Should The Arab Spring Be Considered A Violation Of Women's Rights

The Arab Spring did not arise out of women’s rights issues. It was out of the necessity for regime change amongst human rights violations and poor living standards. Women played an integral part in demanding change during the various revolutions. It is unclear whether or not the Arab Spring should be considered successful regarding the advancement of gender equality and the protection of women’s rights. However, it did give women a platform to express what kind of government they wish to have. The idea of a just government varies among the women of Arab countries. Some believe gender equality is only possible through complete separation of politics and religion whilst others believe religion should play a dominating role in politics. This difference

One is that the women involved are not part of a homogenous group; they had a variety of goals and ways of going about trying to accomplish them. Another important thing to remember is what the goal of the Arab Spring was; regime change not gender equality. The Arab Spring gave women the opportunity to be politically involved in the future of their countries as regimes were changing. Some of these women took the opportunity of regime change to voice their opinion on what kind of government should be put in charge of their countries; whether that be one that is more focused on gender equality and the rights of women or in just making sure corrupt governments were ousted and a fair and democratic one was put in

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic religious, political and social movement founded in March 1928 in Egypt. There are women within the Muslim Brotherhood who support religion being at the forefront of politics and who are heavily involved in advancement of the organizations integration into the political and private spheres of life in Egypt. Women who are a part of the Muslim Brotherhood participated in the Arab Spring, fighting to end poverty, state corruption, police brutality and rigged elections. Other women are completely against what the Muslim Brotherhood is for, and is worried that the Islamist group infringes on women’s rights. This is just one example of how diverse the kind of women involved in the Arab Spring were - their ideological views and reasonings for their involvement varied immensely.

The Arab Spring brought up a lot of questions about feminism in Arab countries. What does feminism mean for women in Arab countries? Can Islamist women be feminists? In the West’s efforts to understand the goals and motivations of the women involved in the Arab Spring, most people forgot to take into consideration the difference between western feminist goals and the goals of feminists in Arab countries, especially Islamist