Zoe Danon and Sarah D. Collins wrote and updated (16 December 2021) this seminal CRS report: 'Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Issues for Congress'.
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Summary
Many experts have found that women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fare worse than those in other parts of the world on a range of social, economic, legal and political measures. Some attribute this underperformance to prevailing gender roles and perspectives (including discriminatory laws and beliefs), as well as challenges facing the region overall (such as a preponderance of undemocratic governments, poor economic growth, wars, and mass displacement, which often disproportionately affect women). Key issues facing many women in the region include, but are not limited to, the following:
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Unequal Legal Rights. Women in the MENA region face greater legal discrimination than women elsewhere on issues such as marriage, freedom of movement, and inheritance, as well as limited to no legal protection from domestic violence.
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Constraints on Economic Participation and Opportunity. Challenges facing the region overall, in addition to gender-based discrimination, contribute to a significant difference between men’s and women’s participation in MENA economies. For example, women do not participate in the labor force to the same degree as women in other regions, and those who do participate face on average nearly twice the levels of unemployment than men.
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Underrepresentation in Political Processes. Women are poorly represented in legislative bodies compared to the global average, and several countries have witnessed reductions in women’s representation in recent elections.
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Conflict and Displacement. The MENA region has experienced a disproportionate share of conflict and population displacement over the last decade. Women and children are at a higher risk of exploitation and abuse in conflict and displacement settings.
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Lack of Representation in Conflict Resolution and Peace Negotiations. Women have been underrepresented in most formal efforts to resolve the MENA region’s three largest ongoing wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, despite attempts by some international actors to involve women in these processes.
Roles in Radicalization, Terrorism, and Violent Extremism. Women, like men, may find radicalization by extremist groups like the Islamic State attractive. Some extremists target women for support and recruitment, though experts have noted that women also may be uniquely positioned to counter violent extremist ideology.
Members of Congress have supported U.S. efforts to bolster gender equality in the MENA region in the context of advocating for women’s rights and well-being globally. Some also have argued that supporting women’s rights may advance broader U.S. national security interests in the region. To bolster these positions, some proponents cite research suggesting that the relative status of women in society may be linked to greater political stability, security, and economic prosperity, as well as to better governance.
Congress has addressed issues related to women through foreign assistance appropriations and authorizations, resolutions, statements and letters, and oversight activities. Some of these measures have been global in scope, while others have been specific to the MENA region. Going forward, Members may consider and debate the appropriate level and types of U.S. engagement on the particular challenges facing women in different MENA countries.
U.S. efforts to improve conditions for women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have garnered widespread support since at least the early 2000s. The broad appeal may reflect a convergence of goals for those advocating positive change for women as an end-goal in itself, and those supporting such change primarily as a potential means to advance broader U.S. interests in the region, such as peace and stability, countering terrorism, increasing prosperity, and fostering good governance and human rights. A growing body of research suggests that improving opportunities and conditions for women in a society may promote such outcomes both globally and in the region.
Introduction
This report provides background and data on key issues regarding women in the MENA region and describes selected ways in which Congress has engaged on issues such as women’s legal rights, economic participation, and political representation; the humanitarian impact of conflict and displacement on women; women’s inclusion in conflict resolution and peace processes; violence against women; and women’s roles in perpetuating and combatting violent extremism. Members of Congress have demonstrated an interest in women’s issues, both within the MENA region and globally, through legislation, statements and letters, direct engagement with regional leaders and civil society, and oversight.For the purposes of this report, the MENA region comprises the areas defined as “Near East” by the State Department: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen.
Status of Women in the MENA Region
Women in MENA fare worse than men and worse than women in most other regions in several measurable areas. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) 2021 Global Gender Gap Report ranked the MENA region the lowest in the world for achieving gender equality, with MENA states comprising 12 of the 25 worst-performing countries globally. The region also performed poorly in the 2021 Women Peace and Security (WPS) Index, and Iraq, Syria, and Yemen—all countries sustaining levels of violent conflict at the time of survey—were among the 10 worst performers on the WPS Index. At the same time, not all MENA countries perform equally, as Figure 1 below illustrates. For example, Israel and the United Arab Emirates score higher than other MENA states on both indices.
