Month: April 2012

Leza Haidarah Mohammed Salem, a 35-year old Yemeni human rights and media activist from Aden, who participated in Karama’s strategic communication training in June 2012, was selected as part of the preparatory commission for the reconciliation dialogue. The commission – which consists of 25 representatives from all Yemeni political forces – aims at settling disputes […]

Dear Friends and Colleagues, On January 25 of last year, the Egyptian people sparked an unexpected series of protests against the decades-long rule by the Mubarak regime. According to Gallup, Egyptian women made up almost a third of the protesters during the revolution. Women were on the front lines and at every stage, caring for […]

Karama Founder and Chair Hibaaq Osman participated at the third annual DLDwomen conference from July 11th to 12th, providing an update on her address during last year’s session and illuminating the implications of the Arab uprisings for women over a year later. Ms. Osman spoke on the second day as part of a panel featuring […]

Cairo, EGYPT – From July 2nd to 4th, Karama and the Swedish Institute in Alexandria hosted a delegation of 15 women academics, activist leaders and experts from the Arab region for the Fifth Session of the Think Tank for Arab Women (TTfAW) in Sweden, where they also participated at the Almedalen Week, an annual political […]

From the 4-6th June, Karama and the Swedish Institute, Alexandria held a three-day training program in Cairo with some of the key leaders from civil society in Yemen. The program’s objectives were to provide an opportunity for 25 women and youth leaders from all areas of Yemen a thorough and tailored understanding of communication as […]

The Swedish Institute in Alexandria and Karama are hosting a training workshop on strategic communications for Yemeni women and youth. Around 25 men and women, youth activists, political and civil society leaders and academics from Yemen will meet in Cairo from 4 to 6 June 2012. “This is all about bringing Yemeni women and youth […]

The first round of Egypt’s landmark presidential elections were held last week and today it was confirmed that there will be a run-off between the top two candidates, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and Ahmed Shafiq, ousted leader Hosni Mubarak’s last Prime Minister. Morsi received just about 26% of votes […]

In 2011, France campaigned to ban niqabs — face veils worn by Muslim women — in an effort that center-right President Nicolas Sarkozy said was critical in ensuring women’s rights. Much debated and contested, the veil ban — which affected only 2,000 women out of 5 to 6 million Muslims living in France — was […]

17 May 2012 Tripoli, Libya The Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, in conjunction with Karama, is kicking off a series of local trainings and networking sessions in three Libyan cities to strengthen the link between women and youth groups with political parties, and to train women and youth campaigners in strategic communications skills. “Libya is […]

A delegation of six youth leaders and women activists from Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Kurdistan, and Syria participated at the 2012 International Forum of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, held in Istanbul, Turkey from the 19-22 of April to share voices and perspectives on women’s advancement and priorities for gender equality. The delegation, sponsored […]

Karama’s one-day conference on “The Challenges and Prospects of Gender Equality” in New York in early March set forth concrete and strategic recommendations for future action. The final report and recommendations were released this month, sharing perspectives and recommendations from high-level regional and international activists, experts, policymakers, and diplomats and establishing advocacy priorities for women’s […]

The Economic Cost of Violence survey—the result of a collaboration between Karama and its economic realm in Egypt, which is led by the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE)—was released last month, sharing that the total national cost of women’s exposure to violence exceeds 785 million Egyptian Pounds (LE) a year, over three billion […]

Brussels, Belgium — In today’s so called ‘digital’ world, it occurred to me that there are four truly important digits that should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Those for digits are 1325. They have almost become part of my everyday vocabulary, and here’s why. Every day I wake up and devote my time […]

Alexandria, EGYPT – Karama and the Women and Development Association in Alexandria commemorated Egyptian Women’s Day by convening a one-day seminar to identify priorities for women’s rights in the constitution, build connections between members of the movement, and strengthen the lobby to promote adoption of key articles in the new Egyptian constitution. The seminar entitled […]

