Women's rights in the Arab world

21 Feb 2014 11:23 AM IST

Egypt is the worst country for women in the Arab world, closely followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen, according to gender experts surveyed in a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll. The results were drawn from answers from 336 gender experts
* Women hold only 3 percent of seats in the national parliament. * 35 percent of adult women have jobs.* Half the inmates of Moroni prison were jailed for sexual aggression.
COMOROS: The Indian Ocean archipelago nation polled well across all categories except political representation. Comorian women have a good deal of social freedom while sexual abuse is recognized and punished.
* Women can't transfer citizenship to foreign-born spouses or children.
* In 2010, 227 men were charged with rape or attempted rape. * In December 2011, four women were elected to provisional councils out of 192 seats.
OMAN: Omani women benefit from better social protection than in other Arab countries, but FGM is still practiced in some regions and women face discrimination in the workplace and pressure to conform to traditional roles.
* Intimidation and harassment of women by militias and extremists has been widely reported.
* 33 women were elected to the 200-member General National Congress in 2012. * 20 is the legal minimum age for women to marry unless they get special permission from a court.
LIBYA: Libya ranked as one of the best countries for political representation but experts said insecurity, poverty and lack of education were some of the greatest concerns for women.
* Women represent 14 percent of the total workforce.
* Marital rape is not recognized and the law permits men to discipline their wives physically. * Four women sit on the 22-member cabinet of the Federal National Council.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Women have access to education and health services but traditional gender roles are ingrained. Many foreign female domestic workers are trafficked and abused and women run the risk of being imprisoned for adultery when
* The Penal Code says a rapist can avoid punishment if he marries his victim.
* A woman's testimony is worth half that of a man's in an Islamic court. * Women could first vote or run for election in 2002.
BAHRAIN: Judges in Islamic courts make decisions on women's rights in divorce, marriage, inheritance and child custody cases, based on interpretation of Islamic law. Bahraini law doesn't recognize or punish marital rape or domestic abuse.
* 25 honor killings were recorded in the first nine months of 2013.
* 51 percent of women in Gaza City experienced domestic violence in 2011.
* Only 17 percent of women are employed despite a literacy rate of 93 percent.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Israeli restrictions on movement have severe consequences for Palestinian women, experts said. Women suffer from poverty, unemployment and a high risk of domestic violence and honor crimes.
* One in six Lebanese women are illiterate.
* No law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. * Lebanese women can't pass citizenship onto children or foreign-born husbands.
LEBANON: Lebanon ranked badly for not punishing marital rape, for biased inheritance laws and discriminatory employment laws.
* Victims often don't report rape, fearing they will be tried for adultery.
* 12.1 million women and girls are victims of FGM.
* Girls can legally marry from the age of 10.
SUDAN: Sudan hasn't ratified CEDAW and women face systematic discrimination and inequality. Strict interpretations of Islam curb women's freedoms and allow domestic abuse, child marriage and marital rape. Sexual violence is common and often
* 53 percent of girls finish primary school.
* There is no legal minimum age for marriage.
* No law deals effectively with domestic abuse and marital rape isn't recognized.
YEMEN: Historically marginalized, Yemeni women have been fighting for rights since the 2011 Arab Spring. Experts say child marriage, human trafficking and rape are endemic.
* More than 4,000 cases of rape and sexual mutilation have been reported to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
* Girls as young as 12 have been married in refugee camps. * There are reports of government forces and armed militias sexually abusing women and girls during home raids and in detention centers.
SYRIA: Massive war displacement, both inside Syria and across borders, has left millions of women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence and trafficking, the United Nations says. The collapse of the economy and healthcare system has
* Women are banned from driving and need a guardian's permission to travel, enroll in education, marry or undergo healthcare procedures.
* Marital rape is not recognized and rape victims risk being charged with adultery.
* Women can vote for the first time in 2015 municipal elections.
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia polled third-worst overall and ranked last for political representation and inheritance rights. Despite stirrings of progress, the kingdom's guardianship system severely limits women's freedoms.
* Thousands of displaced women have been forced to work as prostitutes in neighboring countries including Syria, Jordan and United Arab Emirates.
* 1.6 million women are widows.
* 14.5 percent of women have jobs.
IRAQ: Iraq's second-worst ranking reflects a dramatic deterioration in conditions for women since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Mass displacement has made women vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence. The Iraqi penal code allows men who
* 63 percent of adult women are literate.
* 99.3 percent of women and girls are subjected to sexual harassment. * 27.2 million women and girls - or 91 percent of the female population - are victims of female genital mutilation (FGM).
EGYPT: Sexual violence, harassment and trafficking combined with a breakdown of security, high rates of female genital mutilation and a rollback of freedoms since the 2011 revolution put Egypt at the bottom of the poll.
The poll assessed violence against women, reproductive rights, treatment of women within the family, their integration into society and attitudes towards a woman's role in politics and the economy. Here are key facts on women's rights in Arab states
Comoros, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar came top of the survey. (Pictures are for representation purposes only)

Egypt is the worst country for women in the Arab world, closely followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen, according to gender experts surveyed in a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll. The results were drawn from answers from 336 gender experts

Women's rights in the Arab world

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Women's rights in the Arab world

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