FREEING THE OTHER HAND:

Modest victory for Palestinian women a critical step for Arab society: Emancipation of women alone won't create democracy in the Arab world, but it is part of the process. (John Hughes, 1/05/05, CS Monitor)

Despite traditional pressures discouraging women from political activity in Arab states, they won 51 seats in 26 localities in elections seen as a warm-up for Sunday's Palestinian presidential election to replace Yasser Arafat.

One cannot read too much into this. But it is a small step in the direction of a cultural revolution that must take place in critical countries of the Arab world if they are to shed their backwardness and poverty and move into modern society.

A 2002 United Nations report on human development in 22 Arab countries found that women there have the world's lowest rate of participation in the workforce and in politics. More than half of the women in these countries could not read or write. Women occupied only 3.5 percent of all seats in their parliaments. "Sadly," the report concluded, "the Arab world is largely depriving itself of the creativity and productivity of half its citizens."

I do not think I would be in danger of making a politically incorrect statement if I suggested the world might be a better place if more women occupied positions of political office and prominence. They can be as strong as any male in leadership positions. Take, for example, Golda Meir or Margaret Thatcher. They can, unfortunately, be as murderous as males - for example, the young women who have carried out suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. But by and large, women have a sensitivity that offers hope of a gentler approach to politics and international affairs.

While some Arab countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, have made progress in the advancement of women, many have not. Women in such lands are relegated to inferior status, discriminated against legally, and barred from equal citizenship with men. In some countries with elected national assemblies, women are still denied the right to vote or hold office.

Let us hope that the modest triumph of Palestinian women in last week's local elections is the forerunner of progress and moderation in the coming Palestinian presidential elections.

Palestine, not yet one officially, could already be the most advanced Arab state politically.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 4, 2005 8:49 PM