Key Challenges
Challenges to expanding the rights and improving conditions for MENA women arguably include a combination of prevailing gender roles and perspectives and challenges facing the MENA region overall. The 2019 WPS Index stated that the region’s poor performance is “traceable largely to high levels of organized violence and discriminatory laws that disempower women, often coupled with low rates of inclusion, especially in paid employment.” Since the early 2000s, some experts and policymakers have increasingly related these issues to research examining possible links between the well-being of women and the overall stability of societies.Discriminatory Laws and Beliefs
Many experts postulate that some combination of institutionalized legal discrimination, cultural practices, and religious beliefs about women contribute to gender inequality in the MENA region. Legal discrimination (discussed in “Legal Rights”) and cultural views relegating women to a lower standing in many regional countries appear to be pervasive, despite some signs of change. Public opinion surveys in predominantly Arab countries, which make up most but not all of the MENA region, suggest that certain cultural beliefs against women’s equality are prevalent. For example, Arab Barometer’s 2019 survey on women’s rights in 12 Arab countries found that the majority of survey respondents believed that men are better leaders and should have greater say in family decision making, and that women should not be allowed to travel independently or have an equal share in inheritance (see Figure 2).
Regional Dynamics
Experts also point to challenges facing the region as a whole to explain why women in the MENA region fare worse than women in most other regions in terms of a broad range of political, legal, and socioeconomic indicators. Decades of civil and inter-state wars, a lack of effective governing institutions, and a lag in developing robust, diversified economies arguably have inhibited progress on these indicators in some countries. Much of the region is experiencing some combination of war, political instability, terrorism, economic challenges, and/or poor governance. The COVID-19 pandemic has layered on additional challenges to those preexisting conditions. These phenomena have had negative impacts on societies as a whole, including some effects that are unique to, or worse for, women (see textbox below).
More figures:
Still more to read, but I'll cut to the chase...
Considerations for Congress
Members may take into account the following issues and questions as they conduct oversight of and consider U.S. policy addressing both the status of women in MENA countries and broader security and policy priorities in the region. Resources and priorities. In a context of competing domestic and foreign policy priorities and finite resources, to what extent, if any, should U.S. foreign policy, foreign assistance, and military cooperation be directed to address gender imbalances in the MENA region? If so, how can this be done most effectively? Are there specific countries or lines of effort that should be prioritized over others, and, if so, for what reasons? How has USCENTCOM implemented the Women, Peace, and Security Act and what resources has it allocated to support the goals of the act?
Foreign aid. What is the impact of U.S. efforts to advance the WPS Act on the safety and well-being of women in the MENA region and on the promotion of broader security and the resolution of conflict? What is the impact of U.S. efforts to support women’s economic and legal empowerment in the MENA region?
Unintended consequences. Do some types of aid or cooperation with MENA governments on security issues inadvertently contribute to harming women’s rights or well-being? Are there ways to mitigate against such damage?
Conditionality. What are the pros and cons of conditioning U.S. financial support for and security cooperation with authoritarian states on respect for women’s rights and gender equality? What metrics would be appropriate for gauging progress made by these regimes?
Effectiveness. How do the Departments of State and Defense and USAID seek to measure program effectiveness? Which types of policy approaches and foreign assistance programs appear to have been the most effective in improving conditions for women? What have been the effects of U.S. programs in specific MENA countries?
Congressional mandates. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using legislation to mandate the incorporation of gender elements into broader foreign policy initiatives, foreign assistance programs, and military cooperation activities?
Best practices. To what extent, if any, are U.S. government agencies sharing best practices among themselves and with other international actors? Would congressional efforts to encourage women’s participation in peace negotiations in Afghanistan be applicable to MENA conflicts such as those in Syria, Yemen, and Libya?
Cultural sensitivities and resistance to change. How can U.S. and international assistance and programs be structured to maximize local ownership of initiatives for women and girls and minimize the perception of outside interference?
Coordination with international efforts. What programs and initiatives do other governments and regional and multilateral organizations have for addressing gender issues in the MENA region? Are there gender issues in the region that would be most efficiently or effectively addressed through multilateral organizations, as opposed to unilateral U.S. efforts? How well coordinated are global efforts, and what opportunities are there for greater coordination and/or burden-sharing?
COVID-19. Are there ways to target U.S. policy and/or foreign assistance that might help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women?
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