saudi-woman-driver

Senate Women Urge Overturn of Saudi Women Driving Ban

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), along with several other Senators, including Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ...

New POMED Policy Brief: On the Front Lines of Change

Women have played a central role in the uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, and now, as some of these countries undergo transitions, women’s rights must be incorporated into broader demands for social, economic, and political reform. In the latest POMED policy brief, Isobel Coleman examines the women’s movements in Tunisia and Egypt in the context of the Arab Spring. A transition to an inclusive, authentic democracy will ...

POMED Notes: “Minority at Risk: Coptic Christians in Egypt”

On Friday, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing entitled “Minority at Risk: Coptic Christians in Egypt.” Christopher Smith (R-NJ) chaired the hearing, also attending were Steve Cohen (D-TN), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Renee Ellmers (R-NC). The witnesses were Caroline Doss, Vice President, Coptic Solidarity; Michelle Clark, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University; and Jean Maher, President, French Office, Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization. Notes on the event ...

Saudi Arabia: Women Continue Driving Campaign

A Saudi Arabian woman was arrested earlier this week in Jeddah for driving during what she said was a medical emergency and will be put on trial.  The unnamed 35-year-old woman was released after her father acted as her "guarantor."  A Saudi daily newspaper, Okaz says that the woman had been suffering from a hemorrhage and did not have access to public transportation or a personal driver to take her ...

Iran’s Political Prisoners Take a Stand

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and women's activist sentenced to 11 years in prison sent a letter in March 2010 to the head of Iran's judiciary.  The letter was released for the public today: "Your Judge confirmed that Iranian women cannot be ignored under any pretext," Sotoudeh wrote.  Isa Sahahrkhiz, an Iranian journalist and one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom in Iran ...

Women Demand Greater Role in Egyptian Government

Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that feminists are dismayed with the progress of protests and are rallying other female rights groups together to defend women's rights against the perceivable threats of resurgent Islamists groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Feminist Nawal al-Saadawi said, "Women need to unite" in a recent interview. The World Economic Forum's  2010 Global Gender Gap Index (which gauges women's equality) reports that Egypt ranked 125th out of 134 countries. Feminists like Saadawi ...

Analysis: Arab Spring Seen From Tehran

President and Founder of the National Iranian American Council Trita Parsi and Research Director Reza Marashi write about how Iran views the Arab Spring "as a challenge not only to the status quo powers investing in an order that suppresses the streets, but also the powers that claim to champion them."  Both Parsi and Marashi argue that Tehran's decision-makers are more concerned with winning over the soft power of the ...

POMED Notes: European Union Response to Arab Spring

On Tuesday, The Brookings Institution held a forum on “The European Union Response to the Arab Spring” featuring Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Police.  The forum was moderated by Martin Indyk, the vice president and director of the foreign policy department at the Brookings Institution.  Ashton spoke on the role of the European Union in supporting the Arab Spring. For full text, ...

Iran: New Green Movement Manifesto Released

Geneive Abdo released the "New Green Movement Manifesto" authored by Iranian  intellectuals, who are the leaders of the Green Movement in Tehran.  It was released today in the Iran Primer by the United States Institute of Peace.  The manifesto outlined suggestions for future actions, inspirations and the organization of Iran's Green Movement. The authors recommended the formation of a Green Council led by about ten "leading and known" political and intellectual ...

State Dept.: Limited Contact with Muslim Brotherhood

At a press conference held at the Hungarian National Assembly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed questions about the Obama Administration's contact with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  Clinton said that the Obama Administration is continuing limited contact with the Muslim Brotherhood "that has existed on and off for about five or six years."  According to Clinton, it is in the interest of the United States to engage with peaceful and nonviolent parties ...

Iran: Campaign for Women’s Rights Evolves

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) released an Iran Primer on Tuesday entitled, "Iran's Women Two Years After the Uprising," that featured an extensive interview with Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, a women's rights activist.  According to Abbasgholizadeh, women's right activists have increased human rights and gender equality efforts since the start of the Green Movement.  Ultimately, women's rights activists have broadened their scope of influence to promoting democracy and civil rights for ...

Amnesty International Calls for an End to Military Trials

According to Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, called on Egyptian authorities, including the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to support the people by abolishing repressive laws, and to use the post-Mubarak period to reform and earn back the trust of the people.  After a week long visit to Egypt, Shetty said it was important for authorities to lift laws that focused on banning strikes and the ...

driving

Saudi: Women Drive in Protest

Saudi women protested their extralegal prohibition to drive today. Sympathizers around the world expressed support for the movement through Twitter, Facebook and other platforms.

Clinton “Deeply Concerned” About Rape in Libya, MENA

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement yesterday about sexual violence in the MENA region. She said, "the United States is deeply concerned by reports of wide-scale rape in Libya." She called for a thorough ICC investigation of the sexual violence documented in Libya. She also condemned other acts of sexual violence, harassment, and intimidation, including "virginity tests," that have been documented across the region. Secretary Clinton said, " Qadhafi’s security ...

POMED Notes: “Revolution and Women’s Rights: The Case of Egypt”

On Wednesday, the American Islamic Congress and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted a discussion entitled “Revolution and Women’s Rights: The Case of Egypt.”  Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program for the Woodrow Wilson Center, moderated the event.  The panelists included Zainab al-Suwaij, Executive Director, American Islamic Congress; Manar Mohsen, student, journalist, and human rights activist;Amany el-Tunsy, founder of Banat wi Bas (Girls Only) radio station in Egypt, ...

POMED Notes: “Women’s Role in the Libyan Revolution”

Correction: The organizers of this event were the Libyan Council of North America (LCNA) and the Libya Outreach Group, not only the Libya Outreach Group, as previously reported. On Thursday, the Libyan Council of North America (LCNA) and the Libya Outreach Group hosted a congressional briefing on the role of women in the Libyan revolution.  Speakers on the panel were Ambassador Ali Aujali of the Libyan Transitional National Council, Asma Ramadan of Libya Outreach Group, Asma Yousef of ...

Women and the Arab Spring: “New Era” or “Unclear” Future

Writing an op-ed in the New York Times, Farzaneh Milani argues that the same forces of self-determination and freedom of movement have motivated Saudi women protesting for the right to drive and women participating in Arab Spring protests. The collective activism of women and men signifies that "old categories have broken down and the traditional distribution of power and space is no longer viable." Milani credits these women as a "moderating, ...

POMED Notes: “Future of Women in MENA”

On Thursday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel discussion on the future of women in the Middle East, with a specific focus on Tunisia and Egypt. The panelists included Lilia Labidi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Republic of Tunisia, and Moushira Khattab, former Minister of Family & Population of Egypt. To see full notes, continue below. Or click here for the pdf. Lilia Labidi focused her comments on the ...

Saudi Arabia: Woman Arrested for Leading Right-to-Drive Campaign

On Sunday, the Saudi government detained Manal al-Sharif on charges of "disturbing public order and inciting public opinion by twice driving in a bid to press her cause."  Sharif's drives are part of a campaign to highlight Facebook and Twitter campaigns she has organized to encourage women across Saudi Arabia to participate in a collective protest, supporting the right of women to drive,  scheduled for June 17.  Wajiha Howeidar stated that ...

Obama Addresses Middle East Policy in Major Speech

President Obama Delivers Major Address on Middle East Policy

On Thursday,  President Barack Obama addressed the nation to discuss U.S. policy towards the Middle East and North Africa.  He noted that over the past six months,  the people in the region "have risen up to demand their basic ...

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