ACTIVE ARAB VOICES
The Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at AUB
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RISE2021
The significance of gender equality is that if 5 % of human beings are not contributing effectively to different social, economic, professional and political aspects of life, then this society is not fully or effectively employing or achieving its full potential.
According to the Global Gender Gap report published by the World Economic Forum, Western Europe has a gender gap of 25%, leaving North America behind with a gap of 28%, and Latin America and the Caribbean with a gap of 29.8%. The East Asia and the Pacific region has a record a gender gap of 31.7%, and 32.4 %; and South Asia with a gap of 34%. Most significantly for the purpose of this project the Middle East scores a continuing gap of slightly less than 40%. It is estimated that the overall gender gap can be closed in 157 years in the Middle East and North Africa. The exclusion of women from senior levels of management is not a sustainable practice for HEI nor beneficial to the education of students, specifically female ones. The lack of management development training programs makes it hard for both men and women to develop their career as institution leaders, however, it is specifically more difficult for female academics. The workshop will be conducted as a discussion with multiple women academics in different institutions that will discuss the challenges and techniques to overcome the obstacles they face as women in their fields. Register on Zoom ‘Glocal’ Voices: Discussing Feminist Blogging as Political Practice
With speakers:
Christina Kaili Farah Daibes This reflective/reflexive dialogue deals with feminist blogging as a space from which to ask critical questions about political struggles and feminism. Blogs are harder to control than broadcast and print media. As a result, in politically sensitive areas, authoritarian regimes seek to suppress blogs and/or harass and punish those who maintain them. As we have reached the ten-year anniversary of the so called ‘Arab Spring’, we reflect on the tremendous socio-political role of women activists blogging during waves of protests, as well as the social, economic, and political crises that followed in the years after the 2011 Arab uprisings and revolutions. Women of Afghanistan: My Voice to my Home
With speakers:
Zubaida Akbar Farahnaz Foroutan Women of Afghanistan have passed through a long history of struggles and oppression. After August 2021 and the return of the Taliban to rule the country de facto, danger and fear circulate the future of the women and girls of Afghanistan. Those women have demands to voice and fight for, nationally and internationally. In the light of the above, The Asfari Institute for Civil society and citizenship at the American university of Beirut is pleased to collaborate with FEMENA and organize a series of webinars titled “My Voice to My Home”. This initiative plans to give Afghan activists a platform to connect with the students of AUB and advocate for their demands. Join Zoom link Join us live on Facebook 
The Asfari Foundation Learning Development Grant 2021The Asfari Foundation is offering small injection grants of up to £5000 to support local CSOs to invest in their development as learning organisations.
Examples of how the grant may be used include: - MEAL & knowledge management: developing internal processes to systemically collect, interpret and disseminate learning/knowledge. - Develop and implement a forum or series of workshops to exchange learning/knowledge and expertise with others from across the sector on a particular topic or sets of topics. - Collaborating with others on a podcast to share knowledge and expertise on a particular set of topics. - Investing in a blog which shares your organisation’s learning/knowledge and explores the work of others. - Converting some of your organisation’s existing learning/knowledge into a shareable format, eg an online course, interactive videos, gamified learning. - Conducting a piece of research. Eligibility Criteria: Applicant organisations: - Must be registered organisations working in the youth and civil society sectors. - Must be non-profits and/or social enterprises with a social mission. We will prioritise small and medium-sized organisations, but all organisations are welcome to apply regardless of size. - Must be focused on supporting those in the Levant region. - Preferably are founded and/or led by Syrians, Lebanese, and/or Palestinians. Organisations are welcome to apply whether they are current grant partners of the foundation or not. We particularly welcome applications from new organisations founded by young people, and organisations headed by women. The deadline for applications is now 29 November 2021, 11:59pm (UK time). We held a Q&A webinar for prospective applicants on Tuesday 9 November 2021 – watch a recording of that here. Ready to apply? Access the application form via this link! Nafas Jdeed Talks: Women in Politics
Join us this Wednesday the 17th of November 2021
Our director, Ms. Lina Abou Habib will be discussing Women in Politics. Women in politics will focus on Women Activism, political participation, women immigration, sexual harassment, women political quota, and future vision at AUB's Basile Antoine Meguerdiche Conference Hall - Floor 1 of the Issam Fares Institute. Must present Vaccination Certificate to access AUB campus. In collaboration with Issam Fares Institute and Democracy Reporting International. Trilingual Virtual SymposiumSymposium international virtuel:
Quelles solidarités transnationales au carrefour des crises, des injustices et des précarités? Perspectives du Québec et du Liban / Virtual international symposium: Which transnational solidarities at the crossroads of crises, injustices and precarities? Perspectives from Québec and Lebanon / ما هي أشكال التضامن العابرة للحدود الوطنية على مفترق طرق الأزمات والظلم والمخاطر؟ وجهات نظر من كيبيك ولبنان 15 & 19 Novembre 2021, 9h - 12h, EST (Montréal)/16h - 19h (Beyrouth) sur ZOOM November 15 & 19 2021, 9am - 12pm, EST (Montréal)/4pm - 7pm (Beirut) on ZOOM Join Zoom event at: umontreal.zoom.us/j/81558631163?pwd=ckhlZnBudjQvaUNhWm5hd2V0S0x3UT09 Watch the following event on this link.
