Women's Studies Commons^™

Failing The Masses: Buthaina Shabaan And The Public Intellectual Crisis, Asaad Al-Saleh

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article discusses the problematic and double-sided role of the public intellectual in the Syrian revolution, which started on March 15, 2011 and is still unfolding. When recently challenged by Syrians, the regime enforced its control by carrying out military operations against its own citizens, not without endorsement by a large portion of the population. The article follows the case of Buthaina Shabaan (b.1953-), the writer, professor, and advocate of the Syrian regime. While spurring the populace to embrace the possibility of democratic reform, this female intellectual has accepted—even embraced—the political control employed by an authoritarian one-party regime, which uses …

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? Egyptian Women Within The Confines Of Authoritarianism, Nadine Sika, Yasmin Khodary

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines the pre and post January 25th political dynamics in Egypt, how these have affected the role of women in the private, public and political spheres. It analyzes the dynamics of the development of Egyptian women’s organizations, and the extent to which these may develop into an Egyptian feminist movement. An overview of historical, political, and social contexts of the role of Egyptian women’s organizations will provide an understanding of their main accomplishments from Nasser to Mubarak. The study shows how the early women’s organizations were directly linked with the ruling authorities and how these have added to …

Acknowledgement And Dedication, Muhamad S. Olimat

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

“Today I Have Seen Angels In Shape Of Humans:”1 An Emotional History Of The Egyptian Revolution Through The Narratives Of Female Personal Bloggers, Susana Galán

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the intertwinings between emotion and political protest in the 2011 Egyptian revolution through the narratives of Egyptian female personal bloggers. Drawing from scholarship in the emotional turn of social movement theory and using Deborah Gould’s concept of emotional habitus, it aims at describing the dominant social moods at different moments of the revolutionary process, in order to address how these emotions fostered or, on the contrary, inhibited protest for social change. For this purpose, the article considers personal blogs as a modified form of Lauren Berlant’s intimate publics, alternative spaces through which affect circulates and a shared …

The Role Of Women In The Egyptian 25th January Revolution, Manal Al-Natour

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines women’s roles in the January 25th Revolution in Egypt. I examine portrayals of women’s roles in the revolution in literary fiction released shortly after the revolution and in digital media. I argue that the fictional and even nonfictional texts are incomplete in their depiction of female roles. I further examine the representation of women’s roles in digital media, specifically blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, and argue that digital social media give the most pervasive, extensive, and accurate description of women’s roles in the revolution; it not only engages women politically, but it also provides a wide range of …

Barriers Hindering Jordanian Women’S Advancement To Higher Political And Leadership Positions, Rowaida Al Maaitah, Arwa Oweis, Hmoud Olimat, Ikhlas Altarawneh, Hadeel Al Maaitah

Journal of International Women's Studies

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to identify barriers hindering Jordanian women’s advancement to higher political and leadership positions and to identify main actions/strategies to facilitate Jordanian women’s advancement to higher political and leadership positions. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was used where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected utilizing a self-administered questionnaire. A convenience sample of 500 Jordanian women was selected from women working in political and leadership positions in various settings including government, Non Government Organizations (NGOs), business, educational and academic institutions. The Study involved a self administered questionnaire with closed and open ended questions …

Will Women Gain Seats?: The 2012 Election And The Representation Of Women In The Massachusetts Legislature, Paige Ransford, Meryl Thomson

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston released this fact sheet just prior to the November 2012 general election. Currently, just less than one quarter (24.5%) of Massachusetts legislators are female, putting Massachusetts behind all other New England states when it comes to the election of women to state legislative office. Vermont has the highest percentage (38.9%) of women in its legislature in the New England region.

On The Verge Of Change: Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding, Mallary Taylor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis discusses the effects of war on the southern plantation lifestyle depicted in Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding. This thesis focuses on the female characters who adapt to the absence of the husbands during wartime. Wars are the catalyst for societal change in the novel, and the women must adapt to the new social changes that are encroaching upon the plantation. The chapters explore each individual reaction of female characters in the novel. The female characters in Delta Wedding represent varying wars of reacting to shifting social norms brought about by war.

Why Women Are Losing Rights In Post-Revolutionary Egypt, Aliaa Dawoud

Journal of International Women's Studies

A backlash against women’s rights emerged in post-revolutionary Egypt. This paper argues that one of the reasons is the fact that former President Mubarak, his wife and son were the key decision makers when it came to women’s rights. These decisions were reflected in the media so that women’s rights came to be associated with government policy personalized around the first lady. The paper demonstrates that the backlash did not emerge suddenly after Mubarak was ousted from power, but that dissent against Mubaraks’ decisions pertaining to women was prevalent in the media long before the 25th of January revolution. The …

Himali Didi: Finding The Strength In The Women Of Nepal, Emily Cheung

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intent of this project is to bring to light the role of Nepalese women in adventure sports; a phenomenon that has existed in Nepal for the past few decades but has been widely unappreciated, if not unnoticed. In this study, women from various adventure companies in Nepal were interviewed to reveal the experiences and obstacles these women face in these occupations during their lifetimes. Some of them agreed to share their stories.

