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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


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                       Excerpt from Press Release.
  The written statement was not available in a scannable language at the
                time of presentation in the conference.
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   AMAL MAHMOUD FAYED, Chairperson of the Arab Organization for Human
Rights:  There is a double inequity in Arab women's rights.  They are
victims of various forms of backwardness, discrimination and inequality
before the law, as well as unequal opportunities.  In some Arab countries,
there are debates on how free women are to demand certain basic rights,
such as the right to vote.  There is also discussion of keeping women in
the home.  There is a long list of violations of Arab women's rights, in
contradiction of Islamic law.  Women face obstacles in the form of norms
and traditions, which make legal progress only theoretical and also lead to
acts of violence.  The situation is beyond endurance in certain parts of
the Arab world.  There is a need to confront fundamentalist efforts to
reinterpret the role of women in society.  However important the role of
Governments, it is no substitute for progressive efforts at the non-
governmental level.  We appeal to the Arab Governments to ratify the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
and to ensure that their legislation on women is in line with the
provisions of the Convention.