ROME –  Bahraini women journalists are spearheading the battle for equal rights with men in the conservative Gulf, an EGIC conference on gender equality and the middle east heard.

  On the panel of the ‘Women’s Rights as Human Rights’ webinar, organised by the Euro-Gulf Information Centre (EGIC), were Ahdeya Ahmed Al-Sayed, Baroness Nosheena Mobarik CBE and Nilufer Gundogan, all of whom analysed the lengths to which we must all go, globally, to enhance and improve the rights of women. When evaluating a society’s socio-political and socio-economic state, a healthy indicator is looking at the state of human rights, which, evidently, include women’s rights. 

  This year, the United Nation’s Commission on the status of Women’s (CSW)  priority theme is: “women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”Ahdeya Ahmed Al-Sayed, the  president of the Bahraini Journalists Association, speaking from Bahrain, reflected upon this idea of ‘empowerment’. The Supreme Council for Women, founded 20 years ago, helped empower women through training programs which provided them with advice. As well as this, NGOs have helped to promote the work of women in this part of the world. Having worked in the press sector since the age of 18, she has witnessed discrimination against women, yet she frequently mentioned the strikingly equal relationship between men and women in Bahrain, thereby illustrating the dissimilarity of women’s rights from country to country. In many international press entities, the gender pay gap has long been an issue. However, Al-Sayed noted that journalists in Bahrain all have the “same rights” and that, there, the gender pay gap is not an issue. 

  Throughout the Covid pandemic, in Bahrain, “women’s rights have been taken into consideration on a high level”, she said, with appreciation for all the help women have given, not only on a “public level but on a government and state level.” Over the past  20 years, gradual changes in the representation of women have been noticeable in Bahrain, such as with the first woman in parliament in 2006. Al-Sayed commented that it is through societal changes like this, that acts as catalysts, allowing the Bahraini population to “trust women”, to carry out traditionally male roles, when they see what “women are capable of doing.” When she won the election, to become the president of the Bahraini Journalists Association, the majority of her voters were men, showing the male backing of women, in Bahrain. Despite the impressive steps that have been taken to make Bahrain a more equal country, regarding gender, “you can never stop asking for more. Women want to be in the decision making situations and they will never stop asking to be,” she said.  

    Second to speak was Baroness Nosheena Mobarik CBE, member of the House of Lords and former conservative Member of the European Parliament, who addressed how “women’s rights are an integral part of human rights.” She went on to comment on how the violation of human rights is, and has been throughout history, distinctly linked to being female. Women’s rights, in relation to human rights, is related to structural relationships of power, domination and privilege between women and men in society. Even though Mobarik highlighted that “we are at the beginning of a journey, there is still a long way to go,” she reminded us that there is much to celebrate regarding the progress of women’s rights as human rights, with significant change continuing to take place, internationally. Now, more than ever before, women are making a huge and visible contribution to all sectors of  society, in fields (such as business and politics) which were nearly entirely male-dominated decades ago. She addressed the notion of ‘feminine intelligence’ or ‘FemQ’, which is on the ascendency and involves nurturing, listening and collaborating, which allows both genders to “redefine success in every realm.” To this end, Mobarik underlined how “by discriminating, we all miss out, as a society.” 

   Nilufer Gundogan’s, member of the Dutch Parliament, resounding message was “don’t give up,” whilst following the thread of Mobarik by saying how it “is in the interest of men to be supportive of women’s rights.” According to economists, one of the biggest goals that Africa, for instance, should strive for is educating more women, focusing on women’s rights, as this would lead to less child deaths and a higher overall GDP. Gundogan said that ‘women’s rights as human rights’ is “not a ‘soft’ topic, but rather a big business,” meaning that we have to try to “inspire men to push the agenda, too.” The discussion thus needs to be widened, to not solely focus on women, but on the advantageous effects on health, the economy and climate (since women in politics tend to favour much more sustainable goals, thinking about future generations, in comparison to their male counterparts) if gender equality is improved. 

  The notion of enforcing gender quotas on cooperate boards was raised, with the different panellists fostering somewhat differing beliefs. Baroness Mobarik addressed the point that quotas need to be treated with caution, even if occasionally they need to be used, to make a certain sector more balanced. Women need to be shown that they are capable of making it on their own ability, they should feel that they deserve to be there, so “meritocracy is the way to go, but women have to be encouraged to get them into other [traditionally male] sectors.” She expressed her concern that the worth of individuals could be undermined, as “everyone wants to be there on merit, rather than to be a statistic that needs to be addressed.” Having said that, she also recognised how statistics revealed that having more inclusive, diverse boards, brought about by the gender quotas, were more effective, as this allows for new perspectives and ideas, ultimately benefiting that particular business. The focus has to be on how we change our cultural mindsets and tackle the obstacles that women face in the work place. So, “sometimes quotas are necessary, to kickstart change, but we have to be careful not to devalue” women.  

