Speakers
Ruba Ali Al-Hassani
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion
Lancaster University
Nahed Eltantawy
Associate Dean and Professor of Journalism
Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, High Point University
Loubna Skalli Hanna
Visiting Professor
University of California, Washington Center
Rafiah Al Talei
Editor-in-Chief, Middle East Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
About the Webinar
On April 11, 2023, Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) organized a webinar titled, “Women’s Digital Activism and the Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East.” Panelists were Ruba Ali Al-Hassani, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University; Rafiah Al Talei, Editor-In-Chief for the Middle East Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Nahed Eltantawy, Associate Dean and Professor of Journalism at the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, High Point University; and Loubna Skalli Hanna, Visiting Professor at the University of California, Washington Center. Tamara Kharroub, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow at ACW, moderated the event.
Loubna Skalli Hanna discussed the scope and goals of the forthcoming volume that she and Nahed Eltantawy edited, the Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Media and Communication in the Middle East and North Africa, which addresses gender, the media and information ecosystem, and areas of women’s activism, all in a dynamic environment of change and resistance.
Nahed Eltantawy also spoke about the forthcoming volume, focusing on gender-based violence and highlighting its intersection with social media use, including issues of digital intimacy, social media influencers, LGTBQ rights, sexual harassment, and gender activism.
Rafiah Al Talei concentrated her remarks on the issue of women in Oman and the rest of the Gulf, exploring how both traditional and social media affect women’s participation in politics and activism, including an examination of the impact of gender roles and restrictive laws and media.
Ruba Ali Al-Hassani detailed her research on women’s participation in Iraq’s Tishreen protest movement, explicating how women were and are dealing with gendered isolation, sectarianization, and institutionalized discrimination.
Tamara Kharroub presented her research on Palestinian women’s rights activism against gender-based violence in the context of colonialism and military occupation, focusing specifically on the women’s rights movement Tal’at. Kharroub used this case study to discuss the benefits and shortcomings of social media activism, and to analyze how media, gendered spaces, and politics intersect to achieve social and political change.
Featured image credit: Shutterstock/newafrica
