Gender and trade

Child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) threaten the well-being of millions of girls around the world. Both have existed for generations, as manifestations of gender inequality, and have been propagated by discriminatory norms that devalue girls. In many countries where both child marriage and FGM are common, girls most at risk for each practice tend to share certain characteristics, such as low levels of education, rural residence, and living in poorer households. Yet, there are distinct differences in what drives each practice, and many communities in which one may be common, will not practice the other. This report seeks to identify the extent to which child marriage and FGM co-exist. The intersection of these two practices – that is, the share of women who underwent FGM and were married in childhood – is reviewed over time, to determine whether girls’ likelihood of experiencing both practices has changed across generations. Lastly, the analysis identifies the characteristics that most commonly distinguish the girls who experience one practice from those who experience both.

The present research paper falls within the context of the ANND initiative to include in its strategic plan the necessary steps to empower its members in Arab countries in the field of including persons with disabilities in their initiatives demanding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the economic and social levels. Thus, this paper assesses the civil society organizations' advocacy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the 2030 sustainable development framework in each of the following countries: Jordan, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. ANND is conducting this research in the context of its partnership with the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and in cooperation with the Arab Forum on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This paper was first published as part of the Arab NGO Network's Arab Monitor report on the right to health. This paper showed that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequality in income and health services among the population in Arab countries, entrenching the spiral of inequality, especially due to the close interrelation between health and socio-economic status. The pandemic has exposed structural contradictions in various aspects of economic and humanitarian development, in addition to the structural flaws and deficiencies that were prevalent in health and social protection systems before the outbreak of the pandemic. All of this has led to a decline in health parity and to widening marginalization and polarization in access to quality health care.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research in cooperation with the Arab NGO Network for Development prepared the paper “Devastating of the Right to Health during the Syrian Conflict” as part of the Arab Watch Report on Economic and Social Rights 2023 on the Right to Health. It aims to assess the right to health during the conflict in Syria. The paper uses the political economy approach to deepen the understanding of power relations in conflicts through analyzing the context of war, mapping the key actors, analyzing the policies and interventions, and assesses the impact of different factors on populations’ capabilities and opportunities. This paper reads public health as a basic human right and as an aspect of human capability within the political, social, and economic context in the time of armed conflict in Syria. The paper analyzed the impact of conflict dynamics on the right to health through the assessment of health outcomes, impact on the health system, and health related policies in the time of conflict.