The recent second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak was marred by renewed violence between protesters and security forces of the country’s new government under President Mohamed Morsi. Disillusioned with the direction taken by Egypt’s new Islamist leader, activists took to the streets again reportedly only to see a replay More »
The Arab Spring introduced us to the strength and determination of the many Arab women who took to the streets and the Internet to call for change in their governments and societies. Gone were the stereotypes of oppression and passivity. In their place were voices and faces of hope, courage and indomitable spirit, calling More »
Just days ago, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah made history when he named thirty women to the kingdom’s Shura Council, an appointed advisory body that cannot enact legislation but is still the closest institution to a parliament in that country. He also amended the Shura Council’s law to ensure that women would make up no less than More »
Saudi King Abdullah is poised to appoint* women for the first time as members of the country’s Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council). The move is symbolically important, but the assembly itself lacks real power. The king first announced his intention to appoint women to the Majlis al-Shura over a year ago, and, since that time, newspaper reports More »
The participation of Yemeni women in the country’s uprising fascinated the world early last year. Yet the uprising also represented simultaneous opportunity and danger for women, especially female opinion leaders. An opportunity because women had the chance to be empowered. For instance, their parliamentary participation quota is under consideration to be increased from 15 to More »
Nearly two years after the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, here we are once again with protesters back in the Egyptian streets, facing army tanks and tear gas, and this time with human rights defenders openly expressing concerns about the possibility of civil war. There’s only one way out of this: Egypt has to build More »
Today we’ll look at the unique employment challenges for young women in the Middle East and what is being done to grow private sector jobs for them. We’ll also talk to women from Ramallah and Kuwait who are using a time-honored solution of entrepreneurship to empower women toward financial independence – Joining me to More »
In Egypt, domestic abuse is not a crime. When a woman is beaten by her husband, the authorities are seldom called. Hospital trauma centers see the extreme cases of internal bleeding and broken bones. Otherwise, it’s only when marital violence shifts into child abuse that many women seek out help. According to a 2007 study More »
Egyptians from all walks of life and all corners of the nation rose up in the January 25, 2011, revolution to reclaim their freedom and the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights stolen from them for 30 years under Mubarak’s 1981 emergency law. Despite the wealth of the legislative system, Mubarak’s regime failed More »
In an interview with Al Jazeera last year, the young Pakistani peace activist Malala Yousafzai said, “If this new generation is not given pens, they will be given guns by terrorists.” Yousafzai, who was shot October 9 by the Taliban and is being honored globally today by what the United Nations established as Malala Day, More »
While the image of women participating in last year’s Arab uprisings has been repeatedly used to provide a narrative for the Arab uprisings, the outcome of what was dubbed the “Arab Spring” did not turn out to be that positive for women. In Egypt, women hold two percent of parliamentary seats in comparison to 12 More »
As someone who writes and lectures about women and gender in Islam, I am often asked if women had any role in the making of the Islamic tradition. Happily, the answer is always yes. There were in fact many prominent women in the early history of Islam. At the top of the list would have More »
Egypt is deep into the messy process of drafting its new constitution. In the past few weeks, two different drafts were released within days of each other. Not surprisingly, there are several areas of major contention. At the heart of the matter are profoundly different views between religious conservatives and secular liberals on such More »
The fate of Egypt’s Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution is now in the hands of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court, with many political parties and movements hoping for a verdict which would bring about the assembly’s dissolution. At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood is fighting to keep the current makeup More »
October 11, 2012, marks the United Nation’s first-ever observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. According to the U.N., selected as this year’s theme was “Ending Child Marriage.” Organizers say it was chosen because the practice is seen as a phenomenon that violates millions of girls’ rights, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their More »
On October 1st, 2012, women organizers launched a Facebook page, “The Uprising of Women in the Arab World,” to highlight the discrimination against them which they don’t feel comfortable – or safe – enough to protest in the streets. In just ten days, the page has generated nearly 35,000 “likes” and conversation among more More »
With a draft of the Rights and Freedoms chapter in Egypt’s constitution published last week, rights groups and political movements have expressed concern over the limitations the new constitution may impose on Egyptian citizens, particularly its women. One of their main concerns is the vague and ambiguous wording that plagues the draft constitution, an More »
Recently, the Saudi Industrial Property Authority – or MODUN – announced it was building a number of industrial cities which will include women-only business sectors. This would allow women to work without violating strict religious laws on gender mixing. The announcement has generated some controversy. Some see it as an attempt to empower women, More »
- A ban against veiled women newscasters on Egyptian state TV was lifted following a decision by the new Islamist-dominated government’s top media official. The decision drew applause from women who wear the veil, and condemnation from others who adhere to a more secular society. - The UN refugee agency reports the number of registered More »
Oman has made headlines recently by fining and imprisoning at least eight writers and bloggers for criticizing the government on the Internet. As many as two dozen other activists were then detained for protesting that crackdown on the freedom of expression. Join Women Rising host Frances Alonzo as she speaks with one woman who says More »
