Monday October 20th, 2003

Special to Sudan Tribune*

The SHRO-Cairo Women Activists organized a special session to discuss the International Convention on the Eradication of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The group included both Sudanese and Egyptian women activists. Led by the Sudanese lawyer Manal 'Abd al-Rahman, the Session's Coordinator, 12 women with different ages (20-70) and professional backgrounds, including housewives, social workers, an engineer, an economist, a university professor, and other women discussed the international women's agreement in 7 working hours.

After a short introduction and lecture on the agreement by lawyer Manal, the participants enjoyed thorough reading of the United Nations document. This was followed by detailed discussion of the international agreement in which the participants expressed their opinions freely about the provisions of the agreement, evaluating its compatibility with women's concerns, and the need to implement the agreement.

The Session's Steering Committee reported the following deliberations and resolutions:

The Sudanese Egyptian Women Activists' meeting was a real enjoyment. The closed-women's session provided a chance for the women to express their opinions freely about the issues of the agreement: States parties' condemnation of discrimination against women in all its forms, embodying the principle of equality of men and women in national constitutions, and establishing legal protection of women on an equal basis with men, refraining from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise, and repealing all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women (Articles 1-2).

The participants were interested in the Agreement's obligation to the States to take in all fields all appropriate measures to ensure the full development and advancement of women (Article 3), ending the maintenance of unequal or separate standards, protecting maternity, modifying the social and cultural patterns of conduct of women and women to achieve the elimination of prejudice and customary practices (Articles 4-5), ensuring that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing of their children (Article 5), and that appropriate measures shall be taken by States Parties to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women (Article 6).

The women activists gave full attention to Article 7's insurance, on equal terms with men, the right to vote, participate in the formulation and implementation of government policy and the opportunity to represent their Governments at the international level, and to participate in the work of international organizations; Articles (9) on the right with men to acquire, change, or retain their nationality; and (Article 10) for the insurance of equal rights with men in the field of education, conditions for career and vocational guidance, access to same curricula, elimination of stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and forms of education by encouraging co-education to achieve this aim,

In particular, the women discussed Articles 11-12 -13 on the right to work, free choice of profession, equal remuneration, social security, protection of health, maternity privileges without discrimination in work or promotion; access to health services; the right to family benefits, bank loans, and recreational activities, sports, and all aspects of cultural life; (Articles 14-15) on the need to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas, according to women equality with men before the law with full legal capacity in legal matters, contracts, and the freedom of movement and residence; and (Article 1) on the right to enter into marriage, freely choose a spouse, decide freely on the number and spacing of their children, and prohibiting the betrothal and the marriage of children.

The 12 activists believed that Islam would not possibly stand against the Convention's provisions since Islam offered more rights to women than CEDAW did. However, the women in our contemporary life have not maintained these rights: "even more, some women tend to forfeit these women's rights with consent because they willingly abort their education as well as their choices in better lives," said the participants. Although some participants noticed that "most genius people were born to illiterate as well as rural women," the issue of education was strongly emphasized as a top necessity for women to be able to promote their status and to raise their children properly.

Regarding the women's right to work, most participants confirmed this right as a fundamental right. A few participants said, "It is not important so long as the men take care of the house expenditure." Other participants believed that many women reject the right to work outside the home preferring to take care of the home, husband and children. "In this case, however, these women insist the husband should be fully responsible for all financial obligations towards the wife and the children."

The strong presence of mothers is extremely important in the home because there is virtually no substitute of a mother who cares genuinely for her children lives and future. "If a mother works outside the home, she should not lose sight of her motherhood under any condition. In fact, the women's work is a heavy burden on the working women. It sometimes leads to negative attitudes towards the husband and the children."

The women's work, most participants ascertained, "is not for money. It is for self-assertion in the first place." Furthermore, the participants strongly rejected the idea of men's qawamma "if it is taken to mean male-dominance over women in any form. Grown-up women are competently able to run their own affairs, they can decide for themselves, and no one has a right to decide for them," affirmed the women activists.
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"To avoid very negative consequences, mothers must not abandon their responsibilities to housemaids or the fathers of their children," said the women. They further believed that "The women's right to education, personal and civil freedoms, etc. must be fully granted since in the final analysis the woman is the one who will be running a personal life in her own home."

The participants spent good time discussing the teachings of Islam regarding the rights of women in the home. Stressing the Qur'anic meanings of "amicable and merciful relations in marriage," they noticed that "men, in general, are no longer showing respect to the women's rights at the home: most men care only for their own enjoyment, food, and drink at expense of the women and children."

The issue of polygamy was discussed in the Session. Some participants insisted that legislation would not prevent men or women from polygamy because "it is a right based on the insurance of justice to the wives, i.e., if women are content with the prevalence of justice in the relationship, polygamy will continue to exist." Also, the right of women to choose a spouse "is practically exercised in accordance with beliefs and customs," as they said.

This interesting meeting was ended with complete agreement of the women on the need to implement CEDAW by all States. "In the Arab and Muslim societies, it is not actually adding new teachings to what Islam already wanted for the women, in principle," many participants affirmed. "We feel that CEDAW is not adding new rights to the rights already granted by Islamic teachings for Muslim women. Therefore, CEDAW should be approved, rectified, and fully implemented without any reservation by all Arab and Muslim States.," emphasized the participants.

Highly recommending the setting up of another session applying the same women-women open discussion forum to discuss the other human rights issues in the near future, the Sudanese-Egyptian women activists expressed their happiness with this feminist meeting that has been successfully established and entirely managed by and for the women human rights' activists.

* More details in shro-cairo.org