“Islamic Feminism and Beyond”
November 15th, 2010 by Jason
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Middle East Program released a new paper (pdf) today, titled “Islamic Feminism and Beyond: The New Frontier.” The introduction is written by Haleh Esfandiari and Margot Badran, and the paper includes six sections covering a range of topics and countries. The articles include “Feminist Activism for Change in Family Laws and Practices: Lessons from the Egyptian Past for the Global Present” by Margot Badran, “Recent Amendments in the Turkish Civil and Criminal Codes and the Role of Feminist NGOs” by Binnaz Toprak, “Women and the Politics of Reform in Morocco” by Souad Eddouada, “Beyond Islamic Feminism: Women and Representation in Iran’s Democracy Movement” by Nayereh Tohidi, “The Personal Status Code and Women’s Celibacy in Tunisia” by Lilia Labidi, and “Analyzing Reform Successes and Failures: The Personal Status Regime in the Arab World” by Amaney Jamal.
Posted in Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Human Rights, Iran, Morocco, Reform, Tunisia, Turkey, Women | Comment »
Tunisia: False Stability and Misguided Western Support
November 11th, 2010 by Evan
Writing at the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Rachel Linn argues that the West’s unflinching support for the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia is misguided. “The common view from outside is that Tunisia is stable. […] But that does not mean this surface-level ’stability’ runs very deep. Most Tunisians I spoke to expressed real apprehension about the future,” Linn writes. By ignoring the young and growing opposition, the West is doing itself a disservice. “If we truly want to improve the brand image of the west in the Muslim world, we ought to consider seriously whether our engagement in such countries is genuinely supporting the best outcome for their populations. Supporting citizens’ desire to pursue their own political aspirations – whatever those may be – by resolutely standing by political freedom would seem a basic start, and something I would argue is the only justifiable option in Tunisia,” Linn concludes.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Freedom, Tunisia | Comment »
Human Development Report Finds Inequality Persists in Arab World
November 5th, 2010 by Anna
The United Nations released its 2010 Human Development Report yesterday, titled “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development.” This year’s report, which includes new indices to adjust for inequality, women’s disadvantage, and multidimensional poverty, found that of the countries measured, Oman’s Human Development Index (HDI) score improved the most over the last 40 years. Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco also improved considerably. Overall, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain ranked the highest in the region; Egypt came in 101 out of 169, and Sudan ranked close to the bottom.
Inequality remained a significant issue, and Jeni Klugman, the report’s lead author, observed that “the most significant losses for Arab countries in the Inequality-adjusted HDI can be traced to the unequal distribution of income.” Yemen and Qatar ranked very low on gender equality, but the report also notes that women’s representation in Arab parliaments has risen in recent years. On civil and political liberties, the authors report that there is considerable room for improvement across the region.
Posted in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, United Nations | Comment »
Tunisia: HRW Reports Continued Abuse of Unionists
October 25th, 2010 by Evan
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a report criticizing the Tunisian government’s repression of trade and student unions. Despite official statements to the contrary, HRW found that Tunisian officials regularly deny the groups legal status and attempt to persecute and subvert their leadership. HRW also reports that abuse and torture remain widespread in Tunisia.
Posted in Freedom, Journalism, Protests, Reform, Tunisia, Unions | Comment »
New “World Press Freedom Index” Shows Decline in Middle East Media Freedom
October 20th, 2010 by Anna
Reporters Without Borders released its annual World Press Freedom Index today. In the Middle East and North Africa, press freedom saw mild improvements in some places, but deterioration overall. Morocco dropped 8 places in the global ranking, which the report’s authors attribute to “the arbitrary closing down of a newspaper, the financial ruin of another newspaper, orchestrated by the authorities, etc.” Tunisia’s score also worsened “because of its policy of systematic repression enforced by government leaders in Tunis against any person who expresses an idea contrary to that of the regime,” as well as a new amendment to the penal code that essentially criminalizes contact with foreign organizations that could damage national economic interests. In Syria and Yemen, press freedom continues to suffer as arbitrary arrests and torture are “still routine,” and crackdowns in Iran have kept that country at the near-bottom of the index. The rankings went down for Bahrain and Kuwait due to an uptick in charges against bloggers, including prominent Kuwaiti blogger Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem. The Palestinian Territories rose 11 places because “the violations committed in the year just ended are simply ‘less serious’ than in 2009,” and Algeria also saw mild improvements in media freedom. In Iraq, a higher score reflects the fact that journalists now work in safer conditions than in the past.
