Abstract
A regional workshop on sexual and bodily rights as human rights in the Middle East and North Africa was held in Malta in 2003, attended by 22 NGO representatives from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Pakistan and USA. The meeting aimed to develop strategies for overcoming human rights violations in the region with reference to law and social and political practices. Session topics included sexuality and gender identity; sexuality and sexual health; sexuality and comparative penal law; sexual rights in international documents; advocacy and lobbying. Sexual rights, sexual health and education, sexual violence and adolescent sexuality were explored in depth, including taboos and emerging trends. Specific areas of concern included marital rape, early marriages, temporary marriages, sexual orientation, premarital and extramarital sexuality, honour crimes, female genital mutilation, unmarried mothers, adolescent sexuality, unwanted pregnancies and safe abortion, sexuality in education and health services. An analysis of civil codes, penal codes and personal status codes indicated a clear imperative for legal reform. Participants heard about efforts to promote the right to sexual orientation which have already been initiated in Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia. Networking within the region and with counterparts in other regions in comparable situations and conditions was deemed essential.
Résumé
Un atelier régional sur les droits sexuels et corporels en tant que droits de l'homme au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord, organisé à Malte en 2003, a rassemblé 22 représentants d'ONG de Jordanie, d'Egypte, du Liban, de Palestine, de Tunisie, du Maroc, d'Algérie, de Turquie, du Pakistan et des Etats-Unis d'Amérique. La réunion souhaitait définir des stratégies pour surmonter les violations des droits de l'homme dans les domaines juridiques et des pratiques sociales et politiques. Parmi les thèmes de l'atelier figuraient la sexualité et l'identité sexuelle ; la sexualité et la santé génésique ; la sexualité et le droit pénal comparé ; les droits génésiques dans les documents internationaux ; le plaidoyer et les groupes de pression. Les droits génésiques, la santé génésique et l'éducation sexuelle, la violence sexuelle et la sexualité des adolescents ont été étudiés en profondeur, notamment les tabous et les tendances émergentes. Les domaines de préoccupation comprenaient le viol conjugal, les mariages précoces, les mariages temporaires, l'orientation sexuelle, la sexualité prémaritale et extraconjugale, les crimes d'honneur, la mutilation sexuelle féminine, les mères célibataires, la sexualité à l'adolescence, les grossesses non désirées et l'avortement sûr, la sexualité dans l'éducation et les services de santé. Une analyse des codes civils, des codes pénaux et des codes du statut personnel a indiqué la nécessité de réformes juridiques. Les participants ont été informés des activités de promotion du droit à l'orientation sexuelle, déjà entamées au Liban, en Turquie et en Tunisie. Ils ont estimé qu'il était essentiel de créer des réseaux dans la région et dans d'autres régions connaissant des situations comparables.
Resumen
En el año 2003 se celebró en Malta un taller regional sobre los derechos sexuales y corporales como derechos humanos en Oriente Medio y África Septentrional, al cual asistieron 22 representantes de ONGs de Jordán, Egipto, Lı́bano, Palestina, Tunicia, Marruecos, Argelia, Turquı́a, Pakistán y EE.UU. El propósito de la reunión consistió en formular estrategias para vencer las violaciones de los derechos humanos en la región con referencia a la ley y a las prácticas sociales y polı́ticas. Entre los temas tratados durante la sesión figuraron la sexualidad y la identidad de género; la sexualidad y la salud sexual; la sexualidad y el derecho penal comparado; los derechos sexuales en los documentos internacionales; la gestorı́a y defensa y el cabildeo. Se investigaron en detalle los derechos sexuales, la salud y educación sexual, la violencia sexual y la sexualidad de los adolescentes, ası́ como los tabúes y las tendencias emergentes. Entre las áreas especı́ficas de interés figuraron la violación marital, el matrimonio a temprana edad, el matrimonio provisional, la orientación sexual, la sexualidad premarital y extramarital, los crı́menes de honor, la mutilación genital femenina, las madres solteras, la sexualidad de los adolescentes, el embarazo no deseado y el aborto practicado en condiciones adecuadas, la sexualidad en la educación y los servicios de salud. Un análisis de los códigos civiles, códigos penales y códigos de status personal indicó un imperativo absoluto para la reforma jurı́dica. Los participantes se enteraron de los esfuerzos por promover el derecho a la orientación sexual, los cuales ya han sido iniciados en Lı́bano, Turquı́a y Tunicia. Se estimó esencial crear redes de colaboración en la región y con contrapartes en otras regiones bajo situaciones y condiciones comparables.
A regional workshop on “Sexual and Bodily Rights as Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa” was held in Malta from 29 May to 1 June 2003, co-organized by Women for Women's Human Rights–New Ways, Istanbul, Turkey, and the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, Malta. Twenty-two representatives of NGOs from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Pakistan and the USA participated. This is the summary report of that workshop.
Workshop discussions clearly revealed that women's lack of control over their own bodies and sexuality is at the root of a wide range of women's human rights violations in the region, and taboos around women's sexuality serve to maintain the structures, which support these violations. The combination of law, social practices, traditions, religious and cultural constructs intertwines to shape the concept of sexuality. The patriarchal notion that women's bodies and sexuality belong not to themselves, but to their families and society, is reflected not only in customary practices, but is also sanctioned by the penal and civil codes in all of the countries in the region.