  Gundogan took an opposing stance, regarding gender quotas in business, saying that if we do not make the involvement of women in the workplace “a target, we will continue” with gender inequality. Indeed, if we are passive and “just accept things as they are, without challenging them, then they will go on.” She addressed the idea that quotas should be used more, given that “lots of unqualified men have top positions and they just accept it.” Gundogan furthered this by saying that one should address at the “feminist agenda” by looking at previous efforts that has been made to close the gender gap: that of the Suffragettes and then birth control. “Now it’s the time to say that we are done with gender gap inequality and female underrepresentation. This is the third wave, the next level of feminism, and we should not accept less.” Not only would this make for a more balanced society but it would be in everybody’s the economic interest to have a greater involvement of women in businesses. We need to be “challenging the view” and to say that this imbalance is “not good enough for the 21^st century.”

  The conference also looked at the geopolitics behind women’s rights as human rights, particularly addressing the recent election of Iran to U.N. Women's Rights Commission and whether they should have been excluded from such a position, given their more than disappointing values regarding women. Al-Sayed strongly expressed her belief that such a country should be discounted from such a position, saying that you cannot be “in a leading position, attempting to advocate for women’s rights, when you are not practising it in your own country. It may be controversial but it’s reality.” As of spring 1979, the Iranian parliament have dictated that women wear veils, to cover their hair in public, hence robbing women of the freedom that Iranian men have. Al-Sayed mentioned how in Iran, when the Islamic revolution started, women were arrested on the street for wearing jeans and even for having nail polish. The women killed in this revolution is the “biggest violation of human rights,” she said. Therefore, how can they now have such a position of power, regarding women’s rights, “when it preaches what it doesn’t practise?” She went further to say that the U.N. need to reassess the message and example it is sending to the world, having appointed Iran to U.N. Women's Rights Commission, given that, there, practices such as forced marriage are still prevalent. The only way forward would therefore be “to exclude to set an example.”   

  Gundogan similarly voiced the hypocrisy of having Iran dealing with women’s rights, going as far to say that it is “like a thief looking after your jewellery. […] Maybe we should speak up more about it.” The Iranian rule of law is unreasonable, she believes, making for a closed autocratic, or rather, theocratic (in Iran’s case) society. Nonetheless, she was sensitive to the fact that if Iran is isolated further, they may become increasingly aggressive. 

  Mobarik expressed her doubt and the “danger” of taking such a tough position regarding exclusion of Iran from the dialogue of women’s rights. Instead, she deems that, “ultimately, inclusion is really the only way forward,” and that marginalisation could result in further hostility. 

  The matter of establishing wholesale cultural change was considered. Baroness Mobarik stated how education, not only of girls, but also of boys was the way forward. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the U.K., has recently committed to get 14 million more girls into education in the developing world, with the hope that the next generation of females will further raise their aspirations. Males have to be educated to respect and “value girls and women”, to see them as absolute equals. There should be a “universal curriculum to change that cultural mindset.” 

  Again, Gundogan took an differing view to Mobarik, on the idea of how to truly generate change, regarding women’s rights and how they are viewed. She agreed that it certainly starts with education but she wanted to clarify that “this is not the golden formula that solves it.” Instead, you should seek diversity and to encourage people to “deviate from what they know.” 

  Ahdeya emphasised how diversifying companies “should not just be ticking a box, as this is a disaster.” Throughout history, women have worked tirelessly to prove that that they are equal, often resulting in women working harder to prove that they are just as deserving as their male equivalents. She referred to the ‘emotional intelligence’ that Mobarik also mentioned, which is much more present in women: “women have that nurturing behaviour” which means that they are “capable of handling situations in a different way to men.” This ‘feminine intelligence’ should be used to the advantage of companies.                                             

  Globally, 75% of unpaid work is performed by women, a statistic that “has to change”, according to Mobarik. She thinks that the “most valuable job women do” is raising children, raising the future generations; we “need to give thought to how we value that.” It is nearly always the women in the family who act as carers for relatives, which is often like a full-time job. Ahdeya agreed on the importance of motherhood as this contributes to “the future of the country.” The expectation on women, who are often “silently expected to raise children” and who are “still conditioned to stay at home” is not easy to crack. She raised the importance of realising that individual acts have repercussions on a societal level.    

  The panellists’ concluding remarks allowed for a degree of optimism and hope for further equality but the need to keep working on the momentum for change. Gundogan underlined the significance of discussing ‘women’s rights as human rights’, so that we can “truly become a society in which men and women participate equally.”  

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