MEDIA REACTION: WOMEN'S RACE TO THE BALLOT BOX

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002706

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA;
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; ALSO FOR MOC
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WOMEN'S RACE TO THE BALLOT BOX



1. (U) SUMMARY: A UAE COLUMNIST CALLS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND
OBLIGATIONS FOR ARAB WOMEN IN SOCIETY. SHE STATED THAT THE
DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION OF ARAB SOCIETIES WILL BE COMPLETE ONLY
WHEN WOMEN ATTAIN EQUAL RIGHTS. SHE CALLS FOR GREATER ACCESS TO
EDUCATION AND INCREASED POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AS A MEANS TO
ATTAIN THESE RIGHTS.

2. (U) Najla Al-Rostamani, Associate Editor for Dubai-based
English daily "Gulf News" (circulation 95,000) wrote an op/ed
stating:
"The image thus far portrayed has been of women as suppressed
entities, oppressed wills and voices, curtailed freedoms and
denied rights. The question of course is not just what is meant
by the "suppressed", "oppressed", "curtailed" and the "denied".
The question is also of "where is the truth in all this and where
lies the rhetoric"...Looking at democratic experiments in other
countries, it is interesting to note that in those countries of
the Western world, political democracies have been established
long before women were granted political rights. And even when
the basis of a political process has been laid, a selected few
had the right to be part of it. But it is also interesting to
note that studies have shown that only when women had fully
attained their rights as citizens, was the democratic process
complete. Both had progressed in tandem...This brings us to the
crux of the whole matter. Throughout the whole debate in the Arab
world, the dominant argument was that numbers matter the most the
higher the number of women in politics, the better. But numbers
alone do not mean anything. What really needs to be studied is
whether the authority given is in proportion to that enjoyed by
men. The key point here is of rights on equal basis as citizens,
whether men or women. In other words, equal rights and
obligations under the law as citizens of a nation. The real
question is of the role played by women in shaping, formulating
and influencing public policy. Perhaps the most challenging task
for women is not whether they are represented under the domes of
parliaments, or how many are present within the walls of
assemblies. One of the most important issues facing women in the
Arab world today is the lack of education, more so than the lack
of political rights...The issue should not of course be seen as
an either or dilemma. Neither should it be viewed as means of
undermining women who have or are still at the helm of politics.
At the same time, women in the Arab world do not need to limit
themselves to producing Schumachers and Dettoris."
SISON