( CNN ) -- Women have been badly let down by the men they stood with during demonstrations that toppled tyrants in the Middle East and North Africa . Shot at , tortured , assaulted and detained -- they were equals at the point of protest but now , as new governments extend their grip , we can see that , as citizens , women remain firmly in the second class . So , as we celebrate the role of women on International Women 's day , let us not forget that the struggle for equality is far from won . Even when progress seems to be a given , the pendulum can swing back leaving fresh challenges to defend progressive values . In Egypt , it did not matter that women had played a critical role in the uprisings that ousted the tyrant Mubarak . It did not matter that they had suffered equally from repression and lack of economic opportunity along with the men . It did not matter that they were subjected to the additional burden of discrimination because they were female . It did not matter that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces tried to discredit women protestors by arresting them and subjecting them to forced virginity tests . When elections finally came after so many years of dictatorship , Amnesty International asked political parties in Egypt to make commitments to basic human rights principles : principles such as freedom of expression and assembly , religious freedom , non-discrimination and gender equality . Most of those seeking political power through the parliamentary elections fell short of meeting even these minimum human rights commitments . Read also : Women and the Arab uprisings . The Muslim Brotherhood 's Freedom and Justice party which won 235 seats -- 47 per cent of the total - failed even to respond to Amnesty International 's request . The Salafist Al-Nur party , which came second with 121 seats ( 24 per cent ) declined to promote women 's rights or abolish the death penalty . So 71 % of the new parliament is unwilling to commit to promoting women 's rights and gender equality . There have been some chinks of light . Tawakkol Karman of Yemen was named as one of three women Nobel Laureates for peace , in an important , though , belated recognition of the role women have played in the protests dubbed the Arab Spring . During those heady days , women were a powerful voice , a compelling presence in the protests . They took the same risks as men when exposing human rights abuses committed by the state and calling for accountability ; as leaders and agents of change in the uprisings they have not been exempt from the worst of the violence . Many women protesters were harassed , arrested , tortured and otherwise ill-treated in gender-specific ways just because they are women , defying convention and exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly . In Bahrain , where thousands of women took part in anti-government demonstrations , dozens were arrested and some were reportedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated . In Yemen , women taking part in protests and women activists have been killed , harassed , arrested and in some cases beaten for their participation in protests . In a desperate attempt to sideline women , Yemeni officials demanded that male relatives assert control over the women in their family and stop their activism . Read also : Women prisoners find freedom behind bars . However , women 's protest is not new in this region : women were demanding their human rights long before the start of the uprisings of the last year -- in Iran and elsewhere . In Saudi Arabia , 20 years after women first sat at the wheels of their cars and challenged the restriction on females driving , the ban remains in place . Any woman who dares to challenge the ban faces arrest and attacks on their character . Saudi religious clerics have claimed that allowing women to drive would lead to moral decline in the kingdom . The demands of the women are clear . Women want a seat at the table and a voice in the debate and a vote in the decision making . More specifically , women are calling for equal rights to political participation and decision-making , equal rights in law , including in relation to marriage , divorce , child custody and inheritance . Women must have legal protection from gender-based violence , including domestic violence and marital rape , and sexual harassment . International Women 's Day is an opportunity to recognize the courage and stamina of the women living in the Middle East and North Africa . They will not be pushed back to the kitchen . We must all take a stand today in solidarity with them . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Widney Brown .
Widney Brown says women took the same risks as men during the Arab Spring . However , women are treated as second-class citizens in post-revolution politics , says Brown . Using cases from the region , Brown argues that the struggle for gender equality is far from won .