Amman Principles on a Global Level
National mechanisms for women have passed through a long history since the 1995 Beijing platform for action for Equality, Development, and Peace. However, recently, the Amman principles, a set of 9 fundamental principles came to advance the work of national mechanisms for gender equality and woman empowerment. This initiative done by Solidarity is Global Institute – Jordan (SIGI) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Political Feminism Programme in the MENA region plans to ensure optimal gender equality advocacy within challenging contexts. In the light of the above, this webinar plans to discuss and further develop the Amman principles, help raise awareness on their importance and advocate for their adoption.
Join Zoom event at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81133314582 لقد مرت الآليات الوطنية للمرأة عبر تاريخ طويل منذ منهاج بكين 1995 للعمل من أجل المساواة والتنمية والسلام. لكن ، مؤخرًا ، جاءت مبادئ عمان ، مجموعة من 9 مبادئ أساسية للنهوض بعمل الآليات الوطنية للمساواة بين الجنسين وتمكين المرأة. هذه المبادرة التي نفذتها جمعية معهد الدولي لتضامن النساء بالتعاون مع برنامج النسوية السياسية التابع لمؤسسة فريدريش إيبرت ستيفتونغ في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا ، وتخطط لضمان الدعوة المثلى للمساواة بين الجنسين في السياقات الصعبة. في ضوء ما سبق ، تخطط هذه الندوة عبر الإنترنت لمناقشة وتطوير مبادئ عمان ، والمساعدة في زيادة الوعي بأهميتها والدعوة إلى اعتمادها
The Syrian conflict and its impact on women, girls, and queer communities: A feminist Approach to Transformative Reparations 
Online event on December 10. In collaboration with IFI and the Arab Reform Initiative. In celebration of International Human Rights Day, the Asfari Institute, in collaboration with Embassy of Sweden and others (TBD), will be convening a multi-stakeholders dialogue on the disproportionate gendered impact of the conflict in Syria on vulnerable groups. Watch this space for more information to come.
Feminist Blogging as Political Practice in the MENA 
Online event on November 30. In collaboration with the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies in Cyprus. Watch this space for more information to come.
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UPCOMING:
Starting November 25, 2021, the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship will join the international community for the global campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in its 30th anniversary. This international campaign is aimed at raising awareness and generating action to end gender-based violence against all women and girls in their diversity worldwide.
Register now for the second #MidanLearning Webinar - if you build online courses, or are interested in the future of learning and ‘Ed Tech’ and how that can be relevant to your organisations, you definitely don't want to miss this!
Register here. Lebanon's first gender statistical report
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) launched Lebanon’s first gender statistical report entitled “The Life of Women and Men in Lebanon: A Statistical Portrait”.
The report provides the most comprehensive compilation of gender-disaggregated statistics and indicators and highlights key trends underpinning the country’s progress towards achieving gender equality over the past 15 years. 
نظراً للوضع الاقتصادي المتأزّم، ونظراً لتداعياته على الفئات المهمشة في المجتمع وعجز النظام والدولة بشكل كامل، سوف يتم إعادة تفعيل حملة "كتفي بكتفك"، وهي شبكة أمان اجتماعي تم تأسيسها العام الفائت. الهدف اليوم هو مساعدة طلاب المدارس والجامعات، الذين لا قدرة لهم على دفع رسوم التسجيل وتكاليف القرطاسية المتصاعدة بسبب التضخم، لإنقاذ جيل طلاب المدارس والجامعات ومنحه الفرصة للتقدم على الصعيدين الخاص والعام.
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Just Feminist Recovery |
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Feminist Solutions to Climate Crisis: Building a Green Future.
