By Natana DeLong-Bas Boston, Massachusetts – The Arab Spring introduced us to the strength and determination of the many Arab women who took to the streets and the internet to call for change in their governments and societies. Gone were the stereotypes of oppression and passivity. In their place were voices and faces of hope, …
By Natana Delong-Bas BOSTON, Massachusetts: The capture and killing of Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, on-going demonstrations for an end to the oppressive reigns of Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh and Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad, and new elections in Tunisia show that one thing has not changed in the Arab Spring — change itself. Even in Saudi Arabia, where requests …
By Natana DeLong-Bas BOSTON, Massachusetts: Should women drive or not drive? That is the question many in Saudi Arabia are asking today. When Manal Al-Sharif posted a video of herself driving on YouTube and launched her Women2Drive campaign on Facebook, she drew the eyes of the world yet again to the status of Saudi women. Driving …
By Natana DeLong-Bas BOSTON, Massachusetts: What do Asmaa Mahfouz, Munira Fakhro and Tawakul Karman all have in common? They are all strong, capable women defying the popular Western image of the oppressed, repressed, suppressed Muslim woman hidden behind a black chador or blue burqa, helplessly waiting for Western liberation. The biggest challenge these women face is …
