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The Corona pandemic has disrupted all plans and many of the hard-earned gains over the past two decades, with women and girls facing serious challenges including high poverty rates, increased care burdens, exposure increased violence and child marriage is also expected to increase. .
A report released by UN Women found that the Corona outbreak and the stone that accompanied it led to high rates of violence against women in the Arab region.
The UN Women Regional Office in the Arab States conducted an online survey in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen, to which more than 16,000 people both genders participated, focusing on their roles, attitudes and practices related to violence against women during the epidemic and quarantine.
According to the study, half of the study participants were abused by their husbands during the epidemic, and less than 40% of them sought help or reported the crime, and one in three participants (men and women) believed that women had to endure violence during the pandemic to maintain cohesion.
A report by the World Health Organization said the region is ranked second in the world in terms of the prevalence of violence against women (37%), and that there is an increase in cases of violence against women. violence during the pandemic 50-60% based on distress calls made by women through hotlines for women’s organizations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said women and girls should be safer in their homes, adding: “We know no-exit orders and quarantine are needed to curb COVID -19. But in these circumstances, women find themselves locked into abusive partners. “.
He urged all governments to make prevention and compensation for violence against women a central part of national response plans, and more than 140 governments have supported the call.
Numerous studies and opinion polls have also confirmed that the Corona outbreak in Arab societies has led to an increase in domestic violence, increased divorce rates, verbal abuse and on social media.
Fragility of laws
For her part, Bushra Al-Obaidi, lawyer and member of the women’s advisory group for the representative of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Iraq, said that the restrictions on freedom of movement and work resulting from the Corona virus affect the people’s behavior.
In statements to the Jerusalem Post, she explained: “Due to the psychological and economic pressures that accompanied the outbreak and the affected family members, the usual situations that were overcome before the coronavirus pandemic are causing violence among members. of the family.”
She noted that this anger usually has greater consequences for the weaker party, namely women and children. Thus, women and children have become a target for a man to express his anger.
Al-Obaidi said: “The rise in violence against women has revealed the fragility of laws and procedures, and the weak political will to address the problem of domestic violence and violence against women.” Unfortunately, the laws encourage violence, especially by men against women.
While Amani El Tawil, lawyer and director of the women’s program at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said the epidemic is putting additional pressure on families in Egypt, leading to an increase in the violence against women.
Male culture
She explained that all family members have been under tremendous pressure, mainly from being locked together in one place for long periods of time, in addition to the pressure resulting from turning education into learning. online, especially for children who need social activities.
She said this leads to constant friction between family members, which increases the burden on women. This puts them in a disturbed psychological state, which affects the woman’s relationship with her partners.
For her part, Diana Makled, eminent Lebanese writer and journalist, attributed this phenomenon to the social aspect and male culture, as well as to the status of men in a society that is not equal to that of women.
She said: “The legal system marginalizes women and puts them at a lower level in terms of rights. In Lebanon, we have laws on religious and sectarian status, in addition to personal status laws, according to which the marginal status of women is enshrined. “She said Lebanon, like many Arab countries, still allows underage marriage and polygamy for certain sects.
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