Upcoming POMED Event: Women After the Arab Awakening: Making Change

On Thursday, October 25, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), The Brookings Institution, and Vital Voices Global Partnership will host “Women After the Arab Awakening: Making Change” from 2:00 until 3:30 pm at The Brookings Institution’s Saul/Zilkha Rooms (1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW).

Women played an integral role in the Arab uprisings, and the continued empowerment of women will be critical to the emergence of democracy in the region. Gender rights and women’s equality are among the most consequential and controversial issues facing newly elected governments across the Arab world. Some fear that the election of Islamist parties will turn back the clock on women’s rights, but others see more open politics as a new opportunity for efforts to achieve equality in the Arab world. How has the Arab awakening affected the women of the region? How are activists and politicians seeking progress for women in this uncertain and evolving landscape?

On October 25, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, Vital Voices Global Partnership, and the Project on Middle East Democracy will host activists from Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan who are advocating for women’s rights in a variety of ways: combating child marriage, working to repeal gender-discriminatory laws, promoting gender equality in the new Egyptian constitution, and protecting the rights of women workers. Brookings Senior Fellow Tamara Cofman Wittes, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.

Please join us for a discussion with:

Lina Ahmed
Lebanese League for Women in Business
Lebanon

Marianne Ibrahim
Al Gisr Center for Development
Egypt

Randa Naffa
SADAQA
Jordan

Souad Slaoui
Isis Center
Morocco

Moderator: Tamara Cofman Wittes
Director and Senior Fellow,
Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings

Click here to RSVP for the event.

We’ll also be live-tweeting the event (@POMEDWire), so follow the conversation at #POMED. If you’d like us to ask one of your questions, we’ll try to include a few from our virtual audience.

Please contact Alex Russell at alex.russell@pomed.org with any questions, or call (202) 828-9660, ext 25.