Open day on issues of violence against Arab women in the context of transformations: reality and ways to combat

The Arab Women’s Studies Network opened its first activities with the open day organized by the network on the occasion of the conclusion of the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women, entitled “Issues of violence against Arab women in the context of transformations: reality and ways to combat,” on Friday, December 19, 2021, with the participation of an elite group of female researchers and activists in Women’s issues and rights, with the participation of some male commentators who support women and their cause, via the Zoom application. The meeting included three scientific sessions with the participation of eleven male and female researchers from the Arab world and beyond. The meeting focused on the issue of violence against women in the Arab world in light of the transformations taking place in the region.The participants considered that the continuation of violence against women is due to multiple reasons, including what is structural and cultural, linked to the patriarchal society that covers men’s violent practices and gives them legitimacy through the support of political and religious forces, and some of which is linked to specific contexts and transformations such as the Corona pandemic and its repercussions that have led to an exacerbation of violence. families, in addition to the growing role of the media in perpetuating violence. The meeting concluded with the necessity of proposing new approaches to address women’s issues, starting from criticizing the feminist discourse that limits the issue to a narrow “feminist” scope, and establishing an alternative discourse that considers the women’s issue a societal issue that concerns all parties concerned with achieving Arab development, both women and men, as they are the beneficiaries of the integration of women into society. All productive sectors and political and social spaces.