An international forum organised by Euromed has been taking in Morocco this weekend with researchers and activists discussing women’s rights after the Arab revolutions. Fears have been growing of a regression in the treatment and role of women in the Arab world.
The new constitutions of Tunisia and Egypt are vague on women’s rights and there is a struggle taking place to avoid institutionalising unequal status.
Since the toppling of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, women have found themselves in a far more vulnerable situation than before with the level of physical and sexual attacks a cause for concern. There has also been talk of lowering the legal age for marriage to nine and to permit female mutilation.
Polygamy has been proposed in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.
Women’s rights groups have been working hard to amend discriminatory laws, however they face many challenges ahead to guarantee gender equality.