Tripoli, LibyaThe Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP) welcomes the passage of a new electoral law, which guarantees women at least 40 seats on the 200-member Constituent Assembly that will draft the country’s new constitution. Libya’s National Transitional Council adopted the law at 11PM on Wednesday February 8th after a month-long campaign led by the […]

25 January 2012 – Members of the legal team who drafted the alternative electoral law proposed by the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP) are in negotiations with members of the National Transitional Council (NTC) today to resolve disagreements over the Libyan electoral law. “Our legal team has emerged from discussions with NTC representatives aimed […]

24 January 2012 Officials from Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) have approached the legal experts who drafted the alternative electoral law proposed by the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP), and requested their assistance in preparing revisions to the law currently slated for release on 28 January 2012. The draft law was drafted by a […]

20 January 2012 The Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, a movement of Libyan leaders working with women and youth from around the country and diaspora, has released a draft electoral law (click here for Arabic version) that seeks to address some of the limitations of the draft election law released in January by the National […]

Libya Women’s Platform for Peace: a movement of women organizations and leaders who aim at achieving freedom, equality, social justice, and promoting women rights to citizenship Karama and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in cooperation with Libyan women activists organized a meeting for civil society organizations and Libyan women leaders at the Kempinski hotel […]

Tripoli, LIBYA – The Libya Women’s Peace Platform (LWPP), a movement of over 50 Libyan women’s leaders from all walks of life and regions of the country and the Libyan diaspora will convene in Tripoli from November 26-28, 2011 to chart the course for increased women’s political participation and peace-building in the country. The meeting […]

Following Tunisia, which was the first country to hold elections following the Arab revolutions, Egypt has scheduled its initial set of parliamentary elections for the end of November. In the weeks leading up, complexities regarding the electoral system, which omits one national polling day for three separate elections culminating in January, and the new electoral […]

Last week, Tunisia made history, becoming the first country to hold elections to fill 217 seats of its new assembly following the series of revolutions sweeping the Arab region, and specifically, the early 2011 uprising that unseated long-reigning President Ben Ali from power. The results have had mixed results thus far in Tunisia and across […]

SYRIAContext: After over 7-months of protest against the Assad regime, and the death of an estimated 3,000 civilians, including 187 children, the situation in Syria remains uncertain. Earlier this month, news that members of the opposition united to form the Syrian National Council (SNC) marked the emergence of a new leadership challenging Assad’s authority. Yet […]

Over 40 Libyan women gathered in Cairo from October 7-9, 2011 to inaugurate the Libya Women’s Platform for Peace, a new national movement that will work together to increase all forms of female political participation in post-Gaddafi Libya. “I thought I was alone, but now I know I’m not,” said Amal Bugaighis, a lawyer and […]

The Think Tank for Arab Women (TTfAW), which is comprised of local, national and international experts in women’s rights, held its 4th meeting in Cairo from October 1-3 convening 30 academics, diplomats, policymakers, journalists and activists from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Tunisia, Sweden, and the United States. The meeting prioritized discussion on the […]

We wish to congratulate the new winners of the Nobel Peace Prize—Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, and Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. Mabrouk, sisters. Your leadership by fearless example, your strength and moral dignity, the power of your convictions, and your daily acts of courage brought your nations to their feet in defiance of […]

From 7-9 October 2011, the first meeting of Libyan women from all walks of life took place in Cairo. This group included women from a broad range of ideological and professional backgrounds, including activists, house-wives, academics, entrepreneurs and young bloggers who all fought-literally and physically-for freedom. Libya’s uprising was first sparked on February 15th when […]

Karama was honored at the 7th Annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on Wednesday for progress toward its 2009 Commitment to Action on Building Constituencies for Equality in the Middle East and North Africa. Founder and CEO Hibaaq Osman, in the presence of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Her Majesty Queen Rania […]

Cairo, 5 October 2011 A council of over 35 Libyan women will convene at the Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo from October 7-9, 2011 to set strategies for promoting women’s rights and female political participation in post-Gaddafi Libya. Organized by the regional Arab women’s NGO Karama, this is the first such meeting of the Libya […]

