ZEF Details

Arab feminism and politics

March 8, 2024 | 13:30 h - 16:15 h

This public event on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024, was co-organized by the ZEF Gender Group and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS).

SPEAKER

Professor Miriam Cooke. Professor Cooke is Braxton Craven Distinguished Professor of Arab Cultures at Duke University. Her writings have focused on the intersection of gender and war in modern Arabic literature and on Arab women writers’ constructions of Islamic feminism. She is the author of War's Other Voices: Women Writers on the Lebanese Civil War (1988); Women and the War Story (1997); Women Claim Islam (2001); and Nazira Zeineddine: A Pioneer of Islamic Feminism (2010). She has also published a novel, Hayati, My Life (2000).

ABSTRACT

For over a century in journalism, academic studies, fiction and poetry, Arab feminists have critiqued the absence of gender justice in their societies. Despite the variety of Arab histories, cultural norms and values that would seem to preclude the possibility of homogenizing political theories and agendas, I will argue that there are major threads weaving the intricate tapestry of Arab feminist thought: the mandate to counter misogynistic interpretations of scripture, to denounce impunity for violence against women, to devise strategies to combat intersectional discriminations, to demand civic rewards for women’s participation in national conflict, and to demand respect for women’s right to live as they wish.

DOWNLOADS

You can find Professor Cooke's power point presentation here.
In this brochure you'll find global facts & figures about women and climate change, women's education and women living in conflict-affected areas.

PROGRAM (time in CET)

13:30 Welcome and introductions by Eva Youkhana (ZEF)
13:35 Video on Nawal as-Sadawi (Egyptian author and feminist)
14:00 Coffee break
14:15 Talk by Miriam Cooke
15:00 Discussion
16:00 Wrap-up
16:15 Closure