Women in Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia are facing a dangerous moment, says Mahnaz Afkhami. Those who have networks, resources, and a clear, concise and appealing public message are the conservative and conservative-religious forces.
It is a moment of urgency for women to be able to catch up in time while the fundamental structures underlying these countries’ democratic development are being put in place.
Unfortunately, women are not present in these consults: they have not been included in these consults in most places.
“The grim truth is that women who are struggling to advance human rights and create secular, pluralistic, democratic societies, face grave challenges rooted in tradition and history. Traditional social and cultural norms have relegated Middle Eastern women and girls to a private space, and they often lack the social, economic, and political power they need to overcome antagonistic groups and regressive policy,” Afkhami stated as a witness testifying at the hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operation and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues and Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Central Asia Affairs spotlighting Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The Current – CBC Radio/ By Anna Maria Tremonti
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Women have often played leading roles in pushing for change in the Arab and Muslim worlds. But when the dust settles, the gains they think they have made are often elusive. For their thoughts on why that is and whether things may be different this time … we were joined by three women who have spent decades trying to improve the position of women in their societies.
Before the Iranian revolution, Mahnaz Afkhami was Iran’s Minister for Women’s Affairs….
Over the past two months protest movements have transformed the face of governments across the Middle East and North Africa. As the upheaval continues, we examine the role of women in these demonstrations, and how new regimes will affect women’s rights throughout the region. Will they bring greater freedoms, or impose further constraints?
NPR KQED Radio / By Michael Krasny / Listen
Tell Me More – NPR/ By Michel Martin
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Women have been at the forefront of the pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa. But will efforts at reform and revolution, lead to increased legal rights and a greater role for women in politics in Arab nations?
New America Media / By Sandip Roy / Listen
A year after the controversial elections in Iran, what is the status of the opposition movement? Mahnaz Afkahmi speaks of the women who were at the forefront of protests, and of the regime’s attempt to behead the democratic movement. Indeed almost all activists from the June 2009 protests have been imprisoned, harassed, or tortured. Those who were released from prison and allowed to travel were then often tried in absentia and heavily sentenced, effectively condemning them to exile.
International Museum of Women / By Clare Winterton / Listen
Mahnaz Afkhami spoke with I.M.O.W. Executive Director Clare Winterton as part of the Extraordinary Voices, Extraordinary Change Speaker Series. Together they covered a variety of subjects, including the WLP partnership goal of changing the architecture of human relations, and Mahnaz’s hand in helping to create a new generation of powerful women in the Muslim World.
NPR KQED Radio / By Michael Krasny / Listen
In her new book, “Paradise Beneath Her Feet,” Isobel Coleman profiles women she calls quiet revolutionaries who are working for social justice in the Middle East. We’ll also check in with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islamic fundamentalism, and Mahnaz Afkhami. In the interview, Afkhami takes issue with Muslim ‘exceptionalism’ and emphasizes the importance of mutual empowerment, learning and solidarity between women’s rights advocates.
CNN / By Christiane Amanpour / Part 2; Part 3
Women’s rights have advanced in many Muslim countries, but women still suffer from more inequality than anywhere else. Joining Christiane Amanpour are three women who’ve made it their mission to promote gender equality: the president and CEO of the Women’s Learning Partnership, Mahnaz Afkhami, she’s a former minister for women’s affairs in Iran; Asma Khader, who is secretary general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and a former culture minister; and Lina Abou Habib, executive director of a Lebanese organization that tries to empower women.
New School for Social Research / By Mahnaz Afkhami
Mahnaz Afkhami delivers the opening remarks during a one-day conference in cooperation with the Social Research Journal, entitled “2020 Vision: Mobilizing for Women’s Rights and Eliminating Violence Against Women.” The conference keynote speakers were Shirin Ebadi, Thoraya Obaid, Mary Robinson, and Melanne Verveer.
Friday, November 4, 2011