CAIRO – September 26, 2011, Over 30 politicians, experts and academics from the Arab world, Europe, and the U.S. will gather in Cairo at the end of the month for the fourth session of the Think Tank for Arab Women (TTfAW). Hosted by Karama and the Swedish Institute of Alexandria, the session, entitled From Electoral […]

After months of violence throughout Libya, there are signs that there has been a decisive turn in efforts to throw General Muammar Gaddafi from power after 42 years. Gaddafi’s Tripoli compound, Bab al-Aziziya, was captured by hundreds of rebels, as the ruler’s feared military units and intelligence agents melted away. However, the transition will not […]

Karama Chair Hibaaq Osman attended the 7th DLD Women conference in Munich from June 23 – 25 and participated in the panel “Violence against Women – the Mother of All Issues,” alongside Pat Mitchell of the Paley Center for Media, Somaly Mam of the Somaly Mam Foundation, and journalist and lawyer Lorea Canales. Speaking of […]

Cairo, May 18, 2011 Activists from over eleven Arab states met in Cairo from May 13-16 to design strategies for promoting women’s rights and advancing female political participation in the Arab region in response to the wave of protests and revolutions sweeping the Middle East. Convened by the Arab regional women’s rights organization Karama, the […]

By Rana Husseini AMMAN – Dozens of citizens demonstrated in front of the Prime Ministry on Wednesday, calling on the government to amend laws to allow Jordanian women married to foreigners to pass on their citizenship to their children. Under the slogan “We are full citizens and do not accept less than that”, the demonstrators […]

By Simba Russeau CAIRO, May 18, 2011 (IPS) – Women have been taking leading roles in the Arab uprisings of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Morocco and Bahrain – shattering many decades old Western myths that Arab women are powerless and enslaved. “It’s really unfair to ignore history and to try to misinterpret the reality,” founding […]

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Participants at Karama’s May 14-16 Working Seminar entitled “Leveraging Women’s Power in the Arab Revolutions” released the following statement: We the women from the Arab region who came together for three days to share our success in our revolutions, and to celebrate and confirm our demands to sustain what we have gained through years of […]

On May 13, 2011 Karama launched a working seminar on Leveraging Women’s Power in the Arab Revolutions with a keynote address by Egyptian doctor, scholar, women’s rights activist Nawa Saadawi. In her address, Dr. Saadawi said: “Women cannot be liberated in a country that is not liberated. So too we cannot be independent if the […]

The “Tunisian Exception” Long acclaimed for positive policies on gender equality, Tunisia has always taken the lead in the Arab world on women’s rights. The abolishment of polygamy and repudiation through the Code du Statut Personnel (Personal Status Code) promulgated in 1956, remains an exception in the Arab world. Tunisian women were among the first […]

Update (4.18.2011) President Assad addressed Syrians in a televised speech outlining steps to reform on Saturday, April 16. Most notable was a commitment to lift the 48-year-old State of Emergency by the end of the week, after which, he shared that no further protests would be necessary, implying that none would be tolerated. Assad mentioned […]

Update (4.18.2011): Misrata, the third-largest city in Libya, remains a central focus of the tension between the rebel and pro-government forces. If rebels sustain hold of Misrata, they will retain control of the major port in Western Libya, as well as be able to block the coastal highway connecting Tripoli with Qaddafi’s home region of […]

Dr. Hatton Ajwa’d Al-Fassy The Arab Revolutions broke out in early 2011. Two found success within a few weeks, a third is still groaning and moaning under the yoke of megalomania, and the fourth is impatiently waiting for the national leader to comprehend the demands of the oppressed people fighting the status quo. What typifies […]

March 28, 2011 Over the past 12 days, peaceful protests in Syria have been faced with violence. The blood of too many people was spilled and others were arrested and beaten by security forces. As long as this violence goes on, the Syrian government’s legitimacy will diminish by the day both in the eyes of […]

In the first vote following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s long-standing president, an overwhelming 77 percent of voters, nearly 14 million out of 18.5 million who participated at the polls, voted “yes” on a package of nine proposed amendments. While there is continued debate on the results and their potential impact, one element is […]

