My report on women's issues and condition in Libya for Sarah Rainey's WS 3130 course.

1. LIBYA Krystyna Zarn-Langford WS 3130 Online Country Report

2. Some Background Libya is also known as The Socialist Popular Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 4th largest country in Africa Primarily Muslim Arabs 3 provinces: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Fezzan Capital is Tripoli Speak Arabic Dictatorship by Muammar Qaddafi since 1969 Population 6.6 million despite size of country Since contains much oil, globally influential despite small population

3. Women’s History in Libya Very little recorded history of women’s rights in Libya Didn’t become an official country until 20th century Qaddafi disallows statistical human rights data or evidence-based information 1969 Qaddafi instituted Constitutional Proclamation declaring women to be totally equal with several stipulations Muslim practices such as wearing niqab or hijab, requiring male escort, husband’s permission

4. Currently: Purdah is still practiced (custom of veiling and secluding women) The government claims it’s factual that women are biologically nurturing and destined to fill the role of mother Women’s presence is restricted in the public sphere Arranged marriage is common (women may marry at 14 while men not until their twenties) Some practice a bride price where the groom’s family must pay for the bride Violence against women remains a serious problem though there are no statistics available FGM is practiced in some areas

5. Currently: Cont.’d Women may not travel abroad without their husband’s permission No reliable information on women’s representation in the government The Constitution and Green Book prohibit sex discrimination but it is ignored or not enforced Huge value on privacy so most violence against women is not reported Reports on trafficking of Sudanese and Senegalese girls and women into the country Traditional Muslim attitudes prevail so that women are denied their family and civil rights

6. Currently: Cont.’d Women’s status is still not equal but there’s been notable social progress in the past decade New employment opportunities for women although mostly low-paid service jobs Growing sense of individualism among young educated population Young couples are tending to live together on their own instead of with their families The education difference is narrowing between men and women Polygamy is being scorned Veiling is being rejected by younger women though still practiced by most older women

7. Currently: Cont.’d Many rural women still don’t attend school and are taught that women are subservient to men Female participation in the workforce is increasing but women are not allowed/discouraged from active roles, and expected to follow traditional gender roles

8. Eman al-Obeidy Accused government forces of raping her in March 2011 Obeidy says that security forces detained her at a checkpoint for two days, in which fifteen men raped and beat her before she escaped She showed her bruises, marks and binding marks Says that other women are still there She went into a hotel where journalists staying and tried to tell her story; hotel staff and security became hostile and called security forces on her Security forces abducted her from hotel, beating journalists who tried to intervene, and are still detaining her Screamed that they were going to take her to prison

9. Eman al-Obeidy: Cont.’d Government spokesperson Musa Ibrahim told journalists Obeidy is lying, prostitute and mentally ill Ibrahim changed story to say that Obeidy was being treated as mentally capable with credible case of abduction and rape; five members of security forces were being questioned Changed story again to say that Obeidy was being charged with prostitution and petty theft Told journalists she had been released to relatives which relatives denied Ibrahim then said Obeidy was still being questioned and a case couldn’t be made because she’d refused a medical exam to prove she’d been raped

10. Eman al-Obeidy: Cont.’d Security force members lodged complaints that Obeidy was defaming them by not proving she’d been raped Mother claims daughter is still being detained and that she was offered money and a new house if she would make Obeidy change her story “I don’t feel ashamed, instead my head is up high” Obeidy “broke the barrier that no other man could break” by speaking publicly about her rape No more news on Obeidy

11. Social Rehabilitation Facilities Women and girls being detained indefinitely Government claims meant to protect women and girls from immoral conduct Serious human rights abuses including invasion of rights to liberty, freedom of movement, dignity, privacy and due process Most women and girls have committed no crime or served their sentence, or have been raped and ostracized Majority are there against their will; rest there because no shelters for abused women Farida Deif: “How can they be called shelters when most of the women and girls we interviewed told us they would escape if they could?”

