HuffPost Live Interview: Arab Women Uprising
In December 2010, after a series of pivotal events in Tunisia and Egypt, the Arab Spring came to life and generated many revolutions, protests, and civil uprisings in many Arab countries. As the revolution continues to move forward, women continue to push patriarchal traditions, and become active agents for change in women’s rights. In a virtual live-streaming interview, hosted by HuffPost Live, the network aired Women Arab Uprising. This specific interview brought together five professional representatives from Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, the United States, and Ramallah (West Bank) to talk about the central issues that women in Arab countries are currently facing with the potential implications of the constitution that is currently being rewritten. In response, the interviewees addressed the current status of women in different Arab countries, the past and future of women’s rights, and the activism that is currently taking place both on a local, national, and social media level.
From the Facebook page, The Uprising of Women in the Arab, a woman from Italy and a man from Algeria show their support for Arab women’s rights.
One of the main topics of discussion throughout the course of the interview was the use of media to serve as a vehicle for protest. The most prominent example discussed in the interview was the creation of a Facebook page, titled The Uprising of Women in the Arab World, created by four Arab women, representing different countries, to spark a women’s rights movement that can be viewed publicly and participated by people all over the world. A MENA news media network, Al Bawaba Editor’s Choice, describes and addresses the virtual movement as a campaign in which women, and some men, post pictures of themselves holding up different messages, written in Arabic, to show their support for the Arab women’s rights movement.
From the Facebook page, The Uprising of Women in Arab, an illustration depicting an activists support for Arab women.
The Facebook page The Uprising of Women in the Arab World has gained a lot of international attention, and I begin to wonder what implications may develop as a result of such a public campaign? An article written by Frances Vavrus [see references] describes a long history of the oppression of women because of an opposition toward modernity in relation to equal rights. This has often left women out of the policies and plans for development. Will this public display of protest prove to give women more voice in the rewriting process of the constitution? Is there enough time? According to an article in Reuters, an international multimedia news agency, Egypt’s new constitution deadline is December 12th. As time is winding down and decisions are being negotiated, the Reuteres article also describes that the 100 member assembly has recently agreed to reject the idea that women’s rights, in terms of marriage and inheritance, need to be aligned with the Islamic law. As I can not infer that this decision was made as a result of the many protest for women’s rights, I do wonder and hope that the efforts made by Arab women advocates all over the world will be considered in the new Egyptian constitution.
References
View the HuffPost Live interview at: Women Arab Uprising
View the Facebook page at: The Uprising of Women in the Arab World
View Al Bawaba Editor’s Choice article at: Female Facebook Revolution: Arab Women Rise Up for Change
View Reuters article at: Egypt’s Constitution Makers May Struggle to Meet Deadline
Vavrus, F. [Edited by Parpart, J.]. (1995). Deconstructing the development ‘expert’: Gender, development and the “vulnerable groups”. In M.H. Marchand and J.L. Parpart (Eds.) Feminism/postmodernism/development. London: Routledge, pp. 221-243.
View additional related article of interest at: New York Times Harassers of Women in Cairo Now Face Wrath of Vigilantes
View an interview with Sadi Shanaah, an influential Czech Palestinian political analyst and director of INSAAN, who comments on the Facebook movement in relation to the revolution at: The North African Post Sadi Shanaah: “Arab Spring – People Wished to Reinterpret What They Perceive as Islamic Values”
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