Women and Power in the Middle East, and: Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women's Movement, and: Unveiling Traditions: Postcolonial Islam in a Polycentric World (review)

NWSA Journal ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-164
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Torstrick
1970 ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Goulding

The Tunisian government, since independence in 1956, has been a major factor in creating and maintaining space for the women’s movement both in the domestic and political spheres. The state has been the chief agent of change, not only in introducing legislation, but also in seeking to alter the productive and reproductive roles of women (Murphy, 2003) – a process which has been mirrored in other states throughout the Middle East under the blanket term of “state-sponsored feminism” (Murphy, 2003, p.169; Brand, 1998, p. 9). The process of “instigation from above” (Hatem, 1999, p. 78) has both secured the state’s support of women’s right as well as transformed gender into a political instrument. The women’s movement in Tunisia enjoys the ideological and financial backing of the government, and has become part of a political strategy to enhance the legitimacy of the state. In short, the caprices (and benevolence) of President Ben Ali’s ruling Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique (Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD) have come to define the scope and magnitude of the rights of women, a process through which the feminist agenda has become closely (and dangerously) tied to the ruling party’s political agenda.


1970 ◽  
pp. 139-141
Author(s):  
Hala Kamal

By  Nadje Al-Ali, Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women’s Movement (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2000).


Author(s):  
Arkan Ibrahim Adwan

The researcher aimed to identify the most important elements of power for the state of Iraq. As a historically had a country of prestige and influence in its regional, which has made it very important to global and regional powers, in order to achieve their interests in the region.


Author(s):  
Kleanthis Kyriakidis

In the Arabian Gulf two identities can be really considered almost as important as the national one: the tribal and the sectarian ones. Someone should expect that the reinforcement of these identities is a direct response to inequality and processes of exclusion. Furthermore, parochial tribalism is expected to arise as the protector of cultural heritage, especially in a region where the ex-pats vastly outnumber the locals. Nonetheless, both statements are far from truth. In this paper we will analyze how in the Gulf, sectarian identity came to play a significant role only after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and it keeps on surviving through mainly instigations and Iranian propaganda, provocations and support. It should be noted that Sunni identity has been allegedly subjugated in other Middle East States (mainly in Syria and Iraq) but in the Gulf the sectarian challenge stems from the Shia communities, openly supported by Tehran. Strangely enough, the tribal identity does not pose that much of a challenge, since tribes are more the friend than the enemy of all Gulf States. Actually, these countries could not have survived without the loyalty and commitment of the tribes not only to the Royal families but also to the idea of the State and the ideal of the Nation – and Gulf Nations do protect their cultural heritage. Keywords: Gulf, Globalization, Fragmentation, Sectarianism, Tribalism


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