TORONTO, April 3, 2013 –The Arab Spring is regarded as a remarkable turning point in the history of the Middle East and North Africa, but hard challenges remain ahead for women in those regions, according to international scholars and activists who will meet at York University this week to examine women’s place in the uprisings.
The conference, taking place on Friday and Saturday, will include two plenary panels:
“Transition to Democracy, Placing Gender Justice at the Heart of the Revolutionary Discourse” (Friday morning) – featuring presentations on female solidarity in post-revolution Tunisia, women’s rights in the post-revolutionary Arab region, women in Egypt following the uprising there, and Islamizing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
“Contemporary Challenges Faced by Feminist Activists in the Middle East and North Africa” (Saturday morning) – with several presentations including one about peaceful grassroots opposition to fundamentalism by people of Muslim heritage, including feminists.
During the two-day conference, organized by York’s Centre for Feminist Research, there will also be three panels with speakers detailing specific examples of the quest for women’s rights in Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
WHAT: “Women’s Quests for Rights in the Middle East and North Africa” conference
WHEN: Fri. April 5 (9:30am to 5pm) and Saturday April 6, 2013 (10:30am to 4:15pm)
WHERE: York Research Tower, Room 519, York University Keele campus
MAP: Building 95 on Keele campus
PROGRAM: See the Conference Agenda and speaker bios
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Media Contact: Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