Posted in Bahrain, Freedom, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Middle Eastern Media, Palestine, Syria, Technology, Tunisia | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Progress and Challenges to Women’s Empowerment: Lessons from Tunisia”
September 8th, 2010 by Anna
The Woodrow Wilson Center hosted an event today focusing on the state of women’s rights and empowerment in Tunisia and elsewhere. It featured Professor Nabiha Gueddana, President and Director-General of the National Agency for Family and Population, former Secretary of State in charge of Women and Family Affairs, and former chair of “Partners in Population and Development: South-South Initiative.” The event was moderated by Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center.
POMED’s full notes continue below or read as a pdf.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in DC Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Tunisia, Women | Comment »
Tunisia: Ben Ali, President or King?
August 19th, 2010 by Jennifer
Tunisian activists are pushing for a signature campaign for a petition advocating curbs on executive power, in light of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s recent attempts to extend his rule for a sixth term. The petition states that the signatories “declare our whole-hearted rejection of attempts to manipulate the Constitution with the aim of enabling president Ben Ali to run in the upcoming presidential elections, preserving a never-ending rule that amounts to a masked monarchy,” adding, “We also declare our unnegotiable rejection of any plans for the transfer of power to any member of the president’s family or influential individuals close to him.”Additionally, a private citizen, Ezz Eddin Bughamemi, has written an open letter to Ben Ali stating, “I invite you to honor your historic pledge,” referring to a 1987 speech in which Ben Ali rejected indefinite rule and automatic succession. The documents come in response to a request issued by the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (CDRP), asking for Ben Ali to “lead the state for the next period,” following the end of his fifth term.
Posted in Tunisia | Comment »
Tunisia: Tunisia Must Do More For Human Rights and Democracy
July 30th, 2010 by Farid
An article in The Economist argues that “the government of Tunisia must do more to uphold human rights and the rule of law and to allow political pluralism if the country is to win ‘advanced-partner status’” with the European Union (EU). The piece points out that the current president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, has served five terms in office, while according to Amnesty International, the government infiltrates opposition groups and “stifles open politics.” In addition, Tunisia enjoys only very limited freedom of press, as the state filters internet content and jails independent journalists. Reacting to these trends, the U.S. State Department said that it was “deeply concerned about the decline of political freedoms.” However, Europe — with its close ties with Tunisia — has yet to say a work about these patterns, according to the article.
Posted in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom, Human Rights, Tunisia, US foreign policy | Comment »
Tunisia: U.S. and Tunisian Foreign Ministries Debate Freedom of Expression
July 12th, 2010 by Jennifer
In a U.S. State Department daily press briefing last Friday, spokesman Mark C. Toner voiced U.S. concern over increasing crackdowns on freedoms in Tunisia, stating that “the United States is deeply concerned about the decline in political freedoms, notably severe restrictions on freedom of expression.” Specifically, Toner said that the U.S. is “troubled” by the case of satellite TV journalist Fahem Boukadous, whose four-year prison sentence– handed down for Boukadous’ coverage of 2008 protests against government corruption and poor economic conditions–was upheld by a Tunisian appeals court last week.
The Daily Star reported today that the Tunisian government has issued statements rejecting the State Department’s remarks, with a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stating that “The claims made by the spokesman of the American State Department are devoid of any foundation,” and adding that “Instead of regretting a decline in political freedoms in Tunisia, the American State Department spokesman should have spoken about the increasing strength of these freedoms both in writing and in practice.” The Ministry also claimed that Boukadous was not a journalist in the first place and that “all parties that try to depict him as a journalist are only spreading misinformation,” saying that he was convicted for “involvement in a criminal association aiming to prepare and commit aggressive acts against people and property,” not for carrying out journalistic coverage.
