As popular revolts continue to rock autocratic regimes across the Arab world, women are defying both taboo and stereotype and emerging as a driving force that is keeping the momentum of the protests going.
“Women played and continue to play an integral part in the uprisings and revolutions in the region, and what is key is that they are there, physically present in the streets, showing their numbers,” Human Rights Watch senior researcher Nadim Houry said.
“That is a hopeful sign,” Houry said. “They should now play a key role the new governing structures that will emerge from these revolutions.”
In T-shirts and jeans or long black robes and veils, tens of thousands of women have made their voices heard in the streets, from Tunis to Cairo, from Manama to Sana’a, to demand reform in a region long ruled by autocracies.
Inspired by the uprising that toppled former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, women turned out en masse in Egypt’s Tahrir Square for weeks to demand the ouster of then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who quit on Feb. 11 after 30 years in power.
Bahrain, where thousands of mainly Shiite protesters have been demanding the fall of the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty, has also witnessed a massive turnout of women, who form a sea of black in their traditional robes and headscarves at the continuing gender-segregated rallies.
In the conservative countries of Yemen and Libya, women have overturned social norms and joined the insurrections against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, marching openly in the streets and talking to journalists on camera.
“Women play a decisive role in the region, from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya, and they have been a key factor in sparking the revolutions in every city,” said Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni activist who is spearheading the participation of women in the Sana’a protests.
“The revolution aims primarily to topple regimes, but it has also succeeded in doing away with the archaic traditions that have long told us women should stay at home and out of public life,” Karman said. “This has also been a social revolution. The role of women is helping create a new society. The Yemen revolution has helped woman rise to a better place.”
While women from all walks of life have joined the protests, a young and educated segment of society is also turning to the new media to bring about change in their homelands.
Asma Mahfouz, a young Egyptian woman whose video blog calling for an uprising in Egypt became a viral hit, is widely credited with having inspired Egyptians to take to the streets in defiance of a long-running autocratic regime.
“I am making this video to send you one message: If we still have any honor, if we want to live in dignity in this country, we need to get out into the streets on Jan. 25,” the fresh-faced, veiled activist said.
“If you are a man, come down to the street,” she said in an -Arabic-language video posted on YouTube on Jan. 18. “Whoever says women shouldn’t protest ... should be man enough to come with me on Jan. 25.”
Voices of dissent allegedly from Saudi Arabia, which has not yet witnessed major protests, have also begun to surface on Facebook and Twitter, many under female usernames.
“I urge Saudi women to act now. Our Saudi brothers have betrayed us, for they are cowards. Act now, b4 it’s too late!” #SaudiWomenRevolution tweeted.
While the region’s future political landscape remains unclear, the uprisings have revealed discontent with both the existing political and social structure across the region. experts say.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
RSS