Arab Spring Democracy: A Win for Women?

Nossaman Associate Amber Maltbie is quoted in The Jerusalem Post article "Arab Spring Democracy: A Win for Women?" about women in politics since the Arab Spring.

Ms. Maltbie, who was a polling station adviser at the Kosovo parliamentary elections for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, says "Tunisia and Egypt have held elections, and the fear, particularly in Egypt, is that women have been left out." 

She continued: "The Arab Spring has prompted new elections in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It appears cosmetic because the bodies are consultative in nature." 

The article goes on to discuss women in parliament and Ms. Maltibe notes that "Quotas are really important. Empirical data show that the threshold for policy changes in a manner that is meaningful for women is 30%."