Objectives:
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ASFARI IN THE MEDIA |
بيان بشأن التقرير من المقدم من بنت النيل للجنة السيداو عن زواج القاصرات |
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"Bent El-Nile" group has submitted its first report to the Esteemed Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) on child marriage in accordance with Egyptian law, tackling the need for legal mechanisms to enact a penalty for such a crime, which would contribute to ending the problem and provide a safe life for girls in Egypt. It addressed and discussed the policies taken by the State to reduce this phenomenon. The report shined the light on the "national strategy to reduce early marriage" which was drafted in 2015 but wasn't taken into consideration, or criminalized by the Egyptian law despite the appeals of the National Council of Women and the National Council for Motherhood and Children, in addition to the requests of different Egyptian parliamentarians, to be considered a crime.
We therefore are calling to raise voices and share our recommendations with the State, in order to take the necessary measures to criminalize this phenomenon, which is widespread in rural governorates and upper Egypt. Recommendations: 1. Expedite the enactment of a law that criminalizes underage marriages, and all forms of violence against women and girls; amend the Penal Code to include provisions that impose penalties on whoever aids or abets the perpetration of such crimes, particularly the husbands and legal guardians; and increase the penalties imposed on public officials who participate in such crimes. 2. Draft and adopt a serious national strategy that aims to put an end to the crime of underage marriage in Egypt, in consultation with relevant international organizations and local civil society organizations. 3. Develop medical, psychological, and social rehabilitation programs for female victims of gender-based violence (GBV), especially the crime of underage marriage, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, NCW, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and other relevant bodies. 4. Take the necessary measures to ensure the involvement of civil society organizations in the work to curb the spread of underage marriage crimes and raise societal awareness of the prohibition of such practice. |
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SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: AN OVERVIEW OF AN INCREASINGLY WORRYING SITUATION As the world prepares to celebrate International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September, “Medfeminiswiya” is publishing a comprehensive series of articles on women’s sexual and reproductive rights in the Mediterranean region. For the drafting of this content, our journalists reported from Algeria, Egypt, Italy, Palestine, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Spain and Malta, countries where these fundamental rights are far from being achieved or remain very fragile.
Marked with negations, advances and regressions, the situation of sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) in the Mediterranean region is quite worry- ing especially on the southern shore: as pointed out by the RAWSA MENA network to which we are dedicating an article, only Tunisia authorizes safe abortion. This explains why at the regional level, many women die each year as a result of complications in countries where abortion is prohibited, therefore, unsafe. for more, click here للغة العربية، انقر هنا |
In remembrance of August 4 From "Scene Arabia"
Facebook Page 
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Join us for the 7th Signature Ten Years On panel
30 September, 12pm EDT / 7pm Doha
"Activism in Exile: Diasporic Communities in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings"
30 September, 12pm EDT / 7pm Doha
"Activism in Exile: Diasporic Communities in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings"
Organized by the Center for International and Regional Studies and partners.
Live on http://Facebook.com/Jadaliyya
For more details, check here
Live on http://Facebook.com/Jadaliyya
For more details, check here
Feminists Battle for Justice 26 Years after Beijing
Thursday July 29th from 7:00 to 8:30pm Beirut time
Join Zoom event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83780218857
Join Zoom event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83780218857
The UN IVth Conference of Women (Beijing, 1995) has been a turning point globally in setting a framework and tangible parameters for gender equality worldwide. It was also a unique space where some 35000 from around the world gathered to make their voices heard. Despite significant advances however, women and girls continue to suffer discrimination, oppression and violence under patriarchal laws and systems. In this 90-minute discussion, four leading feminist scholar-activists from India, Morocco, Lebanon, and the United States who have been intimately involved in the struggle for gender equality since and also before Beijing 1995 will discuss what has changed and how and where do they see the feminist struggles for the future. The conversation will be moderated by Alison Freeland.
Funding Feminist Movements in the MENA: Analyzing the Current Ecosystem
Monday July 26th from 3:00 to 4:30pm Beirut time
Join Zoom event
https://zoom.us/j/91865436040
Join Zoom event
https://zoom.us/j/91865436040
The mobilization of resources continues to be a formidable obstacle that feminist movements face. Research conducted by AWID showed that despite new funding commitments made, women’s rights organizations receive only 0.13% of the total Official Development Assistance and only 0.4% of all gender-related aid. This circle will bring together feminist funds to discuss joint action and collaboration which seek to address the endemic issue of funding feminist movements and activism globally and in the MENA region. It will also discuss the outcome and implications of the Generation Equality Forum which just took place in Paris in early June.
The Asfari Institute at the American University of Beirut
Oxfam
Marsa for Sexual Health
Feminist Circles Series Announcement
SAVE THE DATES!
The Asfari Institute, Oxfam and Marsa for Sexual Health are pleased to announce the launch of the first collaborative feminist circles series.
