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To Get Security, We Need the Woman of the Future Now

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At night as cities across the globe suffer from countless crises and yearn for solutions, we rely on the woman to shield us from it all and help us compartmentalize our fears. But in reducing the role of woman to that of protector, we neglect her role as bearer of solutions.

Karam Al-Qassab, a doctor in Qatar and mother of four, wishes every night her daughters to grow up to be well educated, socially politically aware, and financially supported women.

From a mother’s perspective, Karam, not only reinstated that the inclusion of women is vital to security and stability of a country, but “the nature of the kind of work she does is different when compared to men. Be it in the medical field, communication, management, fashion, or politics, she will represent the female population and present ideas others may not be aware of.” The woman will generate alternative solutions to ongoing problems.

In regards to the Middle East, women dominate the private–and increasingly the public—sphere. Universally, women are acknowledged as the custodians of morals and faith. And because the foundations of nearly every Arab country are familial-based, women have an exceptional capacity to shift the social roles that are stagnating progress.

Promoting a Culture of Peace in the Private Sphere:

There is an old Arab proverb that says, “A mother is a school, preparing her is like preparing a good nation.” No one can deny the power and influence a mother has with her child. Mothers do not need to leave work to raise a successful generation, but when around their child they should ensure they are being a positive influence. When a woman feels there is hope and holds ambition in her, she will teach both her sons and daughters how to strive above.

It is common for the older generation to tell stories of their national histories however often they get lost in personal grievances. It is essential to mention hope and peace within each telling. This is the Culture of Peace and is practiced by successful nations, which promotes problem-solving through dialogue, not through aggression. Increasingly, we are realizing what grievances and loss of hope breed: intolerance and aggression.

Today, our Culture of Peace has gone under attack. As Edit Schlaffer, Founder of Sisters Against Violent Extremism says,

“Terrorists are waging a war against universal education and critical thinking, because they know this is our strongest defense. The first school is the home and the first teacher is the mother. We need to train mothers, and fathers also of course, to help them safeguard their children against the appeal of violent extremism.”

Progressive Initiatives in the Public Sphere:

Lighthouses on dark shores, women are the overseers of society. Innately they have an incredible gauge of the realities on the ground.

In an address to the United Nations, Alaa Murabit, founder of The Voice of Libyan Women, drew attention to her finding:

“The very women who lead societies, know first and best what is happening to them and how to address it. In Libya, they wanted weapons out of their homes and their family members back to work.”

This case is not unique to Libyan women, but to all Arab countries whose foundations are the family, and whose women dominate private life.

Presenting her research at the 2015 UN High-Level Review on Women, Peace, and Security, Yanar Mohammed found that “women’s meaningful participation in peace processes was an effective tool to combat extremism.” The same day, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh pledged $500,000 to UN Women, in an initiative to counter terrorism.

Women’s proximity to security has taken an accelerated interest over the past years and it should be noted complimentary to this growth in interest, Arab countries have taken progressive steps in confidence-building in women.

Contrary to crass stereotypes, Islam and Sharia Law do not restrict women, politics does. And that is a global predicament.

Women are increasingly emerging in high-level decision-making roles. H.E. Lana Nusseibeh serves as the UAE Ambassador to the United Nations and Sheikha Alya Al-Thani serves as the Qatar Ambassador to the United Nations.

An interview with a young Qatari woman Najwa Al-Thani epitomizes the incoming generation that will lead the Middle East, with refreshing revised understandings.

“Women’s participation in society, in the workforce, and at universities has exponentially grown yet it still seems to be lacking. The mentality remains that a woman’s role in society is an option and not a requirement, when the truth is the opposite.”

Steps Ahead:

Playing with the status of women is like playing with fire. In the Arab world, whether in a constitution or not, in practice the status of women is constantly being redefined to fit political agendas –creating vacuums attracting the interference of external actors. It is no secret that groups politicize women.

This drives women across the Middle East to feel insecure, leading many to feel there is an externally imposed security agenda –unintentional or not, that feeling of frustration is not ideal to spread, especially as the custodians of teaching and morality in the private life.

 

Pushing the issue of women’s rights off the tracks will not eliminate it, nor will negotiating women’s rights resolve this –Unfortunately, these House-Of-Cards Series solutions are not adequate enough.

The Middle East has been a victim to lobbyists and external actors who make their human capital look like a threat. Whether that ‘threat’ be women’s participation or empowering the youth, it has led many Arab countries to practicecreative destruction in fear of how society will react to these progressive developments, leading them to cling to the status quo. Disregarding that with each year a woman is underscored, another year of human capital deteriorates. A legitimate question to ask: Is it worth it?

So between constructing the most seductive skyscrapers and romancing the Arab dream by inundating pages of constitutions with pretty legislation, we lost focus on actually practicing our constitutions. We must liberate women in application, the variable which we have been politicizing. Because we fear the possible pandemonium of putting progressive legislation into practice –and understandably so –We must research and develop backup plans A to Z, of how to peacefully manage society’s reaction to them. Confidence will come from expecting the unexpected; knowing we have a Plan Z.

Fatimah Bint Mubarak, the wife of late ruler Sheikh Zayed, supported women organizations and linked them together for a greater unified voice. Countries need to reflect back on their Arab traditions that harmonized societies.

Sheikh Zayed is often quoted saying, “Women are half of society and societies that fail to employ that complete half are doomed to failure.”

As the strongholds of influence women must not feel insecure of their place in society. Men who care for their children must support women’s greater roles, so their children grow up as ambitious as their mothers. The simplistic conceptualization of women as fragile vessels needs to be dissolved to ensure we are responsive to realities on the ground and promises of the future. We need the future women of the region today.

 

By: Sarah Elzeini

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