Springing into Action: A Consideration of Policies Encouraging Female Political Participation in Tunisia and Egypt

Authors

  • Laura Oviatt Stateler Boston College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6017/eurj.v14i1.10331

Abstract

What causes women to have higher political participation? There are several competing arguments as to why some countries experience higher female political participation than others. These include the introduction of gender quotas, a country’s cultural norms, and widespread social/political movements within a country. In a case study comparing Egypt and Tunisia leading before and after the Arab Spring, Tunisia has repeatedly reported higher levels of female political participation. Both these countries participated in the Arab Spring, have similar societal perception of females bound to their traditional roles, and report similar socioeconomic statistics regarding female literacy rates and female employment-to-population rates. Tunisia, however, was successful in increasing female political participation after the implementation of a gender quota under a new government after the Arab Spring. This differs from Egypt, where the post-Arab Spring government, the Muslim Brotherhood, revoked the country’s gender quota and experienced a decrease in female political participation.

Author Biography

Laura Oviatt Stateler, Boston College

Laura Stateler will graduate from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences in 2018 with degrees in Philosophy and International Studies with a concentration in Political Science. At Boston College, Laura has been a Coordinator for the Emerging Leader Program, an undergraduate research fellow, a tour guide, and a volunteer at Perkins School for the Blind. She also spent a semester in Thessaloniki, Greece and a summer abroad in South Africa. Her interests include traveling, spending time in nature, and bragging about her home state of Colorado.

Published

2018-05-01

How to Cite

Stateler, L. O. (2018). Springing into Action: A Consideration of Policies Encouraging Female Political Participation in Tunisia and Egypt. Elements, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.6017/eurj.v14i1.10331

Issue

Section

Articles