This virtual series seeks to engage feminist activists, international organizations, and scholars in dialogue and discussions around contemporary feminist activism issues whilst at the same time reflecting over potential feasible solutions. In addition, we will use the learning from these circles to design accessible knowledge, communication and publication products which seek to contribute to furthering the outreach of the feminist circles as well as provide useful tools to activists on the ground.
The virtual series is open to interested audiences while ensuring that the space is conducive for reflection, as well as safe and secure.
This virtual series seeks to engage feminist activists, international organizations, and scholars in dialogue and discussions around contemporary feminist activism issues whilst at the same time reflecting over potential feasible solutions. In addition, we will use the learning from these circles to design accessible knowledge, communication and publication products which seek to contribute to furthering the outreach of the feminist circles as well as provide useful tools to activists on the ground.
The virtual series is open to interested audiences while ensuring that the space is conducive for reflection, as well as safe and secure.
OPEN EVENTS
Timetable and program of the first feminist circles series
June 14 to July 5
Timetable and program of the first feminist circles series
June 14 to July 5
Post-pandemic Feminism: How has the pandemic contributed to
transforming the feminist movement
Monday, June 21st from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
Join Webinar
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
transforming the feminist movement
Monday, June 21st from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
Join Webinar
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed life as we know it, but more perilously increased the risk of gender-based violence (GBV), gender inequalities, oppression, and discrimination in addition to amplifying women’s care burden. In an article recently published by the Guardian, the COVID-19 pandemic has been described as an outbreak of disaster patriarchy, where the crisis is exploited to reassert patriarchal control and dominance, and rapidly erase hard-earned rights. Patriarchy has taken full advantage of the virus to reclaim power, as well as escalate the danger and violence against all women and non-binary. This discussion will shed light on the strategies that feminist movements have adapted to strengthen their activism in times of crisis and the absence or inadequacy of state assistance, the lessons learnt from the pandemic, and what strategies to be adopted in the post-pandemic world.
Young Feminist Futures: Revolutions and Intersectionality
Monday, June 14th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
Join Zoom Event
https://zoom.us/j/96844565051?pwd=WlY3S01qdmJvTkdFT1g1MlpicGVUZz09
Monday, June 14th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
Join Zoom Event
https://zoom.us/j/96844565051?pwd=WlY3S01qdmJvTkdFT1g1MlpicGVUZz09
From the Arab Spring to the new round of uprisings, young intersectional feminists within the revolutions have played a major role in framing the struggles and shaping the narrative of the movement through the power of young voices. According to a report by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), the regional average for women’s representation in parliament has increased since the beginning of the Arab Spring, thus indicating some shift at least at the level of women's participation in decision making. In some countries, progress has come in leaps and bounds, while in others through incremental steps. This discussion will focus on the feminist narratives that evolved during and post-revolutions, the role that young feminists play to reclaim the public sphere, and the ways in which the boundaries have been pushed.
Funding feminist movements in the MENA: Analyzing the current ecosystem
Monday June 28th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
Monday June 28th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Beirut time
The mobilization of resources continues to be a formidable obstacle that feminist movements face. Research conducted by AWID showed that despite new funding commitments made, women’s rights organizations receive only 0.13% of the total Official Development Assistance and only 0.4% of all gender-related aid. This circle will bring together feminist funds to discuss joint action and collaboration which seek to address the endemic issue of funding feminist movements and activism globally and in the MENA region.
The Recipient of the Dr. Hassan Abbas Award in Citizenship and Social Justice
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That Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at AUB proudly announces that Ms. Manar Ahmad Chorbaji is the winner of the Dr. Hassan Abbas Award for Citizenship and Social Justice. Manar is an FAS graduate of May 2021, who earned a BA in Media & Communications.The Award was presented during the AUB Faculty of Arts and Sciences 2021 Virtual Awards Ceremony on June 10, 2021, in the presence of AUB’s President Dr. Fadlo Khuri and FAS Dean Dr. Nadia El Cheikh.
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Media Framing of Political Events in Lebanon:
From Uprising to Blast & Aftermath
From Uprising to Blast & Aftermath
Today, Lebanon features one of the most severe economic crises in its history. Combined with the coronavirus pandemic and deepening political gridlock, the residents of the country are experiencing acute economic dislocation, political alienation, and daily hazards to their lives and wellbeing. The October 17 Revolution and August 4 Beirut Port explosion simultaneously—albeit different—reflected and added to the underlying features producing such crises. This panel aims to explore how the Lebanese media are dealing with this turmoil, shedding light on the framing of events based on political agendas.
