Women

1
Womens Political Participation in Oman

• Roadblocks to Progress

Rafiah Al-Talei Reagan-Fascell Democracy
Fellow National Endowment for Democracy December
13, 2006
Please note that the views expressed in this
presentation represent the opinions and analysis
of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect
those of the National Endowment for Democracy
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Outline of Presentation

• I. Introduction
• II. Women and Elections Majlis al-Shura
• III. Women and Political Appointments Majlis
  al-Dawla and Ministries
• IV. Women and NGOs
• V. Recommendations

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Maps of the Sultanate of Oman
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I. Introduction General Facts

• Oman is a Sultanate
• Population 3 million (577,000 non-nationals)
• 49.5 of the population is female
• Literacy Male 82.0 Female 65.4
• GDP Per Capita (PPP) 13,100
• 75 of Omanis are Ibadi Muslims
• Freedom House Rating, 2005 Not Free
• Universal Suffrage since 2003 for adults over 21
  (previously had 25 suffrage, by selection)
• Political parties are illegal

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State Institutions

• Three Branches of Government Executive,
  Legislative, Judiciary
• Executive Sultan, Prime Minister (an office held
  by the Sultan), Council of Ministers
• Legislative Consultative Council (Majlis
  as-Shura) and Council of State (Majlis as-Dawla)
• Judiciary Sharia courts and regular courts

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The Sultan

• As head of state, the Sultan
• serves as President of Council of Ministers
• appoints dismisses ministers, governors, judges
• issues ratifies laws, declares war and peace
• is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
• is the governor of Omans central bank
• is inviolable. His orders must be obeyed
  (Article 41)
• has served as prime minister since 1972

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Sultan Qaboos (in power since July 23, 1970)
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The Legislature

• Council of State (Majlis al-Dawla) an appointed
  body of 58 members, picked by the Sultan,
  established in 1997
• Consultative Council (Majlis as-Shura) an
  elected body of 83 members, established in 1991
• Both bodies advise the Sultan on all matters of
  state

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Women

• Women have been able to run in Majlis as-Shura
  since 1994
• 2004 Shura elections 15 of 509 candidates were
  women
• 2004 2.4 of Shura members were women
• No. of women candidates has decreased from 27
  (1997) to 21 (2000) to 15 (2003)
• 9 of 58 (15.5) members of Majlis al-Dawla are
  women
• Women need a male relative to obtain a passport
  initially
• Men, but not women, are eligible to get state
  land.
• Women married to non-Omanis cannot confer
  citizenship to their children
• 20 of women participate in work force
• Women have unequal access to state universities

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II. Women and Majlis as-Shura Elections

• A. Background
• B. Obstacles for Candidates
• C. Obstacles for Voters
• D. Obstacles Within the Majlis al-Dawla

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1994 First Women Elected in Oman
Shukoor al-Ghammari(Now a member of Majlis
al-Dawla)
Taiba al-Mawali(Imprisoned Sep. 2005 Feb. 2006)
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2001Present Two New Women Elected
Lujaina Darwish
Rahaila al-Riyami
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Background on Majlis as-Shura

• Advisory body with limited powers to propose
  legislation
• Reviews economic social legislation prepared by
  ministries. Also examines drafts proposed by
  Sultan
• Does not express its views on defence, foreign
  policy or any other sensitive topic
• May call ministers for questioning is not
  permitted to respond to their answers
• Has 83 members elected by universal suffrage for
  4-year renewable terms
• Its president is appointed its 2 vice presidents
  are elected by the 83 members

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Women as Candidates Social and Cultural
Obstacles

• Tribalism (male domination)
• Religion
• Economic dependence
• Lack of awareness and confidence
• Lack of public exposure political knowledge
• Women men are encouraged to occupy separate
  spaces in both public private life
• Women are expected to uphold family honor
  Reputation of families is very important

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Al-Sablah (a public place where men gather)
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Mosque in Oman
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Women as Candidates Political and Legal
Obstacles

• Limited freedoms of expression, e.g. criticism of
  government
• Limitations on campaigning (especially in rural
  areas) e.g. travel
• Limited freedom of association
• All apply to men, but affect women candidates more

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Rural Oman Al-Sharqiya
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Obstacles to Women as Voters
2003 elections 95,000 women registered to vote
out of 262,000 total registrations (36.3)Total
voter turnout 75

• Sociocultural obstacles include
• - lack of education
• - lack of awareness
• - family relations
• - tribalism
• - religion
• - economic dependence
• Media insufficiently covers elections

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A woman voting
A Bedouin woman
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Obstacles Within the Majlis

• Little power to criticize
• No power to rebut ministers
• No power to propose legislation
• No financial support except small salary
• No trust from the people that the elected member
  can change
• Most members behave as part of the government.
  This discourages voting and new candidates from
  running

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III. Women Political Appointments Majlis
al-Dawla and Ministries

