Mauritania's Brotherhood putting its women in the front line

With the pragmatic employment and exploitation of crises, standards are changing and the stereotypes of political Islamist groups are collapsing. Perhaps the most obvious evidence of this utilitarianism is the similarity of the Brotherhood’s branch in Mauritania with the mother group in resorting to pushing women leaders to the front, after women had been subordinate for decades. As security clamps down on the group's activities, the Brotherhood has resorted to throwing its women into confrontations with the authorities, with the women's wing of Mauritania’s Brotherhood-affiliated National Rally for Reform and Development (RNRD) party chose a new women leadership for the next stage.

The women's organization within the party organized its fourth conference in the capital, Nouakchott, in the presence of a number of delegations from Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mali, most belonging to Islamist parties affiliated with the Brotherhood ideology.

RNRD’s lies

The women's organization promoted the election of MP Aicha Sidi Mohamed Boune as the new president of the organization, succeeding MP Toutou Bint Taleb Nafea to represent the reformist wing of the party to reach new gains and attract Mauritanian women to join the group.

Born in the southeastern Mauritanian city of R’Kiz in 1976, Boune holds a master’s degree in law and worked as a professor at the Islamist Scholars’ Training Center, which was closed by a government decision in 2018 because it was proven that it had received Qatari funding, in addition to broadcasting a message inciting hatred and extremism.

Boune was a member of the first executive office of the RNRD after its founding, and she held various political positions within the party, including as a member of the party’s Shura Council. When she was elected to head the party’s women's organization, she was a member of the party’s executive office, which was formed after current President Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Seyidi assumed leadership of the party, succeeding Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour.

Boune has coordinated many of the party’s campaigns in several presidential and parliamentary elections in Mauritania. Most notably, she led the presidential campaign of former Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar, who has residence in Doha.

Women at the forefront

In July 2019, women RNRD leaders organized a protest in front of the General Security Administration, calling on the Mauritanian authorities to release Ahmedou Ould Wadia, a member of the party’s executive media office.

The Mauritanian authorities had arrested Wadia for inciting chaos and violence in the country, as he claimed that the recent presidential elections were marred by fraud that led to a change in results and called on the masses to demonstrate after the final results of Mauritania’s presidential election showed a victory for former Defense Minister Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, who has the support of outgoing Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and is opposed by the Brotherhood’s RNRD party, which supported the competing candidate, Boubacar.

The party sought to push the Mauritanian woman into confrontation with the authorities to demand the release of Wadia, who had tried to provoke the masses against the new president and demand that the people demonstrate against the results. The Brotherhood uses the women in case of a clash with security, putting them at the forefront to ensure the safety of the Brotherhood men.

RNRD women and mobilization

The former head of the RNRD women’s organization, Toutou Bint Taleb Nafea, recognized the role assigned to women within the party, saying that RNRD women remained a key tributary of the party’s various activities, as the women’s organization provides crowds and actively participates in preparation and organization.

When asked about how RNRD women participate in major political events, she replied that the party is betting on women’s attendance and mobilization.