Libyan women deserve our support. Let’s not let them down.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, we should collectively rededicate ourselves to the principles and vision laid out in UNSCR 1325, the seminal UN Security Council resolution, adopted almost 23 years ago, that urges the increased representation of women at all decision-making levels for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.

There is no doubt Libyan women continue to face numerous challenges. This was made clear to me when I returned to Libya in December 2021 as the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General.

I decided to take a full tour of the country meeting with a diverse array of constituencies and national figures to review the status of the peace process.

Several leaders, who can only be characterised as “political fossils” or “dinosaurs”, took the opportunity to chide me for including women in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, the 75-member body first convened by the UN political mission in the fall of 2020.

‘Real’ decision makers

My male interlocutors accused me of foisting “western values” on Libyans, arguing it would have been preferable to convene only men as they are the “real decision makers.” Not surprisingly, I adamantly pushed back, noting that the United Nations was promoting universal values.

I recognised the valuable contributions made by Libyan women across the spectrum on issues facing Libya during its painful and sometimes violent transition since the upheaval of 2011 that removed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi from power.

Unfortunately, my interlocutors’ views remain all too common in Libya — a patriarchal society where women seeking to engage in political life must tackle many barriers and suffer from an absence of necessary support systems.

There was a brief glimmer of hope in March 2021 with the landmark appointments of several women to sovereign positions, namely the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, in the Tripoli-based government and further applause when a record number of women (758 out of a total of 5,000) put themselves forward as candidates for the parliamentary and presidential elections.

However, those elections were indefinitely postponed, dashing the hopes of the 2.8 million Libyans who had registered to vote, including the 44% of women who had newly registered.

Unfortunate reality

The unfortunate reality is that Libya’s domestic legislation continues to fail half of its population, namely women. For instance, the parliamentary electoral law adopted by the Libyan House of Representatives in 2021 guarantees women a paltry 32 out of 200 seats in the legislature, enshrining the same quota for women as in the 2012 and 2014 elections.

It is also a sad fact that women politicians and activists have been the tragic targets of assassinations: human rights advocate Salwa Bughaghis (June 2014) in Benghazi; Parliament member Fariha Barkawi (July 2014) in Derna; lawyer and activist Hanan Al-Barassi (November 2020) in Benghazi.

Meanwhile, parliament member Seham Serghewa was violently abducted from her home in Benghazi in July 2019 with no information provided on her welfare or whereabouts.