12. Social Rehabilitation Facilities: Cont.’d Women and girls are locked in and not allowed to leave Placed in solitary confinement for trivial reasons Forcibly subjected to virginity tests and testing for communicable diseases against their will Residents as young as 16 but no education provided, only weekly religious rituals No legal representation or contestation allowed in courts Exit requirements are arbitrary and coercive Male relatives may take custody of girls and women Girls and women may leave if ‘consent’ to marriage (strange men go to these facilities looking for wives) Council convened but unclear who is on it, how it will function

13. In the Revolution Younger women took major part in budding revolution Hundreds of women gathered in Liberation Square in Eastern Libya to back the rebels and political aims of the National Transitional Government Women-only zone; men looked on behind a fence Women have made it very clear they stand behind the rebels Liberation Square to contest Qaddafi’s lies about women Women taking huge part in organizing/attending rallies However, women banned from front of rebellion and among camp-followers Gender segregation still firm in public activism Journalist denied passage on ship from Benghazi to Misurata to cover protests by National Transitional government because she’s female

14. Women’s Rights according to Legal Documents Article 21 of Green Book: “All members of the society of the Jamahiriya, whether men or women, are equal in all human respects. Discrimination between men and women in regard to their rights is a flagrant inequity that cannot be justified.” Paragraph 93 of Protection of Freedom Act: “All citizens of the Jamahiriya, whether male or female, are free and equal in regard to their rights, which are inviolable.”

15. Stipulations on Women’s Rights in Legal Documents Part Three, Chapter 5 of Green Book: natural differences between men and women and therefore corresponding role for each of them, consistent with differences; women inherently “feeble” due to menstruation, pregnancy and breast-feeding, and “tender”, “pretty” and “gentle”, while men inherently “tough” Green Book: “to demand equality between them [men and women] in any dirty work, which stains her beauty and detracts from her femininity, is unjust and cruel. Education that leads to work unsuitable for her nature is unjust and cruel as well.” Green Book: ignoring the natural differences between men and women “hostile to the laws of nature, destructive to human life, and a genuine cause for the wretchedness of human social life” Discriminatory, criminalization of abortion, no equal opportunity in education, employment or political participation, no statistical data or factual information on women’s conditions

16. Today: male children receive double the share of female children in inheritance widows and daughters may not be included as heirs in a man’s will a mother legally must nurse her child for two years a father has the right to child-rearing and is mother’s legal duty until boy reaches age of majority and/or girl is married nationality must be conferred by a father to his children, not through the mother children must travel on their father’s passport passports for women travelling are specialized to include mandatory husband’s permission

17. Today: Cont.’d a husband has the right to have his wife attend to his emotional and moral well-being and peace of mind, to look after, keep in order and maintain the family home and raise the children if he is in “straitened circumstances”; no such rights afforded to a wife polygamy is allowed a man with wife’s consent or if there is a need based on health or social grounds a married woman may not obtain a housing loan without her husband’s approval after divorce a father has right to custody of the children and mother is legally obligated to head ‘tutelage’ of children a woman may divorce but must pay compensation and relinquish certain rights; no such requirements for men

18. Today: Cont.’d a woman must serve six months imprisonment for obtaining an abortion as well as the provider women may not use contraception unless given their male partner’s or husband’s permission no protection against sexual harassment/assault in the workplace or school no laws on books that prohibit or punish rape or domestic violence against women rapists may choose to marry the survivor or face possible punishment; marriage option reviewed by a judge who decides whether the woman will suffer or not women are not allowed to form independent organizations to address violence against them

19. Feminist Response Women have responded by supporting, organizing and joining the rebellion against Qaddafi Eman al-Obeidy made her rape public to draw attention to the issue Younger women attain educations and go into the workforce despite social stigma Younger women are rejecting veiling and appear out in society bare-headed Women in the current rebellion speak to journalists about why they are rebelling and what they want changed Ola, 18 year old student: “Look at us — can anyone say the women of Libya don’t have a voice? No one is keeping us inside and no one is shutting us up.’’ JamilaFallad, activist: “I want that chance for the young women in Libya today — to have both a career and the democratic freedoms that have been denied to Libyans for the past 42 years because of that murderer, Gadhafi.’’

20. Works Cited Dalton, William G. “Libya.” Countries and Their Cultures. Date unknown. Every Culture. Web. 3 April 2011. DiManno, Rosie. “Women rally to back Libyan Rebels.” thestar.com. thestar.com, 31 Mar 2011. Web. 1 April 2011. “Libya: Immediately Release Woman Who Alleged Rape.” hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 3 April 2011. “Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.” Equality Now (1998). PDF File. “Libya.” State.gov. U.S. Department of State, 4 Mar. 2002. Web. 1 April. “Libya: Women, Girls Locked Up Indefinitely Without Charge.” hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, 26 Feb. 2006. Web. 3 April 2011.