Even as the pace of modernization in the Arab world shows some signs of acceleration, we all must recognize that deep-rooted cultural norms around women’s roles and rights are slow to evolve. Guess who is going to change that? The women of Generation Z. I was an Arab Muslim girl in an American school in Bahrain from elementary through high school. I grew up between two cultures. Of course, my Arab Muslim side dominated, but I was struck by the beauty, independence and inspiration from my American experience. I wove those threads of independence into my own professional life, taking on roles as a CEO, activist, and an advocate for change.
In researching my book, Hear Us Speak: Letter from Arab Women, I met with Gen Z Arab women in their late teens and early 20s. They’ve grown up exposed to the outside world through social media, and they’re emboldened! These women are determined to live life on their own terms and they believe that, in the foreseeable future, Arab women will be treated equally and with due respect….
https://www.juancole.com/2022/04/systemic-change-coming.html
‘What they did to me was so horrific’: Brutal silencing of a Saudi feminist
Walid al-Hathloul: My sister is in a Saudi jail. Her crime? Campaigning for women’s rights
Ruqia Hassan: the woman who was killed for telling the truth about Isis
Marieme Helie Lucas: Stand and Be Counted
No spring for Arab women – Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas
Manifesto for a Secular Middle East and North Africa
Kenan Malik: Hagia Sophia is too complex for Erdoğan’s cleansing
Bethan McKernan – Ayasofya: the mosque-turned-museum at the heart of an ideological battle
Karima Bennoune – Charlie Hebdo: “There is no way they will make us put down our pens.”
Warwick Student’s Union apologises, Maryam Namazie to speak on campus
Charlie Hebdo – Letter to the Left Leaning
Interview with Karima Bennoune, author of ‘Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here’
Ruqia Hassan, murdered by ISIS
After the truth-shower 