Gender Inequality In Libya

Since childhood, I have constantly been told to keep my voice low. Raising your voice in Libya as a girl can lead to punishment, or at least your femininity would be questioned. But that instruction was just the beginning. I received more instructions as I grew older, ranging from being made to clean and cook to being told to accept whatever decisions male family members make because, as women, we are too emotional to make decisions. The better a girl is at following these instructions, I was led to believe, the higher her chances of getting married, which is the ultimate goal a girl can have.

In all reading materials at school, there were pictures of girls only doing house chores while boys were playing or studying, emphasizing the idea that women were born only to do domestic work. As Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, and physician, wrote in her book Women and Sex, "I recall that the initial book that facilitated my learning to read contained an image of a female donning a kitchen towel, with the inscription ‘Suad cooking,’ juxtaposed with an image of a male seated at a desk, with the accompanying text ‘Imad writing.’”

“In our society, when a girl is born, she is often expected to serve her male siblings by doing all the house chores,” Sara, a Libyan woman who asked me not to mention her last name, told me. “As she grows older, she has no say in her future, and the males in her life decide what she studies and what work she does, if they allow her to [work].” Women are expected to continue doing housework for the rest of their life, Sara added, which “leaves women with little opportunity to pursue their own goals and aspirations. Women here lack options; they have one path to follow."

Beyond being demeaning and limiting, the fact that women are seen as objects in this society leads to violence against women. Far too many Libyan women have been killed by their husbands, brothers, or fathers, most of which are cases of “honor crimes” or killing women after their honor has been questioned or attacked and, by extension, has damaged the reputation of her family. For example, in less than a week in July 2022, seven women were killed in seven different locations across the country. What’s more, far too few perpetrators of this kind of violence are punished.

Given this pervasive misogyny, some people might wonder why Libyan women aren’t fighting back. The short answer is that many Libyan women have made efforts to fight for women's rights. However, they are often accused of promoting moral decay in the community and, as a result, have been punished or even killed.

What’s more, they do so amid the context of Libya collapsing due to wars that have killed thousands of people, numerous corruption scandals, and widespread poverty and violence. From a Middle Eastern male perspective, it seems that women are the only thing men still have control over and the only thing that makes them feel powerful in a world where everything else is collapsing. Women who have spoken out, therefore, have been scapegoated as the cause of the country's current situation. In 2013, amid armed conflicts, the Grand Mufti even called for strict gender segregation everywhere; restricting women's movements was seen as a way of addressing major structural issues in the country. The government’s restriction of women has only continued — as recently as this May, the government implemented a decision to regulate the travel of women who are alone.

In a world plagued by oppressive social norms, pervasive violence, and unjust laws, the plight of women all over the world demands our unwavering attention. Behind the veil of silence, countless lives are shattered, dreams are extinguished, and potential is lost. It is a stark reminder that the fight for women's rights is not an isolated battle; it is a reflection of our shared humanity and a call to dismantle the barriers that hinder progress. For in their struggle lies the essence of our collective liberation, and in our support lies the power to reshape a more just and compassionate world. We must recognize that women gaining their rights is not a threat to Libyan society but a beacon of hope for a brighter future. By embracing the potential and capabilities of women, we can ignite a transformative change that will uplift the entire community and foster genuine progress.