US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI2706

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002706 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; 
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; ALSO FOR MOC 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KMDR, TC 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION: WOMEN'S RACE TO THE BALLOT BOX 
 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: A UAE COLUMNIST CALLS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND 
OBLIGATIONS FOR ARAB WOMEN IN SOCIETY.  SHE STATED THAT THE 
DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION OF ARAB SOCIETIES WILL BE COMPLETE ONLY 
WHEN WOMEN ATTAIN EQUAL RIGHTS.  SHE CALLS FOR GREATER ACCESS TO 
EDUCATION AND INCREASED POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AS A MEANS TO 
ATTAIN THESE RIGHTS. 
2. (U) Najla Al-Rostamani, Associate Editor for Dubai-based 
English daily "Gulf News" (circulation 95,000) wrote an op/ed 
stating: 
"The image thus far portrayed has been of women as suppressed 
entities, oppressed wills and voices, curtailed freedoms and 
denied rights. The question of course is not just what is meant 
by the "suppressed", "oppressed", "curtailed" and the "denied". 
The question is also of "where is the truth in all this and where 
lies the rhetoric"...Looking at democratic experiments in other 
countries, it is interesting to note that in those countries of 
the Western world, political democracies have been established 
long before women were granted political rights. And even when 
the basis of a political process has been laid, a selected few 
had the right to be part of it. But it is also interesting to 
note that studies have shown that only when women had fully 
attained their rights as citizens, was the democratic process 
complete. Both had progressed in tandem...This brings us to the 
crux of the whole matter. Throughout the whole debate in the Arab 
world, the dominant argument was that numbers matter the most the 
higher the number of women in politics, the better. But numbers 
alone do not mean anything. What really needs to be studied is 
whether the authority given is in proportion to that enjoyed by 
men. The key point here is of rights on equal basis as citizens, 
whether men or women. In other words, equal rights and 
obligations under the law as citizens of a nation. The real 
question is of the role played by women in shaping, formulating 
and influencing public policy.  Perhaps the most challenging task 
for women is not whether they are represented under the domes of 
parliaments, or how many are present within the walls of 
assemblies. One of the most important issues facing women in the 
Arab world today is the lack of education, more so than the lack 
of political rights...The issue should not of course be seen as 
an either or dilemma. Neither should it be viewed as means of 
undermining women who have or are still at the helm of politics. 
At the same time, women in the Arab world do not need to limit 
themselves to producing Schumachers and Dettoris." 
SISON