Amman, March 19, 2014 – The lot of Arab women is improving despite discrimination, sexual harassment and political and economic marginalisation, according to an audience at the latest session of the New Arab Debates (NAD).
In the final tally, 66 percent of the audience, a mix of university students, activists and expatriates, voted against the motion: “The Arab world is no place for women”. Before the debate 73 percent had rejected it.
Speaking for the motion, Dr. Sabri Rbeihat, a former minister of political development, acknowledged several improvements for women, but said that even in Jordan, a relatively modern state, women comprised only 14 percent of the workforce.
“If we look at women in the Arab world we see them absent from the public space” he added. “Some men even see their wives, sisters and mothers as luggage.”
Repeatedly challenged for being over-critical, he added: “We are entitled to a better life and we like to work towards this. Being apologetic and bragging about our reality does not help.”
Arguing against the motion, Dr. Salma Nims, executive coordinator for Taqaddam Platform, a secular movement seeking a more liberal, democratic Jordan, said it was unfair to demonise the whole Arab region.
“There is great hope that Arab women are mobilising against the abuses {they have suffered}, more so after the winds of change began blowing across the region in 2011.”
She added: “I refuse to give up and I refuse to denounce my nation. The Arab world is a place for men and women who are willing to take up the fight.”
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the British Foreign Office are sponsoring the third season of the NAD – a high-profile platform to foster democratic accountability in the wake of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
The series will be transmitted for the third year on Deutsche Welle in Arabic and English along with its global and regional network of partners, including Tunisia’s Hannibal TV, Egypt’s ONTV, Watan TV in Ramallah and Ro’ya in Jordan.