Women in the public sphere : Libya and Egypt post-arab spring

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to analyse women’s rights developments in Libya and Egypt, specifically in terms of the state-building process that occurred following the Arab Spring. Despite being a widely studied political transition, the notion of gender equality and female political participation has remained understudied in this context. For this reason, a critical gendered analysis will be provided, in an attempt to answer the main research question: have women managed to advance their cause for gender equality or did existing state structures reimpose themselves, despite the different regimes in power? Throughout the course of this research, a number of complementary questions were also revealed: What are the factors that shaped women’s movements in Libya and Egypt, both during the 2011 revolution and after? What are the state characteristics which women’s rights activists and movements have responded to? What are the concerns that women’s rights trigger during a transitional movement, and why have such rights actually regressed? By presenting a combination of feminist theories and theories of international relations (IR), this dissertation seeks to bridge the gap between emotion and logic, so as to reach a better understanding of the underlying reasons for the seeming regression in gender equality that occurred following the Uprisings. Ultimately, in both Libya and Egypt the Arab Spring does not seem to have brought about much progress in terms of representative state institutions and increased gender equality in the public/political sphere. The reimposition of state structures or mechanisms of state which continue to suppress female involvement as a result of the dominance of the patriarchy seems to be unquestionable. That, however, is not to say that the Uprisings did not bring any progress for women and women’s rights whatsoever. Veritably being described as a shake to the foundations and structures of society, the revolution pushed women to become more involved, albeit not increasingly represented, as a way of bringing to light and rectifying the injustices perpetuated against them throughout the years. Following the 2011 Uprisings, the deterioration in women’s rights that occurred may be a result of the tension between a desire to be considered equal in the public sphere, while simultaneously being forced into submission in the private sphere.