No Arab Spring for Libyan women

In its issue of today, L’Orient Le Jour newspaper brought to light the worsening situation of Libyan women following the February 17, 2011 protests against the late Qaddafi regime. The newspaper recalled a directive issued last February 16th by the military governor of the North Eastern district, Abdel Razak Nazuri, banning the travel of Libyan women under 60 years without ‘mahram’ (a male relative or close family member to act as "guardian"). The decision was modified under the pressure of broad criticisms, particularly among women, to become, ‘the ban of women – without mahram- between 18 years and 45 years of age’. Nazuri linked his decision to public interest, as it helped ease off undesirable consequences of the travel of Libyan women, as some were found out to have connections with foreign intelligence services. Commenting on the subject, Hanan Salah, a Human Rights Watch researcher, explained that the above decision is the first of its kind in the country. Another political observer, and head of the Study and Research Center for the Arab and Mediterranean World (CERMAM), Hasana Obeidi, described the decision as a blow to Libyan women. Such acts, she said, constitute a flagrant violation of human rights and international treaties on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women which Libya is a signatory. Obeidi recounted how Libyan women are systematically suppressed to stop demanding their rights, bringing to mind the killing in 2014 of the lawyer and activist, Salwa Boguez, and the 2016 detention of activist Jaber Zeinnidin, after a lecture on women’s rights. (L’Orient Le Jour, March 3, 2017)