The recent announcement by Libya’s acting interior minister, Emad Trabelsi, regarding the imposition of restrictive ‘morality’ measures targeting women, is a significant affront to human rights.
Development Diaries reports that the proposal includes deploying ‘morality police’ to monitor social interactions, enforcing compulsory hijab for women and schoolgirls, and requiring male guardian approval for women to travel abroad.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the restrictions on clothing, social interactions, and travel would flagrantly violate the rights of Libyan women and girls.
Unfortunately, the prime minister and other government officials have remained remarkably silent on the proposals.
Trabelsi’s statement that ‘there is no space for personal freedom in Libya’ starkly shows the government’s intent to control women’s lives in the name of morality, with little regard for their fundamental rights.
The enforcement of compulsory hijab and restrictions on women’s clothing and social interactions, if implemented, would severely curtail women’s right to privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement.
Forcing women to wear specific attire and restricting how they interact with men in public discriminates against women and also infringes upon their autonomy and dignity.
Libya’s interim constitution and its commitments under international human rights treaties prohibit such forms of discrimination.
Particularly concerning is the proposed requirement for male guardianship over women’s travel. This restriction would directly violate the rights of women to move freely for education, work, or personal reasons, effectively turning adult women into legal minors dependent on male permission.
Such measures align Libya with countries like Saudi Arabia, which have historically enforced strict male guardianship laws, despite recent progress in rolling back these restrictions.
Libya risks further isolating itself from global norms and standards on women’s rights and equality by reintroducing these controls, as the proposed policy seeks to also deepen gender inequality in the country.
Furthermore, the silence of Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Dbeibah and other officials on these proposed measures is troubling, suggesting either tacit approval or unwillingness to challenge regressive policies.
Libya’s obligations under treaties like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Maputo Protocol require it to protect women’s rights unequivocally.
Failing to do so would violate international commitments and further entrench gender discrimination.
Development Diaries calls on the Libyan government to respect the rights of Libyan women and girls and uphold their obligation to respect and protect the human rights and dignity of everyone in Libya.
Photo source: 110525 Libyan women torn between regime, rebels