Organized by the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program at GMU, Arab Studies Institute, and the Asfari Institute at AUB
Friday, 11 June 2021
Facebook.com/JADALIYYA
Facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
12 pm EDT, 5 pm London, 7 pm Beirut
Organized by the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program at GMU, Arab Studies Institute, and the Asfari Institute at AUB
Friday, 11 June 2021
Facebook.com/JADALIYYA
Facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
12 pm EDT, 5 pm London, 7 pm Beirut
TEN YEARS ON Project
Organizers: Arab Studies Institute, Princeton’s Arab Barometer, George Mason’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program.
Co-Sponsors: Georgetown University (Center for Contemporary Arab Studies), American University of Beirut (Asfari Institute), Arab Council for the Social Sciences, Brown University (Center for Middle East Studies), UC Santa Barbara (Center for Middle East Studies), Harvard University (Center for Middle East Studies), University of Exeter (Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies), Birzeit University (Department of Political Science), University of Chicago (Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory), Stanford University (Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, Stanford University), AUC Affiliates, Georgetown University (Qatar) Center For International And Regional Studies (CIRS), The Global Academy (MESA Affiliated), Institute of Palestine Studies.
Organizers: Arab Studies Institute, Princeton’s Arab Barometer, George Mason’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program.
Co-Sponsors: Georgetown University (Center for Contemporary Arab Studies), American University of Beirut (Asfari Institute), Arab Council for the Social Sciences, Brown University (Center for Middle East Studies), UC Santa Barbara (Center for Middle East Studies), Harvard University (Center for Middle East Studies), University of Exeter (Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies), Birzeit University (Department of Political Science), University of Chicago (Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory), Stanford University (Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, Stanford University), AUC Affiliates, Georgetown University (Qatar) Center For International And Regional Studies (CIRS), The Global Academy (MESA Affiliated), Institute of Palestine Studies.
Join the Asfari Institute's Third (3rd) Feminist Roundtable entitled:
How has the discourse on gender-based violence been changing among Arab young activists?
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021 at 5.00 PM – 6.30 PM (Beirut time)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/5823787038?pwd=cmtoTUxqdmhrRk1Pa3c2R0lXeitOZz09
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
How has the discourse on gender-based violence been changing among Arab young activists?
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021 at 5.00 PM – 6.30 PM (Beirut time)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/5823787038?pwd=cmtoTUxqdmhrRk1Pa3c2R0lXeitOZz09
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
The Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship is launching our new
Gender and Feminism Round Table Series
Join us for our Second (2nd) event on
"Analysing current LGBTQ activism in the region:
Who are the new authors of the public narratives?"
Gender and Feminism Round Table Series
Join us for our Second (2nd) event on
"Analysing current LGBTQ activism in the region:
Who are the new authors of the public narratives?"
Date: Thursday April 29th, 2021
Time: From 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm Beirut Time
Moderator:
Dr. Carmen Geha, Activist, AUB Professor of Public Administration,
& co-founder of CIBL for Women
Guest speakers:
Tarek Zeidan, Executive director, Helem (Lebanon)
Khawla Bouaziz, Secretary General, Mawjoudin (Tunisia)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95575815932
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
for more info:
https://www.activearabvoices.org
Time: From 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm Beirut Time
Moderator:
Dr. Carmen Geha, Activist, AUB Professor of Public Administration,
& co-founder of CIBL for Women
Guest speakers:
Tarek Zeidan, Executive director, Helem (Lebanon)
Khawla Bouaziz, Secretary General, Mawjoudin (Tunisia)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95575815932
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
for more info:
https://www.activearabvoices.org
The Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship is launching our new
Gender and Feminism Round Table Series
Join us for our first event on
“Gender, Conflict and Refugees: the Case of Syria”
Gender and Feminism Round Table Series
Join us for our first event on
“Gender, Conflict and Refugees: the Case of Syria”
Join Zoom Event at:
https://zoom.us/j/99967056278
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
https://zoom.us/j/99967056278
Join us live on:
https://www.facebook.com/AsfariInstitute
The round table will begin with a keynote address by AUB’s FAS Dean Nadia El Cheikh followed by a partial screening of Carol Mansour’s documentary “Nehna Mou Heik” https://vimeo.com/81968642
Program of the roundtable:
- Keynote address II Dean Nadia El Cheikh, AUB FAS
- Film Viewing II Nehna Mou Heik II Carol Mansour, Film Director
- Roundtable discussion moderated by Dr. Muna Khalidi, Forward Productions with:
- Rola el Rokbi II Director, Women Now for Development
- Sabah el Hallak II Director, Moubadarat al Mouwatana
- Carol Mansour II Film Director, Forward Productions
- Final remarks II Dr. Nadia El Cheikh and Carol Mansour
Feminist Mobilizations at the time of COVID-19:
Experiences from the Middle East,
Latin America, and the Caribbean
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Beirut time
Virtual event
Experiences from the Middle East,
Latin America, and the Caribbean
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Beirut time
Virtual event
Join us for a roundtable conversation with and between feminist activists and scholars from the Caribbean and Latin America, Gabrielle Hosein and Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, and from the Middle East, Lina Abou-Habib and Mozn Hassan.
