Gender Dimensions of Investment Climate Reform
BOX 4
Family and Business in the Middle East (Continued )
husband’s authority over the family and his wife, for example, requiring women to obtain the permission of husbands to work, obtain passports, or travel. Requiring permission to obtain passports or travel is a significant impediment to doing business. Obtaining a loan can be harder as well. Although banking laws do not discriminate against female borrowers, the practice of banks across many countries is to ask for the husband as a cosigner, even if he lacks the financial resources or is not involved in the venture. The intent is to ensure that the woman’s actions do not interfere with the wishes of the family or her husband. Source: Chamlou 2008.
Checklist of Key Questions • Which international treaty obligations does the country have in relation to gender equality? • To what extent have these obligations been incorporated into domestic law? • What does the country’s constitution or other overarching law say about equality between genders? • If the constitution provides for equality between genders, how is this provision operationalized in the underlying legal framework? • Are there any exceptions to a constitutional equality provision, for example, allowing customary law to prevail in some circumstances? • Are there laws that discriminate against women in relation to family, marriage, and property or inheritance rights; age of majority; or ability to travel? • In a common law country, is there recent case law on women’s rights, for instance, property rights? • Are there parallel legal systems, for example, religious or customary law? If so, how do they treat relations between genders? Sources of Information • Ministry of foreign affairs (international commitments) • Ministry of justice or legal databases (constitutional and legislative framework); lawyers specializing in gender issues (for example, the local branch of FIDA-International Federation of Women Lawyers) • Reports of international NGOs on women’s rights • Country reports on CEDAW and “shadow” CEDAW reports 24