The changes sweeping across the region since 2010 have presented opportunities to advance gender equality but also severe risks of regression. Many governments in the MENA region have signed and ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), but all have entered reservations to various articles in the treaty. In the domestic sphere, some countries’ constitutions do not provide for the principle of equality between men and women. At the same time, a gap between laws and practices remains a stark reality across the region. Therefore, even when legal change for gender equality is achieved, these norms may not be translated into the conduct of everyday life, often due to embedded cultural practices and dated interpretations of Islamic precepts.

In 2013, the World Bank published Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa, a report designed to identify priority areas where policy actions could further gender equality. Echoing a global trend, women in the Arab world outnumber men in pursuing university degrees. Nonetheless, three out of four Arab women remain outside of the labor force.

Similarly, the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index measured progress on gender equality in economic participation, education, political participation, and health. According to this index, MENA countries as a group have the largest gender gap of any region, nearly 40%. So even if jobs are created, targeted efforts are needed on multiple fronts to increase women’s participation in the economic and political spheres, and these efforts must be specific to each country’s context. These include changes in policies to secure women’s equality under the law, addressing skills deficits and mismatches and actively promoting women’s economic, civic and political participation.

It is true that political transitions in the region have created opportunities for quotas to be included in new constitutions and electoral laws, and in several of these countries, women are serving in transition governments and as cabinet ministers for the first time. However, civil society organizations have been largely excluded from political negotiations, despite the fact that they are often more familiar with the situation on the ground and the needs of the population. The realm of politics has been considered as one of the most challenging spheres of the public life for women to enter and their participation in parliament is crucial for fair representation of women in society

With the security situation in many states across the MENA region deteriorating, and with the return of authoritarianism in recent years, what are the mechanisms left to improve the gender imbalance? How can legal changes, economic participation and social leverage be promoted by women leaders? How are new forms of political participation found in other non-traditional activities? How has representation of women evolved in the public sphere and other spaces of communication? Casa Árabe will bring to its Madrid headquarters a group of six women with different experiences to engage in a fruitful dialogue between themselves and with Spanish and European peers.

The seminar will be directed at experts, activists and NGOs on women’s issues and will be held in English.