[ecrea] cfp: The Women’s Question(s) and the Arab Uprisings for Panel for next year's ISA conference, San Francisco (due May 21)

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*Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco*

*The School of Humanities and Social Sciences*

*_Call for Papers_*

*_The Women’s Question(s) and the Arab Uprisings_**__*

*_A Panel at the 54^th Annual Meeting of _*

*The International Studies Association*

*_San Francisco, CA, April 3-6, 2013_***

* *Women in North Africa and the Middle East differ considerably in 
terms of religion, ethnicity, education and political, social and 
economic opportunities and yet they occupy a shared geographic region 
that in the past two years has undergone profound political upheaval. 
The achievement of women during these transformations was most 
symbolically represented when Tawakkul Karman received the Nobel Peace 
Prize for her leadership role in Yemen’s peaceful protests against the 
Ali Abdullah Saleh regime. Meanwhile, Bothayna Kamel became the first 
female presidential candidate in Egypt and we continue to witness the 
courageous protest of millions of women alongside men in North Africa 
and the Middle East. Throughout the region women have fought together 
with men in their demands for dignity, human rights and participation in 
the process of transitional change. A major component leading to the 
uprisings in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya is women’s unremitting 
calls for democratic change: these continue to sound in Syria and 
Bahrain. However, many commentators now question the likely outcomes of 
these uprisings for the lives of women. While throughout the region 
women were at the forefront of the revolutions, they are now 
systematically occluded from participation in political transition and 
equality for women continues to be in jeopardy. As women’s rights 
advocates, lawyers and activists seek to ban discriminatory laws, they 
warn that a backward slide for women may be imminent without consistent 
political struggle.

In the wake of these revolutions, questions surface as to whether the 
Arab Uprisings will really bring about significant change for all 
citizens. This panel addresses the varied and emerging questions 
regarding the gendered implications of the Arab Uprisings and women’s 
participation in revolutionary change and post revolutionary political 
and civic life. On the other hand, a positive consequence of the 
Uprisings is that debates about women have resurfaced from within the 
region and women are demanding to be taken seriously. While some assert 
that the Uprisings have advanced women’s rights and political 
representation, others portend that ‘an ocean of misogyny’ in the region 
undermines any real advance for women. In what seems to be an impasse of 
representation, the plight of many in the region is expressed  through 
the voices and experiences of women: women in North Africa and the 
Middle East are speaking for themselves.

Was the Arab Spring a shifting moment in the struggle for women’s rights 
in North Africa and the Middle East? What role –or roles- did women play 
in the revolts and revolution in North Africa and the Middle East? Does 
this revolutionary era offer promise for advancing women’s rights in the 
constitution of new political configurations? Will the achievements made 
by women in the past two years provide enduring incentive for women to 
take a significant place in the transitional reforms? Can transitional 
governments overcome divisional categories to distribute equitable 
reforms for all citizens?

Abstracts and CVs of paper presenters should be sent to Nizar Messari, at

(n.messari /at/ aui.ma)

by or before May 21, 2012