Table 1 examines five different states in terms of
external factors, political participation rates of
women, and percentage of female labor force. By
viewing the external factors in relation to women’s
participation rates in politics a clear parallel is illus-
trated with foreign influence. The impact of in-
creased foreign aid money granted on a conditional
basis and resistance to foreign influence plays a
major role in creating a kind of representative
democracy. Surprisingly, the strongest female labor
force rates (Lebanon and Kuwait) are associated
with the lowest rates in political participation and
the least involvement with outside forces either
through conditional aid or resistance participation.
Women’s political participation in the Arab
world can be seen to run parallel to a strong foreign
influence either in a direct (Jordan and Morocco)
or indirect (Syria) way. Interestingly, the direct
influence of the United States on both Jordan and
Morocco has yielded positive outcomes as both
countries have enacted a quota system to overcome
the social obstacles that face women entering polit-
ical positions and to further their democratic re-
form processes. United States suggestions to Jordan
are closely linked with hundreds of millions of dol-
lars in development and military aid. The Moroccan
move toward democracy and women’s involve-
ment in political positions is similarly based on
external forces, namely, foreign aid from the United
States, which quadrupled from 1999 to 2000, the
fall of the Berlin wall, the collapse of dictatorships,
Western calls for democracy and human rights, and
the aftershocks of 11 September 2001.
The Jordanian and Moroccan states, which are
dependent on foreign aid, have had to implement
certain measures to allow women’s entry into par-
liament. Although women have campaigned in
both countries success has been marginal due to the
patriarchy and religiosity of society. The quota sys-
tem provided a solution. By issuing royal decrees
both Jordan and Morocco pleased the foreign
providers of aid and broke through cultural barri-
ers which inhibited women’s entry into parliament.
The quota system in Jordan ensures women 6 out
of 110 seats in parliament to women, the quota in
Morocco ensures 30 out of 300. The quota system
provokes impassioned support and fervent opposi-
tion. A supportive argument maintains that over
the years qualified women have been discriminated
against solely on gender grounds. The quota system
therefore is seen not as a favor to women but as an
essential move toward creating a truly representa-
tive government. An oppositional argument de-
clares that the quota system blatantly discriminates88 democracy ideologies
against men and, further, doubts that women have
the capacity to fulfill the required duties in the for-
mal political sphere.
Unlike the situation in Jordan and Morocco,
Syrian women’s involvement in politics can be
traced back to the need to resist the process of
Turkification which posed a genuine threat to the
Arab sense of identity. This trend continued in
1919 when Syrian women were politically active in
demonstrating against the French occupation and
when in 1935 they participated in the Arab Women’s
Conference in Cairo in resistance to the Zionist
infiltration. Syrian women received the right to vote
in the same year as a result of demonstrating par-
ticipatory approaches against threatening external
forces. Lebanese and Kuwaiti women have had little
experience in terms of political participation against
external forces and therefore have low to non-exis-
tent rates of political participation. Furthermore,
the Lebanese and Kuwaiti regimes are rarely candi-
dates for Western pressure.
Arab politics, including women’s movements, are
shaped by and large as a response to external pres-
sure. The success of democracy in the Arab world is
contingent upon a kind of assertive linkage between
foreign aid and demands for genuine democratic
reform. Given the centrality of the external factor in
Arab politics, internal variables such as kinship,
tribal and religious groups, and socioeconomic fac-
tors should not be seen as a major stumbling block
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