Essay on Women's Rights in Mesopotamia and Egypt

In today’s Western society, there are several misconceptions about Islam and its followers. Many people believe Islam is a violent religion with violent followers who advocate for the oppression of women. Looking from the outside in, it looks as though women are forced to wear hijabs and are being controlled by this religion; it’s telling them how to act, what rights they get, where they can and can not go, and ultimately, allows the male figure to be the decision maker with little wiggle room. Egypt is not exempt from this judgment. Looking in through a lens, naturally, the Westernized world feels sympathy for these women and wants to save them. However, to the surprise of many Westerners, Egyptian and other Muslim women don’t feel oppressed by their religion. How come? We hear about the troubles surrounding these women all the time, how do they not feel persecuted? Do we simply have a different definition of what rights we should have than they do; or, do these women understand they’re being exploited, but don’t believe it’s Islam doing?

According to a survey conducted in 2013, Egypt was voted as the worst state in the Arab world to be a woman. As reported by the study, there has been a spike in violence against women after the Arab Spring. Sexual harassment was at an all-time high, female genital mutilation was growing, discriminatory laws were still prevalent, and a spike in sex trafficking were all factors that contributed to Egypt being voted one of the worst states for women to live in. In the study conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a female journalist is quoted saying “Sexual harassment is an endemic here and is likely to stay that way as it appears to be socially acceptable and is not taken seriously by authorities or society as a whole”. At the time, women 1 were severely oppressed, and harsh consequences such as being criminally convicted of apostasy-​the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief a threat if they were to marry someone of non-Muslim faith. In fact, any children to come out of such a relationship were at threat of being taken away from the parents and placed under the guardianship of a Muslim male. In 2015, the Global Gender Gap Index- which measures disparities between men and women across countries- ranked Egypt as 136 out of 145 countries worldwide in terms of having equality between men and women. According to the Gender Gap Index, women “have significantly lower participation in the labor force than men (26% vs 79%) and lower literacy (65% literacy for women vs 82% of males). ” On top of that, the Organization 2 for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Social Institutions and Gender Index-which measures legislation, practices, and attitudes that restrict women’s rights and opportunities- “classified Egypt to be among the countries ‘very high’ in gender discrimination together with others in Africa and the Middle East. As revealed by the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey, 92% of the ever-married women ages 15-49 interviewed have been circumcised” in 3 2014. Egypt, a country that relies heavily on patriarchal rule, has a household structure that is based on the male being the head of the family and his word is seen as law within the household. A man has the right to tell women in his household what to wear, how to behave, when and where to be, and even if they are allowed to pursue an education or not. Women of the household must obey what he says or they risk endangering their lives. Many women -50 % to be exact- have reported that they experience physical, emotional, or sexual abuse within their households. This abuse is being perpetrated by their husbands, fathers, and even brothers.

According to Mostafa Hussein, an Egyptian psychiatrist, these instances of abuse are leading to severe PTSD in many women. Hussein says he “recalls an extreme case several years ago during his residency at a state hospital when a poor family from Cairo brought their catatonic 12-year-old daughter to the burns department. The girl had already been taken by her family to see several sheiks for her condition after she stopped speaking and became completely expressionless. The sheiks had attempted various traditional healing treatments, culminating in one administering burns to her hand in order to “snap her out” of her state. The wound was so bad it brought them to the hospital, where ICU doctors instructed the family to take their daughter to the psychiatric ward”.

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In a predominantly Muslim country like Egypt, outsiders look at these storylines and make the correlation that all these instances of abuse and endangerment are coming because of Islam. This is because of an inherent bias the Westernized world has. Islam is something foreign, something many are not used to. The lack of knowledge leads to the Western world blaming Islam for this oppression. However, according to many women in Egypt, the government and the familial social dynamics that have come to mirror Egypt’s military regime- the only type of rule the country has known for years- are the reason many of these women are being oppressed and abused. The people of Egypt rely on relationships and power structures of force in order to obtain obedience. The Egyptian government has engaged in countless acts of discrimination against women. In 2017, a 21-year-old Egyptian singer was sentenced to two years in prison when her music video was deemed as “harming public morality” because officials felt as though the music video was too suggestive. Another woman, Doaa Salah talk show host- was sentenced to three years in prison for discussing pregnancy outside of marriage on her show. Egyptian women believe the state relies on three pillars of misogyny which include the state, the street, and the home. It is believed that the government punishing women with prison time for minor things such as music videos and discussing pregnancy outside of marriage is what gives the Egyptian male population the right- in their mind- to be able to control what women can and can’t wear, what they can and can’t do, and where they can and can’t go; along with punishments they deem appropriate if any women were to “misbehave” and not follow the rules bestowed upon them but their patriarchal figures. Egypt is run by a military-style government which contributes heavily to their views and opinions on women and women's rights. The government has banned NGOs- nonprofit organizations that operate independently of any government, with their typical purpose being to address a social or political issue- from publishing studies and polls done to show just how much women are being oppressed without government approval. Women believe that until they change their dictatorship, military-style government, moving forward and progressing will be impossible for the country. While men may feel as though this oppression of women is beneficial to them since they’re the dominant sex, it is actually causing harm to the country and the economy which in return is causing harm to them too. According to the IMF, “raising the female labor force participation rate to the male level, coupled with access to employment opportunities, would increase GDP by approximately 34 percent”. 