Thanks to oil wealth, Bahrain has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. This windfall is not distributed evenly, however, and unemployment and poverty rates are increasing sharply. A government decree allowing foreign investors to own land in Bahrain caused a spike in property prices after many Bahraini landowners were pressed in […]

By Leila HammarnehProjects Director, Arab Women Organization, Jordan This year, 2011, will go down in history as the year that brought widespread political change into the Arab countries. Fed up with the status quo and galvanized by frustration and fear resulting from widespread human rights abuses and dwindling economic prospects, citizens of several Arab countries, […]

Click here to read Amneh Halweh’s historic speech to the Jordanian Parliament On March 21, Mother’s Day in much of the Middle East, an initiative of Karama and the Arab Women Organization enabled nine Jordanian women to petition parliament about the effects the country’s discriminatory nationality laws have had on their families. This was the […]

On Saturday, March 19 Egyptians will go to the polls for the first time since the revolution to vote on a series of proposed amendments to the country’s constitution. First presented on February 26, the amendments were drafted by a committee, headed by Tarek El-Beshri, that was appointed by the Supreme Military Council. Egypt’s constitution […]

I am 35 years old and for the first time I admit that I love the ground of this country. I am proud to be an Egyptian. Before the 25th of January I was never interested in my country’s political issues, because I had gotten used to seeing the corruption and could only comment in […]

In the wave of uprisings that have ignited across the Middle East in 2011, women have stood shoulder to shoulder with men at the forefront of protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Morocco, Oman, and Bahrain. The presence, leadership, and participation of women has been extensive. Essential to public demonstrations as activists, […]

Special Commentary on Egypt from Karama CEO Hibaaq Osman On March 8 — International Women’s Day — I joined hundreds of Egyptian women in Tahrir Square to honor the sacrifices of Sally Zahran, Mina Naggy, Mariam Nazier. These three martyrs of the January 25 revolution, whose blood stains still bless the square, gave their lives […]

Media Contact Name: Sarah VaillTelephone: +1 323 251-6521Email: sarah@el-karama.org AMMAN, JORDAN, 8 March 2011—A groundbreaking new research entity, the Think Tank for Arab Women, officially launched over a three-day conference starting 31 January 2011, aggregating the knowledge and expertise of 33 female academics, parliamentarians, and leaders of non-governmental women’s organizations from 14 countries, including conflict-affected […]

Today brought the first step toward sweeping reforms in the government and policies of Egypt with the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years under emergency law. Participation of young, smart, internet-savvy people galvanized this movement. They have been dubbed the Facebook generation, and while the values of social networking media have […]

In February, a group of female leaders in the Arab world launched the Think Tank for Arab Women, with the goal of producing fresh knowledge of the issues of concern to women, sharing information and building alliances to enhance women’s efforts and promote their human rights, in collaboration with the National Council (NCFA) for Family […]

At the end of each year, Karama plans an event that commemorates the work of its partners, acknowledges the contributions of staff, activists, and community members, and celebrates the accomplishments of the past year. Karama Day 2010, held at the Swiss Club in Cairo, included presentation of the activities implemented by Karama’s Egyptian partners in […]

As we turn to another year, we at Karama would like to celebrate accomplishments of the past year and share our inspirations for the future. In so many ways, 2010 has brought our vision of advocacy to fruition, from the implementation of local initiatives funded by Karama to regional and international consultations gathering experts, activists, […]

This week marked another groundbreaking moment for women, as 70 speakers and performers from across the globe gathered to share perspectives on women’s issues, their empowerment, and their potential as leaders as part of TEDWomen, TED’s first-ever conference focused solely on women. Co-hosted by the president and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, Pat […]

The Arab Women Organization (AWO), in conjunction with appointed researcher Lamis Nasser, completed a study on the implications of denying women the right to pass on their nationality to children resulting from partnerships with non-Jordanian men. At a ceremony attended by 59 women NGO representatives, seven focal points of the Mosawa coalition, AWO staff and […]

