Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/series/arab-women-in-revolution-reports-from-the-ground/page/2/)
From uprisings that overthrew colonial powers to modern revolutions waged on the streets and online, women in the Middle East have been at the frontlines of the region’s every decisive moment.
From uprisings that overthrew colonial powers to modern revolutions waged on the streets and online, women in the Middle East have been at the frontlines of the region’s every decisive moment.
And yet they are often left to the footnotes of history books and in the margins of media stories.
Women’s eNews makes them the focus.
Libya’s long-awaited declaration of liberation excluded female voices and raised questions about how the tide might turn on matters of family law. The country’s interim leader faced immediate backlash for endorsing a return to unrestricted polygamy.
While Arab women are working for democracy, American women are trying to make democracy work, says Susan Rose. In both instances, women’s involvement and equality are necessary to create a stronger and healthier democracy.
Bahrain’s revolution is muffled by a combination of Saudi influence and U.S. reticence. Several young women–from both inside and outside the troubled kingdom–are overcoming the forces of silence.
In the third and latest major demonstration in Lebanon, protesters of the sectarian or “confessional” system took special aim at religious family laws that prevent civil marriages and discriminate against women in various ways.
Sarah Abdurrahman, a 27-year-old U.S. radio producer, started a Twitter feed based on local contacts in Libya. In the early days of the uprising, when foreign media was mainly absent, it provided a crucial stream of communication.
To appease “Arab spring” protesters, Algeria lifted a 1991 law that banned public assembly, but a longstanding women’s vigil for the country’s “disappeared” complains it doesn’t help them. Other political women debate the effects.
Egyptian women fought for the overthrow of Mubarak alongside men. But now the male-domination of transitional politics is like going backwards, writes Nadya Khalife of Human Rights Watch.
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Women’s rights organizers in Cairo suffered a setback on International Women’s Day on March 8. Instead of holding a large rally in Tahrir Square, they were beaten back by hundreds of antagonistic men.
In Zimbabwe 45 people–including 11 women–were held in prison for over two weeks for gathering at a political meeting to watch news clips of the uprisings in North Africa. On Monday the group facing treason charges was narrowed to six.
The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group dating to 1928, is stirring speculation about its influence on women in post-Mubarak Egypt. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born Dutch politician, among others, is wary.