Posted in Freedom, Journalism, Tunisia, US foreign policy | Comment »
Tunisia: Crackdown on Freedom of the Press
July 9th, 2010 by Jennifer
The Daily Star reports that the International Press Institute (IPI), a media watchdog, issued statements criticizing restrictions on freedom of the press in Tunisia. Noting that “journalists who try to report on [corruption] in Tunisia face imprisonment, assault and harassment” from the regime, IPI director David Dadge stated that “behind the facade of Tunisia’s economic development and warm ties with the West is an uncompromising stance on critical journalism.” His remarks came in light of the recent upholding of a four-year prison sentence for satellite TV journalist Fahem Boukadous by a Tunisian appeals court. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the ruling and said that Boukadous– who is ill and has been hospitalized with breathing problems–was being jailed for reporting on protests that occurred in 2008 over unemployment, the high cost of living, and government corruption.
Reports by the IPI and other organizations indicate that a number of Tunisian journalists who have criticized corruption or President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali– including 3 in just the past year–have been charged with offenses such as “insulting behavior toward an official” and “breach of accepted standards of good behavior,” while the government has also moved to shut down some blogs, websites, and newspapers, leading to self-censorship among others.
Posted in Freedom, Journalism, Tunisia | 1 Comment »
Tunisia: One Journalist Released, Another One Beaten
April 28th, 2010 by Josh
Coming on the heels of Rasha Moumneh’s Foreign Policy article decrying the human rights situation in Tunisia, Reuters is reporting that the Tunisian government has released journalist Taoufik Ben Brik after a six-month stint in prison on charges described by Reporters Without Borders as “made up from start to finish.”
Just prior to Brik’s release, however, human rights activist and online journalist Zouhaïer Makhlouf received a “severe beating” from police officers who arrested him at his home. Makhlouf had previously served 3 months in prison after being convicted for publishing an online video about an industrial area without obtaining an official permit or the consent of the people he filmed.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Tunisia | Comment »
Tunisia: Thinly Veiled Dictatorship?
April 27th, 2010 by Josh
Over at Foreign Policy, Rasha Moumneh — a Middle East and North Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch — attempts to peel back the superficial layers of Tunisian liberalism to reveal what she believes are fairly egregious human rights violations. “Under President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali,” Moumneh writes, “even the most minor dissent is treated as a serious threat.” Her research indicates that the government tracks, and periodically punishes, journalists, human rights advocates, and anyone else who voices concern over government activity. “Despite Ben Ali’s best efforts to conceal his government’s dishonest methods to silence and quash dissent, the carefully crafted façade of ‘modern, democratic, and moderate’ Tunisia is coming apart at the seams.” Check out the entire piece here.
Posted in Human Rights, Tunisia | 1 Comment »
Tunisia: Human Rights Activists Silenced by Police
March 24th, 2010 by Chanan
Tunisian authorities reportedly physically restrained and prevented human rights activists and journalists from attending a Human Rights Watch (HRW) news conference, where the international organization was slated to present its findings on Tunisia’s repression of political prisoners. The 42-page report chronicles the repressive and arbitrary methods used by the Tunisian authorities on former prisoners.
“Any attempt by the Tunisian authorities to disrupt our report release will focus attention on the government’s disrespect for freedom of speech,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director. “The treatment of Human Rights Watch by the Tunisian government is business as usual for Tunisian human rights defenders.”
The government’s actions come at a sensitive time, with the country’s leaders hoping to be granted ”advanced status” by the European Union.
Posted in Human Rights, Tunisia, Uncategorized | Comment »
Press Freedom: New Report on 2009 Violations in Middle East & North Africa
February 22nd, 2010 by Maria
The International Press Institute, an Austrian-based organization working to further freedom of expression around the world, released its World Press Freedom Review for 2009 earlier this month, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. The report accounts for 110 journalists that were killed for their work in 2009, making it the most deadly year for journalists in the past decade, according to IPI.
This year’s report focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, including a section on the state of freedom of the press and expression for each country in the region; it also offers specific recommendations for each country in order to further its protection against free speech violations. Of the total 78 recommendations, 17 addressed governments’ need to protect independent reporting and seven more specifically addressed the need to protect bloggers and Internet freedoms.
The report calls on Tunisian authorities to “end persecution and harassment of journalists.” It states that “the systematic attacks meted out against the independent media in Tunisia over the past few months are an insult to press freedom.” It also claims journalists that offend authorities in Saudi Arabia are charged with fines, detention, interrogation, dismissal and harassment. “Criticism of the royal family or government policy is generally prohibited, and Saudi Arabia maintains tight control over media content.”
