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| Youth Related Views on Female Political Participation in the Arab World |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
Question 4: (May from TIG): I believe the situation must be different in Tunisia. Can you tell us more about it, Mohammed?
Answer 4: (Mohammed, male from Tunisia): We have the code of personal status which was promulgated in 1952 after independence. It is considered very advanced and has helped promote gender balance remarkably. In our case, the state played a vital role in advancing women’s rights. Women are active both economically and politically, and occupy 7 per cent of seats in Parliament, 17 per cent of seats in municipal councils, and 12 per cent of positions in public office, which is relatively not bad. I must say however, that stereotyped mentalities are deeply rooted and males have not yet been able to transcend prejudice against women. There is still this mindset that in politics women do less than men mainly because they are more sensitive and easily influenced.
Question 5: (May from TIG): What do you think should be done so that women become more active in the political sphere? What would you, as youth of today and leaders of tomorrow, suggest?
1.Layal from Lebanon: Since Lebanon is a democracy, the change should start in the government. I believe that there should be a quota system which guarantees seats for women. They should be given the chance to work and be judged accordingly. There also needs to be legislation in favor of women’s rights. For example, Lebanese women still can’t pass on their nationality to their children. We, as youth, should campaign and pressure towards these ends.
2.Latif from Lebanon: This is not a bad idea although the percentage of seats should not exceed 15 or 20 % at this stage. Let women prove themselves and the days to come will show whether they are capable of performing politically as well as their male counterparts. I still don’t think women need to pass on their nationality to their children. In our society, children take the father’s nationality, not the mother’s.
3.Hanan from Egypt: I think there should be a change of attitudes and more government legislation in support of gender balance. Girls and women should be informed of their rights. We should campaign for that; otherwise, conditions as atrocious as female genital mutilation will persist in Egypt.
4.Ihsan from Yemen: We should start with education. Once female illiteracy is fought, women can communicate their ideas, they can call for change, they can be active politically and economically. The government should start by making primary education compulsory and free of charge. We should start from here and later, we’ll see.
5.Mohammed from Tunisia: More girls should be educated and must take advantage of the government law that is in their favor. They should prove themselves even more. I see a good future ahead of the Tunisian girls and Tunisia should be a model that other Arab governments should adopt. We should campaign for gender -balance, teach youth about the Beijing talks, the MDGs and CEDAW.
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May Fawaz
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