafat, wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, delivered the longest of all the speeches. Dressed in black to express sorrow for the deaths of Palestinians in the occupied territories, she said Israeli mothers should feel ashamed about the Palestinian deaths. "It's shameful that your sons are killing Palestinian children. A mother is always a mother and she should pressure the Israeli government not to send its army to kill Palestinian children." She also blamed the media for negatively stereotyping Arab women as "ignorant, submissive and deceived."

Princess Lala Mariam, sister of Moroccan King Mohamed VI, spoke out against the marginalisation of Arab women in society and the hegemony of a dominant masculine culture.

Tunisia's first lady, Laila Bin Ali, called for the summit to set up a committee charged with protecting Palestinian children.

Also present at the conference were Lebanon's first lady, André Lahoud, Sudan's first lady, Fatima Al-Bashir, the wife of Bahrain's Emir, Sabika Al-Khalifa, the wife of Kuwait's Crown Prince, Sheikha Latifa Al-Sabah, and Mauritania's first lady, Aisha Al-Tolba.

Angela King, the United Nations special adviser on women, said the role of women becomes even more important during times of conflict. "Women with men have a vital role to play in peacemaking. There is no sustainable peace without gender equality," she said.

On its second day, the conference addressed the political, social and economic challenges facing Arab women. Great efforts were made to steer the discussions away from the customary tone of feminist gatherings -- putting men down while elevating women. Speakers impartially talked about the six focal points under discussion: problems women face in the cultural, media, legal, political, social and economic domains. Proposed measures to be taken to address these issues were debated. There was a unanimous emphasis on the need for revolutionising educational curricula to instill the principles of equality, serious work to eradicate the illiteracy of 45 million Arab women out of a total of 65 million illiterates in the Arab world and abstaining from the use of rhetoric in dealing with women's issues.

Also on the agenda were cultural traditions affecting the role of Arab women, ways to increase women's representation in the political arena and how to boost non-governmental organisations that help women.

The summit's final day saw the announcement that the year 2001 will be the "Year of the Arab woman." Most importantly, it was agreed that the summit should be held every two years on a regular basis, with a different theme for each meeting. A special summit will be held in November 2001 to mark the year of the Arab woman in a country yet to be decided.

The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development agreed to set aside $10 million to help Palestinian women, the vice-president of the Kuwait-based organisation, Mervat Badawi, said at a press conference after the conference.

The final statement from the first summit -- dubbed the Cairo Declaration -- reaffirmed support for the Palestinian Intifada. Recalling the resolutions of the extraordinary Arab summit held in Cairo on 21-22 October, the statement "strongly condemned the Israeli aggressions against the unarmed Palestinian people" and called on the Jewish state "to withdraw from all occupied Arab land in Palestine, the Syrian Golan Heights and the areas still occupied in southern Lebanon." It also stressed the need for Israel to implement the Geneva convention and UN Resolution 1325 relating to women in armed conflict.

The Cairo Declaration stated the delegations' agreement on a number of key points. It stressed an urgent need to adopt all policies and measures to eradicate poverty, especially among women, in a framework of comprehensive development and based on the principle of self-reliance; the necessity of securing the principle of equal opportunity between men and women in education, employment and healthcare, focusing on the services extended to rural and deprived women, and allowing women to take part in drawing policies related to these services; and the importance of supporting women's ability to exercise their right to work while at the same time fulfilling their family duties.

Also, the declaration said it was imperative to secure women's right in assuming roles in the higher echelons of government and decision-making ranks, remedying the causes of violence against women by improving families' economic, cultural and social circumstances and providing the necessary legal protection.

Moreover, the document asserted the importance of facilitating ways and means to promote Arab women's solidarity; exchanging experiences and information between countries on Arab women's issues to link feminist movements across the Arab world; and establishing a global fund for poverty eradication, with the better part of its funds going to development and training programmes for women.

Finally, the document said the delegations had agreed to study the formation of a women's committee -- comprising summit participants -- whose mission will be to establish an Arab women's fund entrusted with researching women's situation all over the Arab world.

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Excerpts from Mrs Suzanne Mubarak's speech at the opening ceremony of the First Arab Women's Summit

Mrs Suzanne Mubarak

I would like to thank all of you for your enthusiastic response and attendance of this unprecedented gathering. Preparations for this conference have been almost a year in the making, and demonstrate a strong drive to open the lines of communication and a real commitment to a unified stance.

This conference, which gathers us together today, is part of a larger historic moment for the Arab world, when Arab solidarity has emerged as the only means of facing up to the dangers that threaten us. It is also an expression of our dream of a better tomorrow for Arab women everywhere. Together, we are sending out a cry of protest against the appalling oppression inflicted on the Palestinian people. Our voice is strong and speaks for half of the Arab world -- expressing anger and frustration against the crimes committed against Palestinian women and children ... and offering its support to the Arab people who suffer from sanctions and embargoes that have gone too far.

Our actions here are a serious step toward enhancing the ability of Arab women to take an active role in improving the societies in which they live ... This summit is thus extending an open invitation to all Arab women -- to housewives and farmers, factory and office workers -- all those who are able to give and are willing to try and contribute to achieving substantial development.

I am full of hope that our deliberations at this conference can rise to pan-national aspirations we all hold and which we need to keep us together at this tense moment in history. I am also hopeful the research presented here and the debates and recommendations that follow will offer a substantial legacy.

This conference is the culmination of a long series of steps that have been taken by Arab women. Today's pan-national gathering marks the beginning of a new phase, but the road ahead is still long and full of both hurdles and victories. Along the way, Arab women have made great strides in social, economic, political and cultural issues ... Today, Arab women are forced to tackle age-old problems that are further compounded by the complexity of modern-day issues. We can no longer tolerate isolation or crippling restrictions, but we must instead dare to confront these challenges.

The difficulties we face are three-fold: the challenges within each of our Arab countries, the pan-national crises that hurt the Arab world as a whole, and the increasing adversity caused by globalisation. ... It is important that I point out, however, that the most serious challenges emanate from inside us -- from women themselves -- and from the nature of society. They emerge from unfounded ideas and fears, from social legacies and traditions that stand entirely outside of the sound teachings we have been given and scientific reality.

The changing world-scene necessitates that we dare to consider radical and unconventional concepts and means ... This conference is a new start for a genuine Arab women's movement, emerging from new circumstances. Thus, it is a major aim of our meeting here to draw up an plan of action for organising and mobilising Arab women during the year 2001, which has been declared the year of the Arab woman. It is also equally important that through this conference, we come up with a pan-national programme for the coming years -- one that takes into account the specific and distinct conditions of each Arab country and the diversity of our national identities, which we are all proud of.

Finally, this unique gathering should enable us to stress the importance of action by Arab women and the need for us to convene on a regular basis, with a view to addressing women's problems and establishing a task force to work in the best interests of the Arab world, both men and women alike.

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Conference highlights
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