Feminists all over the world have responded to and mobilized to address the wide-ranging inequalities and forms of gender-based violence exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Women have been disproportionately affected in terms of unemployment, limited access to adequate health care, political marginalization, and increasing and intensified forms of gender-based violence. What are feminists challenging, what are they concretely suggesting and what are their strategies, especially in terms of collaboration with national governments, international organizations, and transnational feminist campaigns? This webinar aims to discuss feminist mobilization and strategies at the time of COVID-19 in relation to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The idea is to look at both specificities and similarities in feminist struggles during this challenging period.
Feminists all over the world have responded to and mobilized to address the wide-ranging inequalities and forms of gender-based violence exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Women have been disproportionately affected in terms of unemployment, limited access to adequate health care, political marginalization, and increasing and intensified forms of gender-based violence. What are feminists challenging, what are they concretely suggesting and what are their strategies, especially in terms of collaboration with national governments, international organizations, and transnational feminist campaigns? This webinar aims to discuss feminist mobilization and strategies at the time of COVID-19 in relation to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The idea is to look at both specificities and similarities in feminist struggles during this challenging period.
Reflections on Mass Protests
&
Uprisings in the Arab World
(Two Panels)
Monday, 25 January
1 PM EST and 2:30 PM EST
Part 1 @ 8:00 PM Beirut Time, Part 2 @ 9:30 PM Beirut Time
&
Uprisings in the Arab World
(Two Panels)
Monday, 25 January
1 PM EST and 2:30 PM EST
Part 1 @ 8:00 PM Beirut Time, Part 2 @ 9:30 PM Beirut Time
Ten Years On
Mass Protests and Uprisings in the Arab World
Mass Protests and Uprisings in the Arab World
December 17, 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the start of the Arab uprisings in Tunisia. Beginning in 2011, mass uprisings swept North Africa and the Middle East, spreading from the shores of Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and the Eastern Province of the Arabian Peninsula. A “second wave” of mass protests and uprisings manifested during 2019 in Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The persistence of demands for popular sovereignty even in the face of re-entrenched authoritarianism, imperial intervention, and civil strife is a critical chapter in regional and global history.
In an effort to mark, interrogate, and reflect on the Arab uprisings, we launch a yearlong set of events, reflections, and conversations. We hope to produce resources for educators, researchers, students, and journalists to understand the last decade of political upheaval historically and in the lived present.
Over the past decade, a plethora of events, texts, and artistic and cultural productions have navigated the last decade’s spectrum of affective and material registers. We hope to contribute to these efforts through a historically grounded, theoretically rigorous approach that collaboratively interrogates the multiple questions the Arab uprisings continue to pose.
In an effort to mark, interrogate, and reflect on the Arab uprisings, we launch a yearlong set of events, reflections, and conversations. We hope to produce resources for educators, researchers, students, and journalists to understand the last decade of political upheaval historically and in the lived present.
Over the past decade, a plethora of events, texts, and artistic and cultural productions have navigated the last decade’s spectrum of affective and material registers. We hope to contribute to these efforts through a historically grounded, theoretically rigorous approach that collaboratively interrogates the multiple questions the Arab uprisings continue to pose.
Organized by: Arab Studies Institute, Princeton’s Arab Barometer, and George Mason’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program. Co-Sponsored by: Georgetown University (Center for Contemporary Arab Studies), American University of Beirut (Asfari Institute), Arab Council for the Social Sciences, Brown University (Center for Middle East Studies), UC Santa Barbara (Center for Middle East Studies), Harvard University (Center for Middle East Studies), University of Exeter (Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies), Birzeit University (Department of Political Science), Stanford University (Center for Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law), AUC Affiliates, Georgetown University (Qatar), The Global Academy (MESA Affiliated), Institute of Palestine Studies.
