Arab Spring women Egypt
Here are some good links on the speakers at the Women Of The World (WOW) Arab Spring panel discussion 3pm Saturday March 10th it the Purcell Room in London’s Southbank Centre. I’m chairing. Whether you are coming or not, the articles are a useful insight into why the battle for women’s rights and status is at the heart of the uprisings in these countries.
Salma Said — Egyptian blogger and activist
Egypt Today feature on the citizen journalists and newsgathering of Mosireen.
Sara Yasin — from Index on Censorship has worked in Bahrain and is a Palestinian-American. She will be talking about the organisation’s role in the region, and some of the stereotypes we need to break.
Shaimaa Khalil — The Alexandrian born BBC journalist was arrested and detained by Egyptian authorities last summer, during one of her many assignments covering the protests in the country.
Hanan Abdallah – Egyptian Filmmaker. Her documentary In The Shadow of A Man was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival last month. It profiles 4 women to illustrate Abdallah’s conviction that: “A woman cannot be independent in a country that is not independent. She cannot be effective in a country that is plagued by inefficiency. And she cannot be free in a country that is enslaved. It is impossible to separate the demands of women from social reality…”
Layla El-Wafi
Layla, 31, is a UK-based lawyer who is extensively involved in the Women 4 Libya campaign, a Libyan organisation promoting the role of Libyan women in decision-making, politics and government. Women 4 Libya has collected signatures to petition Libya’s National Transitional Council for greater women’s participation in post-Gaddafi Libya. It has also called for reforms to the election law for the same purpose.
Further reading/listening
Post on Lessons from Soviet era Journalists for the Arab Spring
Radio 4 One to One: interview with Polish dissident journalist Konstanty Gebert about comparisons with the Arab Spring to be broadcast on March 20th 2012
