Abstract
This chapter centers women’s issues to situate post-revolutionary Libya as emblematic of a “decolonization” period rather than as representing the aftermath of a conventional civil war, because the previous politicized regime operated according to a zero-sum dynamic. The chapter uses a critical analysis that contextualizes gendered realities in Libya prior to, during, and after Gaddafi’s governance, and contends with the particularities of Libyan colonization and independence, forces that directly shaped the nation’s subsequent political trajectory: nearly a century of totalitarian, personalized rule. Hence, the challenges that face contemporary Libyan women directly reflect the accumulated specificities of personalized control, ideology, and historical inheritance that not only isolated Libya, but that differentiate it and Gaddafi from other totalitarian nations and leaders.
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- 1.
Numerous transliterations of the Libyan leader’s surname exist; I defer to its most common English usage. Selection of the most accurate terminology by which to designate Gaddafi’s national role proves fraught, with unofficial nicknames and titles almost as numerous as potential transliterations for his name. To avoid repetition, I alternatively identify Gaddafi as Libya’s Leader, the Colonel, or simply, its Guide.
- 2.
By no means do I suggest that gendered forms of oppression are inexistent or of marginal importance. Rather, the present chapter reconstructs women’s rights in practice prior to 2011 through the most illuminating framework: the historical specificities of Libya’s modern foundation and, in turn, the impact such inheritance had on regime orientation and authoritarian power dynamics under Gaddafi. I utilize such an analytical approach to provide future researchers with a more accurate portrait of gender’s complexity in the aftermath of revolution.
- 3.
The Nasserist model that Libya’s leader emulated before an early and receptive domestic audience advanced a similar logic: the need to rectify female citizens’ inferior social status. However, one must guard against the temptation to impose an anachronistic interpretation onto the often lofty rhetoric of such leaders. State feminism in the era of Arab nationalism, in particular, often grounded the impetus for women’s rights firmly within a patriarchal model of the nuclear, nationalist family. Advocates of women’s advancement, more often than not, championed the cultural primacy of motherhood in a child’s early pedagogical development and, by extension, argued on such grounds for equal access to education. Whether articulated according to Qur’anic or constitutional ideals, such discourses ultimately aimed at the transference of patriarchal authority, not its eradication; the transition was to be from patriarchal fatherly guardianship to the paternalistic governance of a modern nation-state bureaucracy.
- 4.
“Jamhiriyya” is derived from “jumhur” (people) and refers to Gaddafi’s vision of “rule by the people”, meaning “rule without state institutions”. This is opposed to “jumhuriyya” (republic) which is based on state institutions.
- 5.
For a detailed inquiry—albeit sensationalistic in tone—into the inner workings of Gaddafi’s female guard, see Cojean, A. 2014. Gaddafi’s Harem. New York: Grove Press.
- 6.
BBC news. 2011. What Now For Colonel Gaddafi’s Green Book? Available from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13235981. [Accessed: July 12, 2014].
- 7.
Al-Gaddafi, M. 1975. The Green Book. Available from: http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb.htm. [Accessed: July 19, 2014].
- 8.
Al-Gaddafi, M. 1975. The Green Book. Volume Three. The Social Basis of the Third Universal Theory. Available from: http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb3.htm. [Accessed: July 19, 2014].
- 9.
Al-Gaddafi, M. 1975. The Green Book, Volume Three. The Social Basis of the Third Universal Theory. Available from: http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb3.htm#WOMAN. [Accessed: July 19, 2014].
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
Ibid.
- 12.
Ibid.
- 13.
Ibid.
- 14.
Ibid.
- 15.
Ibid.
- 16.
Ibid.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Al-Jazeera. 2011. “Profile: Muammar Gaddafi.” Available from: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2011/02/201122117565923629.html. [Accessed: July 12, 2014].
- 19.
Kelleher, K. 2010. “Gaddafi’s Girl for Hire.” In Jezebel. Available from: http://jezebel.com/5625285/gaddafis-girl-for-hire. [Accessed: July 19, 2014].
- 20.
O’keefe, E. 2011. “When Condoleeza Rice Met Moammar Gaddafi.” In Washington Post. Available from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/when-condoleezza-rice-met-moammar-gaddafi/2011/10/25/gIQAtdFsGM_blog.html. [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
- 21.
Human Rights Watch. 2006. “Libya: June 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison.” Available from: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/27/libya-June-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison. [Accessed: 9 August 2014].
- 22.
Franklin, S. 2011. “Abu Salim: Walls that Talk.” In The Guardian. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/30/mass-grave-libya-prison-abu-salim. [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
- 23.
Elliot, S. 2013. “The Widows of Abu Salim Prison.” In Reportage Getty. Available from: http://www.reportagebygettyimages.com/features/the-widows-of-abu-salim-prison/. [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
- 24.
Vital Voices. (Undated). “Interview with Salwa Bughaighis.” Available from: http://www.vitalvoices.org/node/2680. [Accessed: August 15, 2014].
- 25.
Stephen, C. et al. (2011) Libyan Women: It’s our Revolution too. Guardian. Available from:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/16/libyan-women-our-revolution-too. [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
- 26.
Jawad, R. 2014. “Libya: Gaddafi Rape Victims to be Compensated.” BBC. Available from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26270890. [Accessed: July 20, 2014].
- 27.
Bouckaert, P. 2014. “HRW’s Tribute to Salwa Bughaighis.” In Human Rights Watch. Available from:http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/26/libya-tribute-salwa-bughaighis. [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
- 28.
Abdul Latif, R. 2014. Libya: Status of Women Survey 2013. Available from: http://www.ifes.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Survey/2013/Libya%20Status%20of%20Women%20Survey%20Report_final2.pdf. [Accessed: August 9, 2014].
- 29.
Stephen, C. et al. 2011. “Libyan Women: It’s our Revolution too.” In Guardian. Available from:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/16/libyan-women-our-revolution-too [Accessed: August 6, 2014].
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Rogers, A. (2016). Revolutionary Nuns or Totalitarian Pawns: Evaluating Libyan State Feminism After Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi. In: Sadiqi, F. (eds) Women’s Movements in Post-“Arab Spring” North Africa. Comparative Feminist Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50675-7_12
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