In January 2009, the Ministry of Information in Bahrain implemented a law that would give the ministry the ability to “block certain web sites without warning or referring the case to court,” said the report. It also describes the Egyptian government’s efforts to monitor Internet access through “real-world surveillance” and that “state security officers require owners of Internet cafes, which are used by a majority of users to access the Internet, to register the names and identity card numbers of users. Owners are also required to monitor which web sites are visited, and to report to the security forces on people who visit ‘political’ web sites.” The report also features an interview with Aboubakr Jamai, the editor of the Moroccan magazine Le Journal that was recently shut down.
A PDF of the full report can be accessed here.
Posted in Bahrain, Egypt, Freedom, Middle Eastern Media, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia | Comment »
Arab Media: Increase in Human Rights Reporting vs. House Bill That Limits Media Coverage
February 17th, 2010 by Maria
Committee to Protect Journalists reports that human rights reporting in the Arab media has seen an increase despite efforts to curtail such coverage by repressive Arab regimes. The release provides a good overview of the development of human rights reporting in Arab countries, noting key contributions from Al Jazeera, online journalism, and blogging. Developments have been particularly crucial in this region “where dictatorships far outnumber democracies.” Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, and Robert Mahone, CPJ’s deputy director argue that, “In the past year or so, [Arab] governments have pushed back against independent reporters and bloggers, but journalists believe that in the long run technology will make it impossible for all but the most authoritarian regimes to stem the tide of information.”
They cite Egyptian bloggers like Mohamed Khaled and Wael Abbas for having opened up human rights reporting in Egypt when they began posting video clips of police brutality in 2006. “Once people saw the footage, they had to know more,” Khaled told CPJ. “The story became so big that much of the broadcast and print media eventually covered it.”
Deyam and Mahone point to challenges many bloggers face from governments that have been putting up a counterattack to halt open reporting on human rights issues. “Egypt Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, among others, have at times suspended the operations of satellite news channels, particularly Al Jazeera, for highlighting sensitive human rights, political, or religious issues.”
Interestingly enough, the House recently passed a bill designed to prevent Arab satellite networks from broadcasting any material deemed to incite violence against Americans. NPR’s On The Media recently interviewed Marc Lynch about the bill, who criticized what he believes are provisions that would essentially outlaw Arab journalism. “Arab governments really don’t like Al Jazeera. They don’t like media freedoms and they want to control the media. They score some political points by telling the United States to back off, but I don’t believe for a second that they would be sad to see Al Jazeera muzzled,” he argues. “The strange thing is that the United States would put itself on the side of the muzzlers.”
Lynch has blogged that the bill runs counter to the principles Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highlighted in her speech on Internet freedom last month.
Posted in Bahrain, Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Journalism, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, US politics, Yemen | Comment »
Democracy Promotion: Workshops Held Across the Middle East
January 26th, 2010 by Maria
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) is organizing a “Training of Trainers” workshop for Jordan (end of January) and Bahrain (early February) for democracy education among local youth, women, lawyers, teachers and religious leaders. The organization is providing information and leading exercises on how Islam can be compatible with democratic principles and human rights in the Arab world.
CSID held similar workshops in Morocco and Tunisia last November, where Moroccan and Tunisian human rights activists presented a training manual: “Islam and Democracy - Toward Effective Citizenship.” The manual has been used to train more than 4,500 people from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain. CSID feels education on democracy “remains one of the best ways to build a culture of democracy, and human rights and to strengthen the pillars of future democratic states in the Arab world.”
Posted in Algeria, Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Morocco, North Africa, Tunisia, Yemen | Comment »
Constitutional Reform: Process and Momentum in the Arab World
January 7th, 2010 by Josh
A revealing report by the The Arab Reform Initiative highlights the previous two decades of constitutional reform in the Arab world, and examines both the underlying catalyst for “democratic shifts” and the future direction of these reforms within five countries: Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Algeria, and Mauritania.
Though the report, written by Amina El Messaoudi, recognizes the unique internal circumstance of each country’s process toward reformation, it uncovers several thematic similarities across the Arab community. More specifically, it points to constitutional reforms in five general areas: 1) State support of human rights law, 2) Gender equality and women’s representation, 3) Reinforcement of constitutional law, 4) Multi-party systems, and 5) Financial regulation.