Egyptian women are taking a stand against the Westernized world attacking Islam for the condition of present-day Egypt. Columbia University scholar Lila Abu-Lughod has spent decades turning around the perception that Islam is the one to blame. Without brushing over issues of violence such as sexual and domestic abuse faced by many Egyptian women, Lila Abu-Lughod states that “​the global economic policies that impoverish them, the national policies that render their families vulnerable, the class politics that deprive them of dignity, and the military interventions that undermine their security” are the factors the Westernized world 7 should be looking at to truly begin to comprehend the complex issues which Egyptian women must deal with. When Abu-Lughod was presenting her book ​Do Muslim Women Need Saving?​ at the American University in Cairo, several women in the audience were shocked to hear outsiders-the Westernized world- believed Islam was their oppressor. Many Muslim women have found meaning in Islam and even invoke their rights under Islam; so to hear that it’s seen as an oppressor when in their minds it’s a way of expression and living was disheartening and horrifying. Abu-Lughod goes on to state that the Western obsession with attempting to tie the hardship and suffering surrounding Egyptian and many other Muslim women to Islam is extremely harmful. By doing this, they’re being dismissive of the oppression of the government and other forces that are impeding upon these women. In Abu-Lughod’s opinion, by assuming Islam is the cause of the problem, you’re disregarding the real problems. Omoima Abu-Bakr, a professor at the University of Cairo and the co-founder of The Women and Memory Forum women’s rights NGO-recalls her experience with feminism and oppression throughout her life.

Abu-Bakr remembers when she was a teenager growing up in Egypt she would wear miniskirts and heels in line with the fashion. Now she dresses much more modestly, even deciding to wear a headscarf. However, the freedom in fashion Abu-Bakr had when she was growing up didn’t translate to equality in work or education. Abu-Bakr believes that women today have more rights than they did when they were growing up. She believes that with a bit of reform and re-interpretation, feminism and Islam are able to work side by side. Amna Nosseir, a professor in Islamic philosophy and comparative religion at Al-Azhar University says she “​welcome(s) the feminism movement. I accept any new ideas, whether feminism, women's rights or their future, provided they don't wander away from the fixed teachings of our Islamic law”. Nosseir argues that if you were to go back enough to the original teaching of Islam, you would see the texts grant women the right to inheritance, education, and participation. According to Muslim women, Islam isn’t their oppressor. You can be Muslim and you can be a feminist. They don’t feel as though they’re being forced to wear a Hijab or any other head covering; they don’t think their religion is taking any of their rights away. Women’s rights in Egypt are progressing. In August 2016, female circumcision was made illegal. The jail time for performing female circumcision was raised from a maximum of 2 years to 5-7 years, with an additional 15 years if the operation led to a death. Nadia Abodo, a former chemical engineer, was the first woman to be sworn in as governor of Behereia in February 2017. A group of feminist organizations launched the It Happens campaign, which brings awareness to rape happening in the streets, in households, and even at work. Egypt was named as the country that saw high jumps in pro-gender views according to the 2016 Arab Human Development Report. However, while we’re seeing many 9 improvements throughout the country in terms of women’s rights, there’s still much improvement to be made. Egypt still has a sexual assault issue, a domestic violence issue, and a human rights issue. They still have a lot of progress to make as a country in order to fully be “modernized”. But, they’re getting better.

Feminism and Islam have the ability to coexist. As we see through the testimonies of many Muslim women, Islam is not forced upon them, they’re not scared of Islam and its teachings, and they don’t believe it is infringing on their rights. You can be a feminist and a Muslim, that’s not the problem facing Egyptian women; the government is. The Egyptian government is filled with corruption. It is unfair to many and does not care much about people’s rights. While unfortunate, the improvement in recent years has made several strides towards a more progressive government. However, it’s not much as women are still being punished for making music videos. Egyptian rulers need to understand that women's rights are human rights and need to make an effort to do better.

Work Cited

1. “A-Z Progress and Setback of Egyptian Women.” ​MadaMasr, 8 Mar. 2017, madamasr.com/en/2017/03/08/feature/society/a-z-of-progress-and-setbacks-for-egyptian-women-between-two-international-womens-days/.
2. AbdelAzim, Maha. “Saving Muslim Women.” ​The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, 13 Mar. 2016, www.thecairoreview.com/midan/saving-muslim-women.
3. Adams, Kimberly. “Women Scholars in Egypt Reflect on the Intersection of Islam and Feminism.” ​Public Radio International, 20 May 2015, www.pri.org/stories/2015-05-20/women-scholars-egypt-reflect-intersection-islam-and-feminism.
4. Allemandou, Segolene. “Female Emancipation in Egypt 'Can Only Come from Egyptian Women'.” ​France 24, 18 Dec. 2017, www.france24.com/en/20171218-women-rights-egypt-emancipation-egyptian-feminists-sisi.
5. Anmuth, Sophie. “Egyptian Women: Depression or Oppression?” ​OpenDemocracy, 26 Sept. 2016, www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/egyptian-women-depression-or-oppression/.
6. “Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment | Egypt.” ​U.S. Agency for International Development, 2 Nov. 2016, www.usaid.gov/egypt/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment.
7. “The Global Gender Gap Report 2015.” ​Global Gender Gap Report 2015, 2015, reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2015/.
8. Thomson Reuters Foundation. “POLL: Women's Rights in the Arab World.” ​Thomson Reuters Foundation News, news.trust.org//spotlight/poll-womens-rights-in-the-arab-world/.