Democratic governance and women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

The international donor community has not adequately dealt with the issue of Islamic jurisprudence and its overwhelming influence on the status of women. Personal status issues (including citizenship and lack of civil and political rights) legitimated by conservative and Islamic traditional interpretations, remain a key obstacle for women. The conundrum of women’s rights in the Arab world is that the subject is located between the priorities of the donor community and the authoritarian regimes that need to continue to appease the conservative and traditional Islamic sectors in society. This has resulted in strategies that offer cosmetic gestures to the donor community while simultaneously reinforcing patriarchal norms and dictates