Arab region: the dignity of women

Developing networks to reduce violence against women
   Arabic text

The Dignity of Women publishes the voices and views of women working to end violence against women in the Arab region and to promote women's rights. In collaboration with a network of women’s organisations across north Africa and the middle east, the 5050 section of openDemocracy is bringing the knowledge and experiences of women into the global debate.

We are grateful to Hivos for funding this editorial project as part of the Hivos Knowledge Programme on Promoting Pluralism.    Hivos

Sudan secession: resolving divisions?

Fatin Abbas 8 July 2011

South Sudan celebrates its independence this week, becoming the world's newest nation. But the festering divisions that are likely to haunt the north and South for the foreseeable future beg the question: will secession succeed in providing stability for the long-oppressed citizens of these two countries?

Sudan: a lonely road for women MPs in opposition

Sara Abbas 8 July 2011
With the secession of South Sudan on July 9th, North Sudan returns to a familiar and depressing status quo - one party rule. With the elimination of southern constituency seats in Sudan’s National Assembly, only five women members of parliament remain in the opposition. Sara Abbas spoke to two of them

Shirin Ebadi: who defines Islam?

Shirin Ebadi 21 March 2011

"Egyptian women are lucky in one way. They have witnessed the predicament of Iranian women and seen how the Islamic state has hijacked the Iranian revolution, changed the laws and reversed women’s gains. My advice to Egyptian women is “do not give way to a government that would force you to choose between your rights and Islam”. I believe that Iran was a lesson for the women in the entire region". Shirin Ebadi in conversation with Deniz Kandiyoti

From Tahrir square to my kitchen

Hania Sholkamy 14 March 2011
Despite the vibrancy of mobilization in Egypt after Mubarak, Hania Sholkamy’s account of the 8th of March demonstration in Tahrir square to mark International Women's day bears witness to the persistent resistance to women’s political participation

Egypt: the two faces of liberation

Zainab Magdy 8 March 2011
"The goddess Sekhmet has risen once and will rise again so Hathour can flourish in peace and justice" - Zainab Magdy reports from Cairo as women gather for the Million Women March in Tahrir Square today

Egypt: from equality of purpose to equality on the ground

Margaret Owen 1 March 2011
"We acted together and we all adhere to the same values: justice, compassion, and unity, and these values are engraved in our souls. It is our unwritten constitution – the ethics inside all of us. Women died with men, and men protected us as women". Nora Rafeh Refa Tahtawy, 23 year old student protestor

The rightful place of gender equality within Islam

Janine Moussa 24 February 2011
An animated discussion is taking place about the relationship between Islam and equality and justice in the context of women’s human rights. How will the democratic uprisings sweeping across the Arab world affect this conversation?

Towards statehood: three Palestinian interviews, January 2011

Manuela Paraipan 24 February 2011
The problems inside Palestinian society as well as those between Palestine and Israel have solutions. The process may be long, difficulties are bound to appear. But with enough local and international commitment there is no impassable barrier. There are people - probably not a few on both sides - that realize that there is now an opportunity to properly address the many decades-old issues. Manuela Paraipan presents three interviews with representatives of political and civil society.
These interviews continue a series of conversations on the issue of Palestinian statehood. For the first part, an interview with PECDAR President Dr Mohammad Shteyyeh, click here

Statement from the Coalition of Women's NGO's in Egypt

20 February 2011
Women's NGOs in Egypt denounce the decision of the National Council of Women to represent their views at international gatherings such as the UN CSW currently underway in New York.

Progressive male Muslim preachers: oxymoron or reality?

Cassandra Balchin 3 May 2010
In their rush to find suitable allies to help control 'extremism', states as well as non-governmental organisations are often overlooking ordinary, individual male preachers who are taking a stand despite the risks it entails

Negotiating Bliss

Cassandra Balchin 8 March 2010
The bliss of an egalitarian and just relationship between spouses cannot be achieved through a sheet of paper. But Cassandra Balchin writes that in Muslim contexts efforts to take a fresh look at marriage contracts is certainly a step towards this goal

Thinly veiled misogyny

Laurie Penny 11 February 2010
As French President Nicolas Sarkozy attempts to drive through a ban on the niqab and burqa, Laurie Penny describes how the Islamic veil has become yet another item of women’s clothing for men to fight over for their own ends

Stress, quarrels and neglect: the 'normal' polygamous family

Masjaliza Hamzah and Norami Othman 14 January 2010
A large-scale study currently underway across Malaysia uncovers proof that polygamy harms everyone involved: from emotionally scarred children, to wives who think they’d be better off as single-parent households, and even husbands who admit “I wouldn’t recommend it for my son; it’s quite stressful.”

Last but not least: CEDAW and family law

Cassandra Balchin 18 December 2009
When injustice in marriage and the family is such a pervasive experience for women and girls, why is family law largely invisible as a global policy issue? What are the prospects for last to no longer remain least?

Checkpoints and counter spaces

Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian

NSK: In the book I look at the day to day life of Palestinian women and try to uncover the effects of militarization and occupation, and the global denial of the ordeals of the Palestinian women in both the private and the pubic sphere. I try to show that you can never divorce the private sphere from the public sphere and discuss the way that the bodies of Palestinian women are a battlefield for the occupation.

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