Media should assume role as ‘fourth estate’
The Arab media sector, now more than ever, should assume its role as the “fourth estate”, reflecting the reality, analysing it and highlighting differing points of view, HRH Princess Basma said.
Speaking at the opening of the 10th Arab Women Media Conference on Thursday, Princess Basma, who is the honorary chairman of the Arab Media Women’s Centre (AMWC), said women were still unable to reap the fruits of popular protests in the Arab world.
Highlighting the “distinguished” presence and achievements realised by Arab women in the media, the princess said there is still a need for more work to build on their success and not allow any setbacks.
Arab Women Say Time for Saying ‘Spring’ is Over
Women’s e-news, March 14, 2013
UNITED NATIONS (WOMENSENEWS) – Egyptian female activists are looking for a better constitution and members of the Syrian opposition are concerned about the violence committed by all sides of that conflict against women.
Worsening violence against women in Tunisia is also troubling.
The long and difficult process of democratization is causing many Arab women to seek new ways to describe what their region–and the women in them–are going through.
For Women of the Arab Spring, the Revolutions isn’t Over
Policymic, March 13, 2013
Far from the media image of passive victims, women in the Middle East were in many ways the driving force behind the recent wave of revolution.
“They were the initiators,” said Zahra Langhi, co-founder of the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace. “The wives, mothers daughters of prisoners were the first to protest Gadaffi. They inspired a revolution.”
But two years later, what have women of the Middle East gained for the sacrifices made on the front lines of revolution?
Egyptian women want dignity for all, says an activist
UN Radio, March 7
Women from around the world have gathered at United Nations headquarters for the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The theme for this year’s session is "Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls."
One of the participants in the meetings is Nehad Abo El-Komsan, a Senior Lawyer and Gender Consultant from Egypt who is part of a coalition of women leaders of the Arab Spring known as Karama.
UN Radio’s Derrick Mbatha caught up with her to discuss the theme of the session of the Commission on the Status of Women and what’s happening to women in Egypt.
To listen to the interview, please visit UN Radio.
Syrian Activist Speaks Out
UN Radio, March 6, 2013
Peace must come from within Syria and peace-bulding has to include men and women from all political spectra.
The view was expressed by Dr. Mouna Ghanem who works as a deputy for the President of the "Building the Syrian State" movement in Syria, considered the first opposition movement established in the country.
Dr. Ghanem also has responsibilities in a number of Syrian women’s peace organizations.
She spoke to Gerry Adams while on tour in the United States with a group of 20 Arab women who all have roles in post Arab Spring development.
To listen to the interview, please visit UN Radio.
Al Youm (Today) Program interviews Karama Delegate and Leading Activist Azza Kamel of Egypt
Silence isn’t Conservative: Speaking up for Women’s Rights
Huffington Post, March 5, 2013
NEW YORK, NY — As thousands of women from all over the world gather at the United Nations in New York this week to mark the 57th anniversary of the Commission of the Status of Women [CSW], also attending will be some conservative NGOs who’s rhetoric is damaging, unproductive and not in alignment with the goals or ideologies of this powerful and important commission.
CSW was established by the United Nations as the sole global policymaking body dedicated to gender equality and advancement of women throughout all aspects of society including economically, socially, educationally, and politically. We gather annually to set in place concrete policies for the year ahead to ensure the advancement of women worldwide and ensure gender equality, which in my part of the world still has a long way to go. The 20-strong member delegation I am leading includes women from eight different countries: Syria, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. They are wives, mothers, daughters and sisters united in their objectives: Women deserve the same opportunity as men and all of us have a responsiblity to help end violence against women.
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed an expanded bipartisan “Violence Against Women Act,” an important step forward as we begin this week’s important global gathering. Yet conservative NGOs here in New York are missing the big picture of CSW by focusing on so-called “sensitive issues” related to gender equality and pro-life issues, arguing a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion is a “violent act,” and should be stopped. As an example, the “Endeavor Forum,” a Christian pro-life family Australian NGO states “there is a need for women to defend the legitimate rights of traditional women in families and the rights of male breadwinners to get jobs.” Another NGO, “Concerned Women for America” is the largest public policy women’s organization in the United States who lobbies for integrating biblical principles into all levels of public policy. Are these really examples of moving forward?
What should be stopped are such shortsighted views on serious issues affecting hundreds of millions of women across the globe, particularly at a time when women are becoming more active in effecting change and speaking up for it. Look no further then where I live — Cairo, Egypt — where women continue to participate and contribute as equal partners to men in popular movements demanding democratic change. The effects and impact of these movements, which call for freedom, justice, equality, and dignity in view of laws protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals and groups within the framework of a modern democratic civil state, constituted a turning point in the lives of the region’s people. Are these conservative NGOs really asking us to turn the clock back?
Among our delegation at CSW, and what was discussed recently at our UN Women meeting in Amman, Jordan, is the sad realization that the rise of political conservatism and religious fundamentalism allied with tribal agendas within the guise of the pro-democracy movements in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria, has resulted in a backlash on women’s rights and women’s equal participation in society. Moreover, women and girls in the region are facing new forms of organized political violence, which often fail to be punished by the state and which the state has failed to effectively protect them from, including sexual harassment, gang rapes, and intimidation linked to their civic engagement. As a result, the rights and achievements of women have been severely undermined, and women have been marginalized and bullied from fully participating in public life, as well as from making key decisions in their private lives. This must stop. We will be lobbying hard this week to ensure this message is relayed to all the governments in our region and around the world who still don’t provide women with equal opportunities.
We will continue to stress the need to urgently address and outlaw all forms of discrimination, violence, exploitation, and marginalization on the basis of gender in both public and private spheres, including the undermining of women’s personal freedoms and their physical and psychological security. We must respect and enforce women’s civil, political, economic, social, cultural, health, and reproductive rights as stipulated in the various international human rights instruments, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. There is no time for rhetoric of moving backwards to accommodate conservative agendas. What the 57th session of the Commission of the Status of Women does has time for is not to be silenced, as the conservatives would like us to be. CSW will continue to effect a lasting global impact and promote a world where everyone has equal opportunities and a better place for the next generation of women to come.
This blog was originally printed in The Huffington Post.