The Outcome of Arab Spring Left Arab Women Disappointed

Arab women felt a great disappointment with reference to the outcome of the Arab spring. They had to pause and consider what went wrong and why their agendas have been co-opted by newly formed governments that are not necessarily inclusive of their agendas. Deniz Kandiyoti (2013) defined this post-revolutionary violence against women as ‘masculine restoration’ as the use of manipulation and coercion against women as a result of the increased female presence in the public sphere. She adds “It is a tool man uses to return to the traditional religion-based roles.” (Kandiyoti 2013).

Thus, for women, and their supporters much is at stake. The promise of sweeping political change has run up against the realities of conservative, deeply patriarchal societies. In both post-revolution Egypt and Libya, Islamist pressure led to the axing of minimum quotas for women in the countries’ new elected legislatures. Fears grow over a roll-back of the moderate gains made by women’s rights in the era of the dictatorships, which, while repressive, tended to be secular. The outcomes of the Arab Spring may have disappointed many of those who were involved including outside observers.

That being said, Chappell (2016) acknowledges it was always going to be challenging to address the complex and contradictory ways in which the (counter) revolutionary processes and political transformations have affected women, men, and gender norms and relations. “The rise of neo-liberal (and in some cases conservative) governments has led to the retreat of the state in favor of market forces and this trend has enabled and encouraged a reassertion of individual over collective interests and this has led to the neglect of the many inequities shared by women as a group” Chappell (2016).

Nonetheless, although common interests may exist, it is more likely that women in the Arab world will have both shared as well as conflicting interests. Nevertheless, where women do find common ground on specific issues, they can become powerful political actors. Leveraging their role in conflict prevention, conflict and post conflict zones is key to peaceful transformation of complex social systems where patriarchy, tradition and autocracy exist.