Their journeys have taken them on (quite literal) climbs that have proven their physical strength and made tremendous moves to achieve gender equality in Nepal. Through this …

The Role Of Women In The Arab World: Toward A New Wave Of Democratization, Or An Ebbing Wave Toward Authoritarianism?, Nadine Sika

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Special Issue is devoted to examining the role of Arab women in the ongoing uprisings and revolutions sweeping the Arab world over the past two years. It covers case studies of women in Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, the Sudan, and other countries in the region. Two major questions are going to be addressed: how influential were Arab women in the “Arab Spring” of uprisings, and to what degree are Arab women’s rights to equality and freedom going to be attained and respected after the creation of new regimes, such as in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria, which …

Social Networks And Women’S Mobilization In Tunisia, Sami Zlitni, Zeineb Touati

Journal of International Women's Studies

After the fall of Ben Ali’s regime, fears were growing as various religious parties have decided to run in the elections to the Constituent Assembly of October 23th, 2011. The Code of Personal Status, the very symbol of Bourguibian modernity, might well be challenged. Beyond their presence on traditional media, feminist movements have organized themselves online so as to make themselves heard and to be able to mobilize public opinion. Facebook has become a place that maximizes visibility, thus allowing Tunisian feminists to make their ideas and their actions widely known. By favoring distanciated commitment, Facebook is a tool that …

Arab Women, Social Media, And The Arab Spring: Applying The Framework Of Digital Reflexivity To Analyze Gender And Online Activism, Victoria A. Newsom, Lara Lengel

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay analyzes the engagement of Arab feminist activisms online, most notably during the citizen revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and, specifically, women’s use of online social networking to aid social change. Building on research examining how Arab activists and activist organizations, including feminist organizations, mobilize, produce knowledge, and develop and share resources online and, in particular, drawing from research on Arab activisms and social media this study aims to understand how online activist discourses function, both locally and globally. To do so, we utilize a schema of information production and consumption devised to analyze activist engagement and citizen journalism, …

Women At A Crossroads: Sudanese Women And Political Transformation, Leah F. Sherwood

Journal of International Women's Studies

The ‘Arab Spring’ is a nuanced phenomenon of significance to African democracy and women’s rights in Sudan – north and south. Political transformation processes underway in postrevolution Arab states simultaneously give voice to human rights advocates and rise to Islamist political groups. The reverberating trend presents a risk of deepening Islamist governance in Sudan and reinforcing patriarchal patterns of kinship in South Sudan. It also offers opportunity, north and south, for Sudanese women to form a common agenda, engage politically, promote a vibrant civil society, challenge human rights violations and develop a voice through participation. Given the Islamist upsurge in …

A New Feminism? Gender Dynamics In Morocco’S February 20th Movement, Zakia Salime

Journal of International Women's Studies

The February 20th movement shows new modes of engagement with feminism, despite a striking absence of feminist organizations from the protest movement. Nevertheless, and in sharp contrast with most accounts that posit the irrelevance of feminism for Moroccan youth’s identifications and political subjectivities, I argue that feminism has not only penetrated the social imaginary of a new generation of activists, but has also informed their practices. What kind of tension does this appropriation of feminism by the youth of February 20th bring about with traditional feminist circles? Does this high visibility of women in February 20th indicate the rise of …

Jordanian Women’S Political Participation: On The Verge Of Arab Spring, Abdulhalim M. Al-Adwan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Recent decades in Jordan have witnessed considerable changes in women’s roles in the political sphere and in the community. Jordan has passed, modified, or adopted legislation that fosters the rights of women and the abolition of discrimination against them. Women experienced real visibility in higher leadership positions with 10.8% in the lower house and 11.7% in the senate. Yet, while women earn higher levels of education, their participation in the labor market is relatively low, and those who want to join the labor force meet higher levels of unemployment. Although women have made real progress in the public sphere, their …

Arab Spring: Women’S Empowerment In Algeria, Sangeeta Sinha

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Arab Spring brought turmoil, upheaval and regime change in its wake. But these winds of change barely touched Algeria, and when it did we did not hear or see any women. In order to answer the two questions, the paper explores the status of women in present-day Algeria within a historical social and political context. Understanding the status of women is done by delving into some of the historical processes that Algerian women have had to confront. In order to understand the empowerment process, the study uses the empowerment framework as outlined by the Beijing Platform of action and …

Looking At Me, Are You? Social Status And The Veil, Angelika Böck

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this article I discuss the dialogical method which is used to study the idea of perception among individuals, especially to understand the question of perception toward the veil in Yemen in 2007. Furthermore I elaborate on my exploration of “portrayal” as an art form which lies at the basis of my approach. To be occupied with matters of the veil means to deal with questions of image and gaze. Therefore I also try to give a basic overview on this topic. The article ends with a short description of a corresponding experiment I carried out in Germany one year …

Arab Spring And Women In Kuwait, Muhamad S. Olimat

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of protests and rebellions, and a process of regime change and democratization is sweeping the Arab world, but marginally touching women’s issues in Kuwait. While Arab women in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, and Syria are active participants and co-beneficiaries of the process of change, Kuwaiti women have lost their electoral gains made in 2009 in the latest elections held in February of 2012. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of Arab Spring on women in Kuwait, and their continued struggle for political participation in the country. It will …

“Every Knot Has Someone To Undo It.” Using The Capabilities Approach As A Lens To View The Status Of Women Leading Up To The Arab Spring In Syria, Lorraine Charles, Kate Denman

Journal of International Women's Studies

The status of women in Syria has undergone great change in the last century and particularly in the decade leading up to the Syrian Arab Spring. Despite this advancement, many women are still not permitted the freedom to convert their capabilities into chosen valued activities and achievements. This has resulted in a lack of agency to decide, act and bring change in Syria. Most women do not partake in political and public life and, due to the nature of the regime and the socio-cultural landscape, their freedom to make decisions affecting their status within the public and private sphere is …