[Photos] Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Ambitions
Georgia – Helen Khoshtaria, a set on Flickr.
Photos from our event with Helen Khoshtaria, Georgian Deputy Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
[Upcoming Event] Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions
WIIS Brussels cordially invite you to a debate on
Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions
with
Helen Khoshtaria, Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Georgia
As the Warsaw Summit on Eastern Partnership draws to a close, and just a month before Secretary General Rasmussen’s visit to Georgia, Helen Khoshtaria will discuss Georgia’s aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration, and the key role of women in the country’s reform process. Khoshtaria is Georgia’s Deputy Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. She was previously Deputy Head of NATO Integration and International Relations Department at the Ministry of Defence, Head of International Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Coordinator of International Relations at Ministry of Internal Affairs, Reform Agency.
Thursday October 6th at 18h30
Sofitel Europe, Place Jourdan, Brussels
Participation fee: 5€
To register, please email wiisbrussels@gmail.com
Photos are up!
We have uploaded some photos from last week’s event on Women in the Arab Spring, please take a look at our Flickr stream to view all of them. Click here to see the rest of the photos.
Many thanks go to photographer George Gavanas!
[Event report] “Women have been kind to revolutions, but revolutions haven’t always been kind to them”
As you may know, WIIS Brussels hosted its event on Women in the Arab Spring last Tuesday. A big thanks again to all the speakers and participants, it was a fascinating debate and much more could’ve been said, if only it wasn’t for the time limit & drinks awaiting us. In all seriousness though, please feel free to continue the debate in the comments section of this event report, which we hope you’ll enjoy. Photos coming soon!
WIIS Evening Debate, 24th May 2011 – Arab Spring : The Role of Women
The sweeping social and political changes of the Arab Spring are far from over. Regardless, participants at the latest WIIS evening gathered to debate whether the notable prominence of women in the street protests of Egypt and Tunisia would result in a greater role in the post-revolution society. Moderated by Shada Islam, Head of the Asia Programme for Friends of Europe, the discussion focused on gender equality in politics, the importance of wider economic development and the risk of a greater degradation of female rights under potential Islamist governments.
Rouba Al-Fattal, Co-founder of the Euro-Arab Forum, emphasized the opportunities raised by social media for mobilizing women politically. “Young women are very active using new media, and having social media allowed them the space to communicate together; to find women like them willing to go out onto the street”, she enthused.
However, with such opportunities also arise dangers. “Women have been very kind to revolutions, but revolutions have not been kind to them”, Al-Fattal warned, noting a history of women being sidelined once the “street” phase of a revolution subsides. The real question then, is “not about how much of a role they played in the revolutions, but how much they will be limited by religious backgrounds, or whether or not they can push social boundaries in the wake of these changes”, she cautioned.
Noureddine Fridhi, EU Correspondent for Alarabiya Channel and Alhayat Newspaper, thanked participants for the opportunity to “pay tribute to the Tunisian women and what they did” during the revolution in his country. “I saw the whole society, from all backgrounds, on the street”, Noureddine confirmed. “Women are part of the Spring, wherever it will go.”
The senior journalist noted with optimism that the post-revolution Tunisian political landscape was strongly pushing for a radical gender equality agenda, including many political parties adopting a 50/50 gender quota for any new government. Yet he also soberly recognized the challenges ahead, and that women’s’ rights risked being abused due to the security uncertainties facing Tunisia. “We know we have a lot of difficulties – those who were vulnerable before the revolutions are even more so now. But we can not go back.”
Maged Mosleh, Counselor at the Egyptian Embassy to Belgium wanted to emphasize the importance of economic development in enhancing the post-revolution society. Pointing out that both men and women have a secondary education enrollment rate of around 15% in Egypt, he criticized a focus on gender inequality. “The problem is not a 0.8% difference between the two; it is the very low 15% enrollment rate. The problem is development, regardless of gender.” Only if development can be secured for the country as a whole, can the role of women be advanced, the diplomat declared.
Looking to the EU, Mosleh criticized the characterization of women’s rights in the Arab Spring by some nations, especially regarding issues of Islamic custom, such as wearing the veil. “The whole idea of a ‘veiled’ or ‘unveiled’ woman simply reinforces stereotypes about the role of women in Islamic society”, he said. He advocated moving beyond such a focus, claiming “an important role for the EU could be to promote tolerance in respect to veils and women” within Europe, to then help advance social standards in the Middle East.
Overall, participants agreed that both women and men had seized genuine freedom through the Arab Spring. “Dignity has no gender, everybody was fed up”, Al-Fattal said. More importantly, this grass-roots revolution has “broken the stereotype of the Arab woman being very submissive, or scared.” With such restrictions broken, there seems a real opportunity to transform the role of women in Arab societies for the better.
[Press Release] Women have supported the Arab Spring, but will the Arab Spring now support women?
PRESS RELEASE – 23 MAY 2011 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WIIS BRUSSELS
Women have supported the Arab spring.
But will the Arab spring now support women?
While the Arab spring was not about gender equality, women significantly participated in – and in some cases led – the protests that were the first stage in the remarkable change that is sweeping through the Arab world.
Upcoming event: Arab Spring – the Role of Women
With all that has been happening in the Middle East in the past months, we couldn’t help but wonder – what role have women played in the events in Tunesia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Morocco etc.? We’re not the only ones.
A great opinion piece on the topic has been written by Shahin Cole and Juan Cole, first seen on Tomdispatch, then on Le Monde Diplomatique and others.
Their article will certainly provide inspiration for the next event we are hosting: an evening debate on the 24th of May.
Speakers will include Sabra Bano, Director at Gender Concerns International, Rouba Al-Fattal, Co-Founder of the Euro-Arab Forum, and Maged Mosleh, Counsellor at the Egyptian Embassy. The debate will be moderated by Shada Islam, Head of the Asia Programme at Friends of Europe.
UPDATE! The event will now take place at the Brussels Press Club, Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels, from 18.30 – 20.00. There’ll be a 5€ entry charge to cover the costs, including drinks afterwards.
Register by sending an e-mail to wiisbrussels@gmail.com
Michelle Bachelet, head of UN Women, says “we need men”. She is convinced that “men are indispensable to the next stage of women’s liberation”. Join the discussion and tell us how you feel Mme. Bachelet should go about taking the gender fight worldwide.
Taking the Gender Fight Worldwide
March 29, 2011
PARIS — “I am a woman, a Socialist, divorced and agnostic,” the new defense minister told the generals of her Roman Catholic country. “But we will work together very well.”
Michelle Bachelet, who in 2002 became Chile’s first female defense minister and four years later the country’s first female president, has never shied from challenging the status quo. Now the first head of U.N. Women, the three-month-old U.N. agency for gender equality and female empowerment, Ms. Bachelet is doing it again — this time turning some traditional notions of feminism on their head.
“We need men. We need to obtain big important male champions,” Ms. Bachelet, a 59-year-old daughter of a general and single mother of three, said brightly during a recent interview in Paris.
