Support Young Women Activists in the Middle East

In October 2019, Equality Now held our second convening in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region—this time in Tunisia, bringing together 18 activists from 6 countries (including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). One of the most important outcomes of the convening was an increased understanding among participants that there must be collaboration between secular and religious feminists. Traditionally, secular feminists have been adamant about using an exclusively human rights discourse in their fight for gender equality, and have been against the use of religious discourse in the struggle for gender equality. On the other hand are the Islamic feminists that believe that change can only happen if they engage religious authorities from within, using a progressive reading of the Quran in order to affect change. 

The time dedicated to discussing how to move the agenda forward in North Africa, as well as the caliber of the participants themselves (including constitutional judges, cassation lawyers, a former member of Parliament and a former minister), allowed women from both groups to listen better to each other and to realize the value of joining forces strategically in order to achieve gender equality. The secular feminists were able to appreciate that the Islamic feminists were (re)interpreting religion in a way that was entirely in sync with the universal understanding of human rights that they adopt, and walked away with the realization that they can now count on the help of Islamic feminists who have the ability to talk to religious populations in a language that they relate to. Indeed, many participants expressed their great satisfaction with the constructive exchange that took place and the possibility for feminists from both sides to join forces in order to achieve better results.

During the Tunisia convening, teen activists from ADO+ (Linda 17, and Mohammed 18, who had attended our first convening in Beirut in April) performed an original play they had written collaboratively with other teen activists from Tunisia about their own experiences with gender inequality at home, and sang an original song about the importance of speaking up against gender inequality. The performance was greatly appreciated by the older generation of activists, who agreed that more youth should be engaged in the movement to advance gender equality in the MENA region.