• Background
• Political obstacles criteria for selection

Majlis al-Dawla
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Majlis al-Dawla

• Majlis al-Dawla (Council of State) established in
  1997
• Presents proposals and prepares studies that help
  in executing development plans
• Charged with finding solutions to financial,
  social, economic problems
• Reviews draft laws proposed by government,
  presents opinions to Sultan and ministers in
  cooperation with the Consultative Council

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Ministers

• 4 of the 50 ministers are women (tourism, higher
  education, social development, plus 1 without a
  portfolio)
• 13 of high administrative positions within
  government are women
• 20 of all government employees are women

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The Four Women Ministers of Oman
Rajiha Abdel Amir Tourism
Rawiya al-Busaidi Higher Education
Sharifa al-Yahyai Social Development
Aisha as-Siyabi Crafts
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Criteria for Political Appointments

• Official Criteria
• Appointee has provided great services for the
  state
• Has long experience in the field of interest
• Has served as a high executive in government
• As perceived by the people
• Appointee is not politically oriented
• Was potential opponent, now co-opted into silence
  
• Appointment maintains a tribal balance
• Appointees never know in advance that they are
  being considered for appointment. Once appointed,
  they cannot refuse the honor

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The newly appointed minister swears loyalty to
the Sultan and to Oman
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IV. Women and NGOs

• The Omani Womens Association (OWA) has 45
  branches across the country
• 3,000 members belong to the OWA
• There are no specialized Womens NGOs
• Many women work in charity associations and
  associations for the disabled
• One womens NGO, Women in Focus, failed deemed
  illegal

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Women and NGOs Political Obstacles

• NGOs dealing with politics or human rights are
  not allowed
• Exisiting NGOs may not engage in political
  activity
• All or most activities need an official approval
  from the ministry of social development
• Transparency in NGO-related laws is absent
• All NGOs need official approval to work with, or
  receive funding from, non-Omani organizations

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Typical Activities in Women NGOs
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Women and NGOs Social Obstacles

• People are not encouraged to work in
  NGOsconsidered useless, ineffective
• No considerations for familial duties and
  constraints (e.g. NGOs dont provide child care)
• Women in families arent encouraged to
  participate in social work voluntarily,
  especially if they will be working with men
• Government employees tend not to risk defying
  government officials

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V. Recommendations
Majlis as-Shura

• Create independent body to oversee elections
• Within this body, have several committees
• -one to provide education on electoral process
• -one to address women voters in particular
• Create government program to educate women in
  particular regarding political rights and
  electoral process
• Involve womens NGOs from the start to help
  design and implement voter and civic education
  campaigns
• Provide skills training and consultation for
  women candidates
• Encourage media to start covering elections early
  and in-depth
• Should there be women quotas?

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Recommendations
Majlis al-Dawla and Ministers

• Womens issues should be a priority (for 10 years
  no action has been taken on Omani Women Strategy)
• Collaborate with women NGOs and qualified
  individuals to develop a strategy for how best to
  effect change
• Cooperate with Majlis as-Shura to emphasize
  womens rights and issues

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NGOs and Civil Society
Recommendations

• More political liberalization is necessary to
  permit more discussion and practice of activism
• Freedom of association
• Freedom of expression to discuss
  political/cultural/other issues
• Willingness from the government to allow people
  to be active citizens
• Freedom to cooperate with foreign NGOs
• Give NGOs autonomy, so they can freely choose to
  work with or criticize/challenge the government
  
• Allow NGOs and individuals to lobby for their
  interests
• NGOs should write independent assessments, to
  complement national annual reviews, for certain
  international treaties

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Womens Education
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General Recommendations

• Create independent high council for womens
  affairs
• Raise awareness about existing rights, as well as
  international treaties, such as CEDAW (ratified
  by Oman) that relate to women
• Initiate Oman-specific gender-sensitive programs
  to overcome male-dominated system
• Shura and Dawla should have more independence to
  propose legislation
• Reduce constraints on freedoms of association
  expression
• Make sure all awareness programs reach out to
  Omanis who live in rural areas, with less access
  to information

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What International Community Can Do

• Help form new institutions to focus on womens
  affairs
• Strengthen existing institutions dealing with
  womens affairs
• Assist with gender analysis of legal framework on
  elections to provide advice identify indirect
  discrimination
• Support civic-education campaigns that include
  information about what democracy and democratic
  values are
• Encourage the exchange of information and best
  practices to advance womens participation in
  elections
• Monitor Omani governments compliance with
  standards and treaties regarding electoral and
  womens rights, using media to highlight the
  application of these norms
• Galvanize support among international NGOs
  multilateral institutions (e.g. womens groups
  and human rights organizations) to pressure Oman
  to liberalize

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Womens Political Participation in Oman

• Roadblocks to Progress

Rafiah Al-Talei Reagan-Fascell Democracy
Fellow National Endowment for Democracy December
13, 2006