Women And Politics In The Middle East Through A Marxist Feminist Lens

Scientific Study from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, grade: 4.0, University of Reading, language: English, abstract: The hierarchical social relations inherent to any patriarchal system have resulted in women’s social identities becoming dependent on their relationship with men, as a fathers or husbands. Such relationships have encouraged the view that the oppression of women is the cornerstone of such systems and that their liberation is an essential condition for overcoming it. My question for this paper is: What is the relationship between patriarchy and women’s marginalization and absence in the political sphere? In this paper I will discuss how women are marginalized and silenced by force rather than by choice. To further elaborate on that it must be clear that women, especially in the Middle East, are constrained by different types of patriarchy. They are restrained from growing and aspiring to change power relations by the legal system, by the social conventions and the unequal power relations between male and female, and lastly by externalities that constructed the polity of the region. In order to further carry out this research paper, I will use a Marxist feminist theoretical framework to analyze the issue of women’s marginalization in the Middle East.

The seventeen essays in Women and Power in the Middle East analyze the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape gender systems in the Middle East and North Africa. Published at different times in Middle East Report, the journal of the Middle East Research and Information Project, the essays document empirically the similarities and differences in the gendering of relations of power in twelve countries—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. Together they seek to build a framework for understanding broad patterns of gender in the Arab-Islamic world. Challenging questions are addressed throughout. What roles have women played in politics in this region? When and why are women politically mobilized, and which women? Does the nature and impact of their mobilization differ if it is initiated by the state, nationalist movements, revolutionary parties, or spontaneous revolt? And what happens to women when those agents of mobilization win or lose? In investigating these and other issues, the essays take a look at the impact of rapid social change in the Arab-Islamic world. They also analyze Arab disillusionment with the radical nationalisms of the 1950s and 1960s and with leftist ideologies, as well as the rise of political Islamist movements. Indeed the essays present rich new approaches to assessing what political participation has meant for women in this region and how emerging national states there have dealt with organized efforts by women to influence the institutions that govern their lives. Designed for courses in Middle East, women's, and cultural studies, Women and Power in the Middle East offers to both students and scholars an excellent introduction to the study of gender in the Arab-Islamic world.

"The position of women in the Middle East and their role in the various processes for social and political change are of crucial importance for an understanding of the societies of which they are part; and in considering general issues of women's struggles. The articles in this book are mainly concerned with various aspects of women's political roles in the Middle East. Of special importance is the issue of the relation between specifically women's struggles and general political struggles; and too, of the relationship between Israeli and Jewish Palestinian women. Also included are articles that examine the social and cultural contexts in which women in the Middle East exist -- both in the Arab World and in Israel."--Back cover.

Is there a truly Arab feminist movement? Is there such a thing as 'Islamic' feminism? What does it meant to be a 'feminist' in the Arab World today? Does it mean grappling with the main theoretical elements of the movement? Or does it mean involvement at the grassroots level with everyday activism? This book examines the issues and controversies that are hotly debated and contested when it comes to the concept of feminism and gender in Arab society today. It offers explorations of the theoretical issues at play, the latest developments of feminist discourse, literary studies and sociology, as well as empirical data concerning the situation of women in Arab countries, such as Iraq and Palestine. It is certainly not surprising that when looking at the situation on the ground in many countries of the Arab World- particularly Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as Sudan- issues of war, civil conflict, military occupation and imperialism often override those of gender. The place of feminism in this context is extremely problemati, as nationalist, sectarian, religious and class interests- not to mention the interests of occupation authorities and the resistance movements that oppose them- supersede feminism as a public concern, even among many women. Arab feminists are thus either co-opted by these interests or find themselves in the frustrating position of negotiating their way through a minefield of contradictory imperatives and loyalties. Arab Feminisms examines these contexts and sheds light upon the difficult position in which feminists often find themselves. It looks at different social and political situations, such as the development of Palestinian feminist discourse in a post-Oslo world, the impact of the civil war in Lebanon on women, and Kuwaiti women's struggles for equality. This book therefore offers valuable theoretical analysis as well as indispensable first-hand accounts of feminism in the Arab World for those researching gender relations in the Middle East and beyond.

Extrait de la préface : "The subject of this study is social change in the Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan ; its impact on women's legal status and social positions ; and women's varied responses to, and involvment in, change processes. It also deals with constructions of gender during periods of social and political change. Social change is usually described in terms of modernization, revolution, cultural challenges, and social movements. Much of the standard literature on these topics does not examine women or gender, and thus [the author] hopes this study will contribute to an appreciation of the significance of gender in the midst of change. Neither are there many sociological studies on MENA and Afghansitan or studies on women in MENA and Afghanistan from a sociological perspective. Myths and stereotypes abund regarding women, Islam, and the region, and the sevents of September 11 and since have only compounded them. This book is intended in part to "normalize" the Middle East by underscoring the salience of structural determinants other than religion. It focuses on the major social-change processes in the region to show how women's lives are shaped not only by "Islam" and "culture", but also by economic development, the state, class location, and the world system. Why the focus on women? It is [the autor's] contention that middle-class women are consciously and unconsciously major agents of social change in the region, at the vanguard of movements for modernity, democratization and citizenship."

This book is a pioneering attempt to evaluate the extent to which gender analysis has succeeded in both informing and challenging established views of culture, society and literary production in the Middle East.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2016 in the subject Gender Studies, The American University in Cairo, language: English, abstract: In the following paper I wish to investigate the status of women and their socio-economic conditions during the second civil war. As it was common during that period of time, the war was transferred to the womb of women, and sectarian conflicts during that time and even later usually involved “mudding” the blood of future generations of one sect. Therefore, I wish to examine whether this was the case in Lebanon. In order to do so, I will divide my paper into five sections. The first section of the paper will discuss the socio-economic background of the working class families of different sects in Lebanon. The second section of the paper will investigate the other means that were used during the war to weaken the Other, i.e. the focus will be directed at unarmed forms of violence. The third part of the paper will discuss the effects of the war, and more specifically it will focus on how women perceived, experienced, and the extent to which they were affected by the war. The fourth section will attempt to draw a comparative analysis in which the situation of women in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, have been affected similarly during different conflicts at different locations and periods. The last part of the paper will attempt to draw some conclusions about the eruption of the war and whether its consequences still cause distress to Lebanese women today.

Representing some of the best of the innovative work in Middle East studies, Theory, Politics and the Arab World is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary effort to reconstruct the field. The contributors utilize a new criticism, largely fashioned by the concepts and vocabularies of postmodern paradigms--Continental theory, neo-Marxism, structuralism, poststructuralism, and feminist theory.