Access To Justice
Mr. Zulfiqar added that “the traditionally disadvan- taged groups that we are used to advocating for (such as women and youth) were not necessarily the primary victims of unjust state policies under those rulers. Those who faced significant oppres- sion from state authorities were generally the ‘majority’ group that posed the greatest threat to the state due to the societal power they wielded. Hence, these same groups are going to be advo- cating for access to the rights that they were de- nied during these authoritarian regimes. These will include ideas of religious freedom, but they may also include space for more conservative interpre- tations of Islamic law.” According to Mr. Zulfiqar, “The challenge will be how to sat- isfy the majority’s needs for ‘jus- tice’ regarding their rights while also preserving the rights of the most vulnerable members of so- ciety.”
that “[t]hese post-Arab Spring states are going to have to contend with marginalized majorities that are now constituents wishing to see their values represented within the state. At times this may infringe on the rights of others. However, they will view the past years under dictatorial rule as consistent infringement of their rights and values. Although we traditionally view access to justice through a framework of liberal rights, in the post- Arab Spring the question will be how to accom- modate conservative justice-seekers and adapt our definitions of justice to different philosophical frameworks.”
Mr. Zulfiqar also raised the ques- tion of what form Islamic Law will play in post-Arab Spring countries as a constitutional or other matter (focusing on Article 2 of certain Is- lamic constitutions which proclaim the preeminence of Islamic law within the nation), referencing different authorities and schools of interpretations; and he also observed that popu- lar understandings of faith may differ from schol- arly interpretations. “Different states have Article 2 within their constitutions giving Islamic law a pow- erful role in the legal system. At times it is sym- bolic like in Tunisia, while at other times it has the force of a ‘veto’ on laws that might be passed. In an environment where you have conservative ma- jorities that have felt marginalized and are now able to take advantage of constituency politics, Article 2 may end up having more reach than it did in previ- ous authoritarian regimes because it serves as a vehicle for securing conservative values that were suppressed before.”
With respect to “constituency politics,” he added
The problem of implementation of progressive legislation was a re- current theme of the conference, as all panelists agreed that legal change, by itself, is not the same as cultural, social or behavioral change.
Panelist Yasmeen Hassan discussed issues relat- ing to access to justice in Yemen and Saudi Arabia where the orga- nization Equality Now is currently involved in campaigns to ban child marriage and overturn the system of male guardianship over wom- en. Yemen and Saudi Arabia are among a handful of countries that do not prescribe a minimum age of marriage, allowing male guard- ians to marry a girl off at any age, resulting in 10-year-old girls being
married to middle-aged men and unable to get out of these marriages. Saudi Arabia subscribes to a system of permanent male guardianship over women, which has an impact on women in terms of marriage, divorce, freedom of movement, edu- cation, health, employment and political participa- tion. Conservative Islam has been used to deny women and girls rights in both countries, resulting in the Shariah committee in Yemen’s parliament in the last year rejecting a draft law establishing a minimum age of marriage.
Ms. Hassan also spoke about the impact of the revolutions in the region and pointed out that women’s rights are in danger of being further mar- ginalized. She gave the example of Egypt where women were an integral part of the revolution, but have already been excluded from the constitutional
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 2 » December 2011
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