At the 6th Annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in late September 2010, special NGO member Karama presented its 2010 Commitment to Action entitled “Capacity-Building for Women, Peace, and Security.” Specifically addressing conflict-areas within the Arab region including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, this multi-year commitment will launch […]

In an initiative, the first of its kind in Jordan and neighboring Arab countries, the General Federation of the Young Women’s Christian Associations (YWCA) of Jordan, in cooperation with the Cultural Forum for the Blind, and supported by Karama, launched posters and brochures, printed in Braille, explaining the provisions of the Law on Protection against […]

New York 30 June 2010 The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign celebrates the United Nations General Assembly resolution, agreed to on 30 June and to be formally adopted by the General Assembly on Friday, 2 July, to establish “UN Women”—the new gender equality entity at the UN. This move has been sought by women’s […]

The Karama movement in Jordan signed agreements with the working groups in charge of these realms to implement their proposed solutions to ending violence and discrimination against women at the national level. After initial disbursement of funds for action plans in Jordan, the implementing groups reported on their progress in achievement of project objectives in […]

Karama supports many national action plans promoted by our partners in the education, law, culture, media and economic realms in order to study the socio-economic dimensions of violence against women and analyze its manifestations in society in all fields, These initiatives are key in cultivating social forces to challenge violence against women and empower women […]

The following is the text of Karama’s oral statement, which was approved for a High Level Plenary at the 54th Commission on the Status of Women: On behalf of the Middle East Caucus, we commend and welcome the Commission’s call for the intensification of efforts by governments to fully implement the Beijing Platform for Action […]

NEW YORK, NY, March 4, 2010 – On March 3, Karama and UNIFEM convened a one-day conference attended by more than 100 people at the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to present a detailed review of progress towards the gender equality goals set fifteen years ago in the Beijing […]

This week, Karama’s delegation of 32 women from around the Arab world is headed to the UN in New York to participate in the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. During the session, Karama’s team will join women’s activists from around the world to present a detailed review of progress towards […]

CAIRO, EGYPT, February 16, 2010 – From January 15 to February 5 Karama sponsored a delegation of three representatives from Egyptian women’s rights groups to participate in the forty-fifth session on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) treaty held in Geneva. The CEDAW treaty, first adopted in 1979, […]

On December 13-14, in Cairo, Egypt, the Alliance for Arab Women, Karama and UNIFEM held a regional consultation meeting to evaluate the achievements and challenges faced in the Arab region since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995 by 185 states at the UN World Conference on Women. The regional meeting included […]

Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein was honored by Karama and the Arab Women’s Fund with the 2009 ‘Mahfoutha’ Sindiyanat El-Karama Award for challenging a decency law in Sudan which forbids women from wearing pants. Standing trial in September 2009, Ms. Hussein faced a punishment of 40 lashes and one month in prison.

CAIRO, EGYPT, December 9, 2009 – On December 15-16, 2009, in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Karama, together in partnership with UNIFEM and the League of Arab States, will host a Regional CEDAW Celebration for the NGOs in the Arab region to launch a […]

From May 25-27, 2009, a workshop on preparing and submitting parallel reports for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was held at and sponsored by the Swedish Institute in Alexandria. Participants from Syria, Lebanon Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt gathered together to build […]

By October, 2009, Karama disbursed grants to support eight action plans proposed by local organizations in Egypt and Jordan. Ten complete action plans were proposed and approved by realms and joint coalitions in five of the nine countries to date. Looking forward, Karama will be providing funds for strategic initiatives in Lebanon, Syria and Sudan. […]

Honored with a special NGO membership, Karama participated in the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) from September 22-25 in New York City. In the past, CGI annual meetings have brought together more than 100 current and former heads of state, 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners, hundreds of leading global CEOs, major […]

On December 13-14, 2009, in Cairo, Egypt, Karama, UNIFEM Egypt, and the Alliance for Arab Women will convene a two-day 22-country consultation to issue the Regional NGO Shadow Report on the Arab States’ fulfillment of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA), fifteen years after it was adopted at the UN World Conference on […]