Yalla Feminists

The Arab region continues to be among the most challenging in the world for the progress of women’s rights. Equality remains elusive for women and vulnerable groups in the region due to traditional patriarchal cultures, protracted crises, lack of religious freedom, discriminatory legal frameworks, and chronic insecurity. The strongest indicator of peace in any country is in its treatment of women, but the story of women’s rights in the region is one of patchy progress and major regress. Today, women are experiencing a massive backlash against their rights and fundamental freedoms. And yet, there is hope. Feminists—particularly young feminists—from the Arab region fight tirelessly for their rights and are leading movements around the region pushing for change. This book looks at the last 50 years of Arab feminism with a view to understanding what the next 50 years will hold. Built from hundreds of firsthand accounts with women in the region, this book brings together voices across the 22 Arab states to present new pathways to women’s rights and gender equality.

Lina AbiRafeh, PhD, is a global women’s rights expert with decades of experience. She is an advisor and former aid worker with a long track record in creating positive change for women in over 20 countries around the world. She speaks and publishes frequently on her experiences. She lives in New York.

Rebecca O’Keeffe is an author, activist, and researcher specializing in peace with a particular focus on human rights, civil resistance movements, and transitional justice. She lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Lina AbiRafeh and Rebecca O’Keeffe
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 298
Bibliographic Info: glossary, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9115-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5074-6
Imprint: McFarland

Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword: Hear Them Roar by Joumana Haddad 1
Preface 5
1. Feminist Foundations 19
2. Feminist Phases 48
3. Feminisms on the Frontlines of Crisis 84
4. Feminisms on the Frontlines of Creativity 114
5. Fragmented Feminisms 134
6. Feminist Futures 173
Conclusion: So What? Now What?! 210
Afterword by Aya Chebbi 218
Glossary 221
Chapter Notes 223
Bibliography 258
Index 283

“This interesting book, cowritten by AbiRafeh, a global women’s rights expert, and O’Keeffe, an author, activist, and researcher, briefly reviews the last five decades of feminist movements across the 22 Arab nations in North Africa and the Middle East. It explores trends and patterns in the struggle for women’s rights based on wide-ranging interviews, academic surveys, and personal conversations with a variety of young Arab women from the region. … Recommended.”—Choice