Women fight for rights in the Arab world: »Oppression breeds resistance«

Fourteen years ago, thousands of women stood shoulder to shoulder in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. They demanded freedom, democracy — and their right to be heard. The Arab Spring of 2011 sparked hopes of a new era for women’s rights in the region. But now, after more than a decade, many of those voices have fallen silent.

Regardless of how hard regimes try to control women’s lives, they will continue to fight for their rights.

Jihan Zakarriya, associate professor at UCPH

Not because the women have given up the fight — quite the opposite.

»Oppression breeds resistance,« says Jihan Zakarriya, who was born in Egypt and is now an associate professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

She has dedicated her research to women’s rights in the Arab world and has witnessed how feminist movements have repeatedly risen — despite censorship, imprisonment, and societal structures working against them.

»Oppression breeds resistance. Regardless of how hard regimes try to control women’s lives, they will continue to fight for their rights,« she says.

Struggle between Western ideals and Islamic identity

Women’s movements in the Arab world can be traced back to the late 19th century. In countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, early feminist currents were closely linked to the struggle for national independence. It was a complex dynamic, however, as the ideas of liberation came from the Western world, which many at the same time perceived as colonial powers.

»We have always had an ambivalent relationship with the West. On the one hand, we were colonised and seen as inferior. On the other hand, it was also from the West that ideas about women’s rights and democracy emerged,« says Jihan Zakarriya.

This tension has since shaped feminism in the region. Some women’s rights activists have fought for full secularisation of the legal system, while others have found inspiration in Islam, arguing that the religion itself contains ideals of equality.

Women caught between religion and politics

Feminist movements in the Arab world have often found themselves caught between authoritarian regimes and Islamist movements. In Egypt, for example, both the military regime and the Muslim Brotherhood have attempted to use women’s rights as a political tool — without granting them real equality.

»Women have been used as pawns in the power struggle between Islamists and authoritarian regimes,« says Jihan Zakarriya, adding:

»Socialist regimes in the 1950s and 60s gave women access to education and employment, but not real political influence. The Islamists promised women’s rights through religion, yet at the same time sought to introduce laws that restricted their freedom.«

According to Jihan Zakarriya, we are currently witnessing a weakening of women’s rights in several countries. Since the Arab Spring in 2011, regimes have cracked down harder on opposition and civil society — which has also affected feminists.

»After the revolutions, authoritarian regimes were reinstated with renewed strength. There is now more surveillance, more restrictions on protests, and a general fear of speaking out too loudly,« she says.

Social media: A new battleground for women’s rights

Although street protests and civil society organisations have been suppressed in many Arab countries, women’s movements have found new ways to organise.

Arab feminists, according to Jihan Zakarriya, were among the first to use social media for activism.

In Saudi Arabia, online campaigns led to the lifting of the ban on female drivers in 2018 and a reform of the guardianship system, which previously required women to have a male guardian to travel or take up employment.

Women in the Arab world are used to fighting

Jihan Zakarriya, associate professor at UCPH

Similarly, the MeToo movement has had a strong impact in the region — but in highly localised ways.

»In Kuwait, it was about femicide, in Egypt about sexual harassment in public spaces, in Oman about workplace discrimination. It was not one unified wave but a series of local battles,« explains Jihan Zakarriya.

Hope for the future

Despite setbacks, Jihan Zakarriya also sees hope for the future — particularly in the Gulf states.

»Education plays a huge role. In Saudi Arabia, we now see women earning the highest academic degrees and expecting to participate in the labour market on an equal footing with men,« she says.

Economic reforms in these countries are also driving change. Many governments in the region are being forced to include women in the workforce if they want to modernise their economies.

»It is not necessarily a fight for rights, but a matter of necessity. And that can be a path to real change,« says Jihan Zakarriya.

Although feminist movements in the Arab world continue to face enormous challenges, one thing is certain, according to Jihan Zakarriya: Women will keep fighting.

»There have always been ups and downs, but we have never stopped. Oppression breeds resistance. And women in the Arab world are used to fighting,« she says.