Women, Revolution, Politics and Power

During the Arab uprisings, an unprecedented number of women took to the streets, paving the way for a more important role in politics. However, in the transitional period that follows, they now have to fight against their exclusion from the political arena.
The extent of their participation in the new political process, the author argues, will depend on three main factors: their contribution to the democratic culture established, the nature and role of political Islam, as well as gender representation in the news media. As her research in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria suggests, the fight to carry the women‘s newly found political status through the transitional period will blur the conflict lines between the „traditional-religious“ and the „urban-modern-non-religious“ blocs. Arab women are finding new forms of political participation, distinct from the Western models.

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This article was first published in Kalamon issue 4, fall 2011.

About the Author

Dalal al-Bizri is a Lebanese researcher and writer. She specializes in contemporary Islamic movements and authored several studies on women’s issues. She served as lecturer in Political Sociology at the Lebanese University and spent ten years as researcher in Egypt. Today, she regularly contributes to the Lebanese cultural supplement “Nawafidh”. Her most recent books include “Egypt against Egypt” (Arabic, 2008) and the forthcoming “Egypt is on my mind” (Arabic, 2011).