لهذه الأسباب يمكن أن نحتفي بعام 2020
لينا أبو حبيب - باحثة وحقوقية نسوية لبنانية
معهد الأصفري للمجتمع المدني والمواطنة
الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت
لينا أبو حبيب - باحثة وحقوقية نسوية لبنانية
معهد الأصفري للمجتمع المدني والمواطنة
الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت
سأحتفي بثورة أولئك الذين يعارضون النظام، والذين يحاربون القمع والظلم يومياً وبأساليب كثيرة مختلفة، والذين يرفضون الاستسلام...عجَّت منصات التواصل الاجتماعي في الفترة الأخيرة، بمنشورات احتفالية عقب الإعلان عن إقرار قانون يعاقب التحرش الجنسي وعن إجراء تعديلات على قانون حماية النساء وسائر أفراد الأسرة من العنف الأسري
فنَّدت الكاتبة والناشطة النسوية الرصينة، مايا العمّار، تلك الانتصارات المزعومة وأثبتت بما لا يدع مجالاً للشك أن ليس ثمّة ما يستدعي البهجة أو
التهليل، وأن الإنجازات المذكورة ليست سوى مجرد إجراءات شكلية زائفة بل وحتى محاولة لتلميع نظام رثّ وإبرازه كنظامٍ مُتحضِّر مناصر للمرأة
للمزيد انقر هنا
فنَّدت الكاتبة والناشطة النسوية الرصينة، مايا العمّار، تلك الانتصارات المزعومة وأثبتت بما لا يدع مجالاً للشك أن ليس ثمّة ما يستدعي البهجة أو
التهليل، وأن الإنجازات المذكورة ليست سوى مجرد إجراءات شكلية زائفة بل وحتى محاولة لتلميع نظام رثّ وإبرازه كنظامٍ مُتحضِّر مناصر للمرأة
للمزيد انقر هنا
For the English version, Please click here
Women in the Sun: Precarity and the Future
among Syrian Refugee Women in Lebanon
Yara Tarabulsi
among Syrian Refugee Women in Lebanon
Yara Tarabulsi
During the months of July to September, my fieldwork in Lebanon led me to drastically different places: from the dusty, dry agglomeration of shacks in a small town in the middle of the Bekaa Valley to a hot and humid hectic sewing workshop hidden within the serpentine alleyways of the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp. I ended up in these places to speak with Syrian refugee women about their different experiences of laboring in Lebanon. Through this ethnographic work, I aspired to analyze how the Lebanese state’s policies towards Syrian refugee labor have affected the way refugee women navigate the labor market, as well as how the involvement of international and local humanitarian organizations has played into their choices and prospects while doing so.
Click for more
Click for more
It is safe to say that policy change and legal reform toward gender equality has been rather slow and partial in Lebanon. For instance, and compared to other countries in the MENA region, Lebanon has undergone hardly any significant reform in the 16 different religious family codes. This is despite the fact that there has been no dearth of sustained advocacy and lobbying on the part of women and feminist organisations throughout the last four decades to bring about reforms in family laws and protections against gender-based violence. However, the last twenty years have nevertheless witnessed an important shift namely by bringing demands for gender equality into the public domain and as part of the prevailing public and political discourse. Another major advance was the fact that women themselves took over the public space and began to speak openly about their own experiences of oppression and discrimination and, in doing so, contributed to influencing public opinion as to the validity of their demands for change
click here for more
click here for more
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Recently Completed |
Bourdieu, Latour and Rasha Abbas:
The Uses of Actor-Network Theory
for Studying the Field(s) of Cultural Production
in the Middle East and North Africa
Felix Lang
Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
The Uses of Actor-Network Theory
for Studying the Field(s) of Cultural Production
in the Middle East and North Africa
Felix Lang
Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
Beirut Blast Solidarity
Tainted with Racism
ANTI-RACISM MOVEMENTANT
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On August 4 2020, a massive explosion hit Lebanon’s capital that was caused by a blast of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port. The explosion caused the death of more than 150 people, thousands of injuries and disappearances, making a lot of families homeless.
Before the explosion, migrant workers had been demanding to be evacuated from Lebanon and to go back home. Today, their families are worried about their safety in a country that not only dehumanizes them but also does not consider their security and survival an urgent priority in a constantly changing situation in terms of coronavirus lockdown and official security protocols. For more, click here |
الثأر لبيروت ولسكّانها
كريم نمور.