However, the impetus for democratic progress often came from different sources. Messaoudi writes that the ruling power initiated reforms in places like Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, while opposition parties jump-started the process in Morocco. On a functional level, civil society and media helped to spur reformation in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, and Mauritania, “whereas in [Algeria and Bahrain] national treaties served as the entry point for amendments.”
Parliamentary restructuring in favor of bicameral legislatures played a key role by slowly shifting power away from the executive, Messaoudi reports, however three roadblocks prevented widespread progress on that front: 1) The second legislative body is often significantly less democratic with many members appointed directly by the country’s executive, 2) most Arab constitutions impart similar powers and responsibilities to both parliamentary chambers, which “impedes a dynamic relationship from forming between them,” and 3) heads of state retain the sole authority to dissolve the parliament.
While acknowledging that these efforts “have not profoundly altered the political and constitutional arrangements in these countries,” the report attributes the “change in the relationship between the powers, and an increased role for political parties, as well as civil society” to the movement for constitutional reform throughout much of the region, and believes that civil society has been “empowered to undertake an effective role in future constitutional amendments.”
Posted in Algeria, Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Political Parties, Reform, Tunisia | 1 Comment »
North Africa: Human Rights Abuses
December 23rd, 2009 by Jason
Human Rights Watch blasts the recent convictions of Tunisian journalists Taofik Ben Brik and Zouhair Makhlouf after unfair trials. Middle East director of HRW, Sarah Leah Whitson, laments that since his sham electoral victory, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali has been “on a vengeful campaign to punish the few journalists and human rights activists who dared to question his record.”
Meanwhile, Middle East Online observes that the hunger strike by Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar has raised awareness of human rights abuses in Morocco.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Journalism, Judiciary, Morocco, NGOs, Tunisia, Western Sahara | Comment »
Report: Human Rights on the Decline Part II
December 12th, 2009 by Jason
As we reported earlier, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) has released a comprehensive and thorough report, called “Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform,” on the state of human rights throughout the Arab world. The full report in Arabic spans 254 pages and chronicles in detail the backsliding on human rights in the region while also identifying a few points of optimism. In addition to the full report, CIHRS has released a translation of the report’s introduction written by their general director, Bahey eldin Hassan, as well as a 21-page summary of the report in English.
According to Hassan’s introduction, while there have been important strides to “ease repressive measures” in the Middle East under the Forum of the Future regional initiative, in no country were there “real constitutional, legislative, or institutional gains that could upset the balance of power between authoritarian regimes and the forces of reform.” Hassan blames this failure on the narrow focus on electoral reform at the expense of human rights, the contradictory actions of the G-8 countries, attempts by the Arab League to co-opt reform with their own homegrown initiatives, and the European and American fear of Islamist electoral victories. Finally, Hassan contends “the last spark in the initiatives was quashed once and for all with the arrival of a new US administration” apparently unwilling to support democracy rhetorically.
Now, Hassan warns that the minor gains made over the past five years are under a “counterattack by Arab governments. Among other examples of backtracking, the Arab league disabled the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which only had 10 of 22 signatory countries to begin with. As with the CIHRS report last year, Hassan concludes that “lack of political will on the part of most regimes in the Arab region was the key to understanding and explaining chronic human rights problems in the region.”
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Posted in Algeria, Arab League, Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, EU, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf, Hamas, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Journalism, Judiciary, Kurds, Lebanon, Legislation, Military, Morocco, Multilateralism, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Palestine, Political Islam, Political Parties, Protests, Public Opinion, Publications, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, Syria, Tunisia, US foreign policy, United Nations, Western Sahara, Women, Yemen | 1 Comment »
Tunisia: Activist Sentenced
December 3rd, 2009 by Zack
The Daily Star reports Zouhair Makhlouf, a Tunisian online journalist and activist, has been sentenced to three months in prison and fined $4,600 for insulting the dignity of a man he interviewed. Reporters Without Borders condemns this as “a judicial farce” and that those interviewed for the piece on environmental problems consented to being filmed.
Posted in Freedom, Journalism, Tunisia | Comment »
