Journalism Network

Olfa G.Tantawi

WOMEN RIGHTS IN ARAB COUNTRY AND IN THE WEST

Dear All
Please find at the following link an invitation to join the open dialogue about women rights in Arab societies, and also in western societies.
( I believe, there are major differences in the two worlds)

This is why a group of scholars in collaboration with young female bloggers designed an online survey to explore this issue, and the fact that gender has an impact on our life choices, roles in society and overall view of the world.

Please have a look at the survey which is perhaps the first ever survey conducted by a group of people outside the academia sphere to pose questions and explore their own and their societies conceptions and/or misconception about the role of men and women and the impact of gender on their lives and choices

the online initiative and the survey can be found at

http://kolenalaila.com/en/blog/archives/380
I hope you will all join the discussion and also complete the survey :)

I also wish to note that the effort exerted is all volunteer work by young Egyptian and Arab women and men, they have been working together for the past six months and intensive the past month to have this work done and to ensure serious response from all over the Arab and Islamic world actually they expect contributions from some ex Russian Islamic republics as well as Iran and Turkey, also there will be some contributions from the western world from Canada and Europe .

Best,
Olfa

Kindly pass on :)

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I just wonder whether any of this discussions can change the situation with women rights in Arab societies. AFAIU it is not the conception about the role of men and women that makes it happen, but the slow speed of secularization process in that region. I guess that the root of the problem is that religion should be apart from the state. Or I'm missing something?
well especially in Egypt, kolona leila movement has been very successful, in the past 2 years, in getting a lively response and having a strong presence among the youth who joined in group discussions of some sensitive issues that were considered taboos. More important the discussions involved participants from different backgrounds and trends, conservative muslims, liberals, seculars and the
in-betweens.
Further, the internet in Egypt plays an important role in nurturing activism, empowering youth and awakening the peoples awareness, this happens on both the political and social levels. Finally,in the reality world ( not the virtual only) kolona Leila group did succeed recently in organizing a media campaign to help an Egyptian girl in Saudi Arabea staying there with her father against her will. The girl finally returned to Egypt because of the pressure. However, I do beleive that a mainstream media role is very important to support this new media civic engagement in its efforts.


Vladyslav Bogutsky said:
I just wonder whether any of this discussions can change the situation with women rights in Arab societies. AFAIU it is not the conception about the role of men and women that makes it happen, but the slow speed of secularization process in that region. I guess that the root of the problem is that religion should be apart from the state. Or I'm missing something?
Yes, I absolutely agree. I think journalists in the Arab Word, including those of us who believe they are all in favor of equality between the genders, should be confronted with the problem head on. Too many of us, particularly male journalists, accept the status quo.
Kolona Leila initiative is really a window on the unseen world of being a woman, you can have a peak on this world here

http://kolenalaila.com/en/blog/archives/380
perhaps even try to go through the survey, you will find some interesting questions about what it means to be a man in our world, questions that no one ever poses, except perhaps to him/herself, but I feel we need to explore more what it means to be one or the other in making us choose a job for instance, perhaps one basic component of all our choices is the gender question
Olfa, and others interested in how masculinities are portrayed in Arab novels, I suggest you take a look at a recent work by Samira Aghacy, published by Syracuse University, MAsculine Identity in the Fiction of the Arab East Since 1967.

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