When a wave of protesters took to the streets in the Yemeni city of Taiz this week, a mass of black-clad women once again stood out in the crowd. To Westerners, their conservative dress might seem incongruous in a pro-democracy uprising, but these women represent the backbone of Yemen’s revolution: ordinary people galvanized by unbearable […]
Arab Spring
In December 2010 a young Tunisian man self immolated in protest against police harassment, sparking a wave of protests against the cost of living under the country’s authoritarian president. Pushed out by the protests, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, making himself the first leader of an Arab nation to be pushed out by widespread protests. These events sparked a series of actions and revolts in the Arab world, primarily against authoritarianism, corruption and poverty.
Post-Split, Will North Sudan’s Women Be Left Behind?
The establishment of the Republic of South Sudan came with high hopes that it might improve the lives of women there. But women’s rights activists in the country left behind–the mostly Muslim Sudan–are bracing for a battle against an escalation of Islamic fundamentalist law. Following South Sudan’s independence, its neighbor to the north, Sudan, is […]
Iraqi Feminists Sexually Assaulted During Pro-Democracy Protests
In Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Friday, four women participating in a pro-democracy demonstration were molested and beaten by government-sponsored protesters who swarmed the square. Those assaulted were a part of a 25-woman delegation from the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, the country’s leading women’s rights group, there to create a visible women’s presence in the […]
Women of the Arab Spring
By Robin Morgan The Middle East’s pro-democracy uprisings may well be the latest in a long line of gifts (algebra, soap, even the fork) that Arab civilizations have given the world. Yet one might think only men were risking, and sometimes losing, their lives in these protests—and definitely leading them. But women were (and are) […]
Women Rise to the Challenge in the Arab Spring
The scene would have had most Americans readjusting their television sets—or their preconceived notions about Arab society. In the April sun, throngs of protesters washed over the streets of the southern Yemeni city Taiz, most clad head-to-toe in black, their eyes steely with determination. The crowd was festooned with bright baseball caps and signs bearing […]
Women of the World: The Internet is Yours! (If You Can Access It)
Blogging sparks activism, but I’m under the firm belief that these are not forms of activism in and of itself. The people doing the activist work are working from the ground, quite literally. But I don’t want to undermine the value of technology, as it has been very helpful in successful activist movements. Take, for […]
What Happened on March 8 in Tahrir Square
Several hundred women gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for International Women’s Day on Tuesday, demanding equal rights in a “new Egypt.” But the event–part celebration, part demonstration–soon turned violent when throngs of men arrived to harass the women. As a U.S. Fulbright fellow in Egypt, I was able to digitally record what happened (video below). […]