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"الثأر"، لأن التحقيق والعدالة خذلانا... الثأر، لأن النظام يستغلّ قوّته لإحتلال الفضاء العام ومنابره لتبييض صورته، محاولاً إمّا رمي المسؤولية على القضاء (الذي يعجز هو الآخر الدفاع عن نفسه بفعل موجب التحفظ) وإمّا تشتيت المسؤولية على مختلف أركان النظام بغية إغراقها في تفاصيل تركيبته وهلاكها... والثأر، لأن التحقيق والعدالة محتكران من قبل النظام المجرم، فكيف عسى للمجرم أن يحقق ويحاكم ذاته؟ وهو نفسه من شوّه، قبل أيّام من الإنفجار، أنشودة "بيروت ستّ الدنيا" للشاعر نزار قبّاني، مستبدلاً عبارة "الثورة تولد من رحم الأحزان" بلالات بائسة، وكأنه يسعى لمحو الثورة وواقع الأحزان من ذاكرتنا المشتركة. أمّا بعد فشله بتلك المهمّة، ها هو يفجّر بطلة الأنشودة، بيروت ولم تمضِ ساعات على الإنفجار الجرمي حتى تبنّت الحكومة بيان المجلس الأعلى للدفاع، لا سيما لجهة إعلان بيروت مدينة منكوبة وإعلان حالة الطوارئ فيها لمدة أسبوعين قابلة للتجديد (أي من 04/08/2020 لغاية 18/08/2020)، وذلك سنداً للمرسوم الإشتراعي رقم 52 الصادر بتاريخ 05/08/1967، على أن تتولى السلطة العسكرية العليا فوراً صلاحية المحافظة على الأمن فكيف نقرأ إجراء الحكومة هذا لإدارة الكوارث الوطنية، في ظلّ مطالبات الثأر الشعبية؟ |
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أتى إنفجار بيروت في 4 آب الماضي ليرنّ ناقوس النظام مجدداً. فيتحول الثأر (أو رغبته) إذ ذاك إلى انتفاضة مستجدة لاستعادة عدالة – ومعها سردية لواقعنا – يحاول النظام بائساً التمسك باحتكارها
للمزيد من المعلومات، انقر هنا
للمزيد من المعلومات، انقر هنا
Beirut Catastrophe
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Through our partner Jadaliyya
By Bassam Haddad
05 August 2020 Like so many, I am beyond mad at the criminal incompetence and corruption of the Lebanese Government, Bureaucracy, and their attendant business cronies/supporters who privilege profit over everything with almost no checks on their horror, save the self-congratulatory "open" discourse in public spaces, which serves more to vent than to exact concrete accountability. Hence the necessary courageous protests and mobilization we have observed for some time being the beaming light amid rot. A much more careful and detailed account is Ziad Abu-Rish's take below on what happened yesterday, and implications. I asked him to synthesize his social media comments for potential publication (perhaps on Jadaliyya). Thanks Ziad. Please consider joining our fundraising campaign to support the Lebanese Red Cross here, Kindly click here |
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By Ziad Abu-Rish
The nature of Tuesday’s explosion in the port of Beirut and the extent of the damage across the city and beyond is not yet clear. There are plenty of unconfirmed reports and it is hard to take official statements as transparent.
That being said, the effects of the explosion were felt across the city and beyond. For those familiar with the geography, nearby areas such Karantina and Gemmayzeh as well as further away areas such as Manara, Hamra, Burj Hammoud, Sin al-Fil, and Brummana felt the explosion.
The port area itself is largely decimated, with adjacent neighborhoods destroyed and those one neighborhood removed reportedly looking like a warzone. Much of the most-damaged areas are only now being accessed by those searching for victims, rescue teams having been forced to wait out the flames or make sure remaining structures would not collapse on them.
The anecdotes and reports of windows shattering, balcony doors collapsing, and ceilings caving in across Beirut (to say nothing of the “exterior damage” on the streets that are today lined with broken glass) and beyond are true and a testament to how powerful the explosion was. click here for more
The nature of Tuesday’s explosion in the port of Beirut and the extent of the damage across the city and beyond is not yet clear. There are plenty of unconfirmed reports and it is hard to take official statements as transparent.
That being said, the effects of the explosion were felt across the city and beyond. For those familiar with the geography, nearby areas such Karantina and Gemmayzeh as well as further away areas such as Manara, Hamra, Burj Hammoud, Sin al-Fil, and Brummana felt the explosion.
The port area itself is largely decimated, with adjacent neighborhoods destroyed and those one neighborhood removed reportedly looking like a warzone. Much of the most-damaged areas are only now being accessed by those searching for victims, rescue teams having been forced to wait out the flames or make sure remaining structures would not collapse on them.
The anecdotes and reports of windows shattering, balcony doors collapsing, and ceilings caving in across Beirut (to say nothing of the “exterior damage” on the streets that are today lined with broken glass) and beyond are true and a testament to how powerful the explosion was. click here for more
