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Opening Doors: Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa
male authority over the everyday decisions, actions, and movements of the female members of the household becomes state condoned, limiting women’s choices and participation in society. Almost all MENA countries have constitutional clauses setting out the equality of citizens, and many have ratified international conventions affirming gender equality. Nevertheless, laws, including family and personal, often differentiate between the sexes to reinforce traditional gender roles within the household and in the wider community (box 2.6). Family and personal laws not only impact a woman’s role within her family but also can determine her access to property and her ability to function independently. Labor and pension laws also can limit women’s options. This section outlines some of these constraints and the challenges facing women in implementing and enforcing their legal rights.
Legal Systems Differ Widely and Derive from Multiple Sources Legal constraints to women’s equality are not unique to the MENA Region. For instance, spousal permission for a wife to work continued to be
BOX 2.6
UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is an international convention that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and came into force in 1981. States ratifying the convention are required to enshrine gender equality in their domestic legislation, repeal all discriminatory provisions in their laws, and enact new provisions to guard against discrimination against women. Since coming into force, CEDAW has become a benchmark for a country’s progress on gender rights that can be used by its policymakers and civil society advocates, and the international community. Ratification demonstrates a member country’s positive com-
mitment to prohibit and eliminate discrimination against women and to promote the progressive implementation of the articles of the convention in its domestic legislative framework. Aside from the Islamic Republic of Iran, all countries in MENA have ratified CEDAW.1 Libya and Tunisia also have ratified the Optional Protocol. It enables individuals or groups of women to submit claims to the CEDAW Committee about violations of rights protected under CEDAW. The protocol also permits the committee to initiate inquiries into serious recurring violations in member countries. However, implementation of the laws has been a challenge. In some signatory