Gendering the Arab Spring
TL;DR: In this paper, women and gender are key to both revolutionary and counter-revolutionary processes and developments and not marginal to them, and the significance of women involvement, the historical context of women's political participation and marginalization in political transition.
Abstract: The article discusses the gendered implications of recent political developments in the region. It argues that women and gender are key to both revolutionary and counter-revolutionary processes and developments and not marginal to them. It explores the significance of women’s involvement, the historical context of women’s political participation and marginalization in political transition. Theoretically, developments in the region point to the centrality of women and gender when it comes to constructing and controlling communities, be they ethnic, religious or political; the significance of the state in reproducing, maintaining and challenging prevailing gender regimes, ideologies, discourses and relations; the instrumentalization of women’s bodies and sexualities in regulating and controlling citizens and members of communities; the prevalence of gender-based violence; the historically and cross-culturally predominant construction of women as second-class citizens; the relationship between militarization and a militarized masculinity that privileges authoritarianism, social hierarchies and tries to marginalize and control not only women but also non-normative men.
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TL;DR: The authors analyzed the relationship between support of democracy and attitudes to human rights, in particular, support for gender equality, in the countries covered by the first wave of the Arab Barometer project.
Abstract: This article analyses the relationship between support of democracy and attitudes to human rights, in particular, support for gender equality, in the countries covered by the first wave of the Arab Barometer project. We use cluster analysis and negative binomial regression modelling to show that, unlike in most countries of the world, correlation between support of democracy and gender equality is very low in the Arab countries. There is a group of people in the region who support both democracy and gender equality, but they are a small group (about 17% of the population) of elderly and middle-aged people characterized by higher education and social status. A substantial number of poorly educated males express support for democracy but not for gender equality. Many people, especially young males aged 25–35 in 2007, are against both gender equality and democracy. Younger people tend to be both better educated and more conservative, those belonging to the 25–34 age group being the most patriarchal in their ...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined to what extent armed conflict affects education accumulation and enrolment rates, and whether this effect differs by gender, using the 2007 Iraq Household Socio-economic Survey data in conjunction with data on civilian deaths recorded by the Iraq Body Count database.
Abstract: This study examines to what extent armed conflict affects education accumulation and enrolment rates, and whether this effect differs by gender. It uses the 2007 Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey data in conjunction with data on civilian deaths recorded by the Iraq Body Count database. Conflict exposure is measured by the number of deaths as a percentage of the population and number of conflict incidents. Results are robust to different identification strategies, dependent variables and conflict measures. The findings suggest an increase in conflict is associated with a decrease in education for both genders, though more pronounced for boys.
38 citations
Cites background from "Gendering the Arab Spring"
...In the shadows of nationalist struggles characterising the Arab Spring are signs of gender-equalising processes at work (Al-Ali, 2012)....
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Book•
28 Nov 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, where did the revolution go? considers the apparent disappearance of the large social movements that have contributed to democratization and investigates the mechanisms that are activated and deactivated during the rise and fall of democratization.
Abstract: Where Did the Revolution Go? considers the apparent disappearance of the large social movements that have contributed to democratization. Revived by recent events of the Arab Spring, this question is once again paramount. Is the disappearance real, given the focus of mass media and scholarship on electoral processes and 'normal politics'? Does it always happen, or only under certain circumstances? Are those who struggled for change destined to be disappointed by the slow pace of transformation? Which mechanisms are activated and deactivated during the rise and fall of democratization? This volume addresses these questions through empirical analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methods (including oral history) of cases in two waves of democratization: Central Eastern European cases in 1989 as well as cases in the Middle East and Mediterranean region in 2011.
35 citations
01 Jan 2013
35 citations
Cites background or result from "Gendering the Arab Spring"
...…between demanding their rights and dealing with pressure from their regimes, the belief that the state has the ability to promote women’s rights ‘might seriously diminish women activists’ credibility and might limit their strategies and possible achievements in the long run’ (Al-Ali, 2012: 30)....
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...62 The participation of women during these events has been the subject of discussion, not only among scholars (Winegar, 2012; Al-Ali, 2012; Abu-Lughod, 2012; Hafez, 2012; Sholkamy, 2012a-b; Elyachar, 2012), but also in the Western media....
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...…has been widely debated in the past (by, among others, Young, 1997; Joseph, 2000a; Moghadam, 2003; Kandiyoti, 2007; Al-Ali and Pratt, 2009a-b), and also more recently with reference to the Arab uprisings (Lust, 2011; Al-Ali, 2012; Winegar, 2012; Abu-Lughod, 2012; Ali-Agrama, 2012; Hafez, 2012)....
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...Two years on from the beginning of the uprisings, many scholars and activists are now wondering whether and to what extent women will have a space in the new political decision-making processes (Al-Ali, 2012; Hafez, 2012; Abu-Lughod, 2012; Sholkamy, 2012b; Pratt, 2013)....
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...This was not just individual women; ‘women participated side by side with men in the protests across the region’ (Al-Ali, 2012: 27)....
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TL;DR: This paper explored the complex, liminal, and difficult space in which stories of women in "the Arab Spring" were wielded as parts of political narratives of gender, race, class, religion, democracy, and Westernization in Western media as the Arab Spring unfolded.
Abstract: This article explores the complex, liminal, and difficult space in which stories of women in “the Arab Spring” were wielded as parts of political narratives of gender, race, class, religion, democracy, and Westernization in Western media as the Arab Spring unfolded. It examines those stories by using the tools of postcolonial feminism. After briefly describing what is meant by (gender and) the Arab Spring, the article outlines a method for evaluating the significations of the media narratives surrounding it. We find two dissonant narratives (of gender as emancipatory and of gender as problematic) and ask what assumptions about gender (and sex and race and culture) have to be made to produce these particular representations. We argue that the dissonant narratives have in common using the situation of women as a barometer for the success of Westernization, liberalization, and democratization. The article concludes by exploring the implications of these findings.
30 citations