The meeting aimed to explore themes of sexuality and gender and issues around sexual and bodily rights, and to develop national, regional and international strategies for overcoming related human rights violations in the region with reference to law and social and political practices. After an introductory discussion session to share experiences and identify common concerns and areas of interest, the following themes emerged and formed the framework for the workshop:
| • | deconstructing taboos around sexuality, particularly women's sexuality | ||||
| • | laws and practices leading to violations of sexual and bodily rights | ||||
| • | human rights violations in laws and penal codes relating to sexuality | ||||
| • | women's rights to pleasure and to control over their bodies | ||||
| • | eradication of all forms of sexual violence. | ||||
Within this framework participants discussed a wide array of subjects in moderated sessions and heard presentations by resource people. Session topics included sexuality and gender identity; sexuality and sexual health; sexuality and comparative penal law; sexual rights in international documents; and advocacy and lobbying on sexual and bodily rights on national, regional and international levels. Issues around sexual rights, sexual health and education, sexual violence and adolescent sexuality were explored in depth in the context of laws, social practices, taboos and emerging trends.
Over the course of the workshop it became evident that important progress in the arena of sexual and bodily rights as human rights has occurred in the region over the last few years. Participants were encouraged and inspired by evidence of growing interest, awareness and openness concerning sexuality as a human rights issue, and by the rapidly expanding amount of work being done in the region on this subject.
However, despite the many positive changes, reports by participants confirmed that sexuality for the most part still remains a taboo subject. Violations of sexual and bodily rights in all spheres of life–private, public, social and political–are widespread in the region, and constitute the root of all forms of violence against women. Specific areas of concern discussed in the workshop included marital rape, early marriages, temporary marriages, sexual orientation, premarital and extramarital sexuality, honour crimes, female genital mutilation (FGM), unmarried mothers, adolescent sexuality, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion, sexuality in education and health services.
The question of democratization and freedom also emerged. Freedom was undoubtedly essential, but making use of it remained problematic. It could be argued that the rise of fundamentalist and nationalist movements were also an outcome of democracy, and in some cases that more democracy was causing a backlash that resulted in women losing certain rights.
Law, especially civil codes, penal codes and personal status codes, emerged as a central point of discussion, with a clear imperative for legal reform from a holistic perspective. Modern-day law has emerged in the region as a peculiar fusion, inheriting characteristics from tribal laws, Shari'ah law and pre-modern western codes. Islamic law traditionally treats rape not as a crime against God (as in the case of adultery), but as theft or violation of property, in this case property of sexual and reproductive value. Most countries still classify rape and other forms of sexual assault as crimes against “public decency and family order”, echoing the traditional belief that a woman's body belongs not to herself, but rather to her father, husband or society. Even though in some cases, the crime of adultery has been annulled or laws have been reformed to apply equally to men and women, most countries continue to discriminate against women in cases of adultery, which carries severe punishment. Honour killings are in most cases not effectively prosecuted but rather almost encouraged. Even though they are premeditated, planned murders, they are misconstrued as “crimes of passion”, and the overarching perspective is that men have the right to punish women for improper sexual behaviour. Rumours, gossip and money all continue to serve as pretexts for honour crimes and the ambivalence on the part of governments to take measures against them is appalling.
When working to change laws and policies, the underlying philosophy and overarching perspective of the law should be taken into consideration and proposed changes should aim for comprehensive reform to the extent that it is possible. The role of penal codes regarding sexual and bodily rights, which has only recently been looked at, appears to be crucial. Several countries including Egypt, Turkey, Morocco and Jordan have already launched efforts at penal code reforms and activists and lawmakers in other countries in the region are in process of developing strategies to reform the penal codes.
The persistent quandary of whether legal change can actually transform social practices was discussed in depth. Strategies to aid the implementation of laws were developed, such as extensive training for various professionals (i.e. lawyers, teachers, judges), greater use of international documents, and enhancing research and improving documentation methods on sexuality and sexual rights in the region.
The workshop also highlighted the emerging issue of the right to sexual orientation, and strategies for achieving the implementation of rights regarding sexual orientation were discussed. Despite continuing threats and taboos around non-heterosexuality, the issue of sexual orientation appears to have achieved some visibility in the region. Participants heard about efforts to promote the right to sexual orientation, which have already been initiated in Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia. However, prejudices that women working on sexuality are merely promoting lesbianism, and that talking about sexuality is blasphemy, have to be overcome.
One conclusion of the workshop was that networking, not only within the region, but also with others, such as South Asian and Latin American counterparts, who have experienced comparable situations and conditions, is essential for developing successful strategies for promoting sexuality and bodily rights as human rights. The sharing of materials, resources, knowledge, information and experiences underlie the importance of such collaborations. Fully realizing sexual and bodily rights as human rights in the region remains a long-term challenge; however the workshop clearly indicated that important progress has been achieved and with determined efforts more positive change is on the way.
Antique shop, Istanbul, Turkey, 2002
Once again, it was reaffirmed that sexual autonomy and bodily rights lie at the core of women's human rights, and notions of equality and empowerment cannot be applied to daily life unless sexual and bodily rights are fully realized.
“We are on difficult ground, but we have a common goal. Sexuality runs our lives.”
Acknowledgements
This is a slightly revised version of the summary report of the conference and is reprinted here with the kind permission of WWHR–New Ways. A more detailed report will be available on the WWHR website: 〈www.wwhr.org〉.