On Tuesday, March 26, 2019 there was new session in our series titled “Dialogues on Open Societies,” given by journalist and writer Mona Eltahawy, along with fellow writer Najat el Hachmi. Presented by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s Coordinator of International Relations.
Reports from different international entities coincide in ranking the countries of North Africa and the Middle East amongst the worst in terms of gender equality. Though the situation differs by country, and in certain cases the Law has moved ahead considerably in guaranteeing rights on paper, the unrest which began in 2011 has not achieved the inclusion of women in public life under conditions of equality with men, and many consider themselves second-class citizens. Perhaps Tunisia could be named as a unique case where the triumph of protests has led to an improvement in women’s status.
Through their activism, many Arab feminists question the oppressive mix of politics, cultural habits and religion which permeates every layer of society, and they continue fighting to make their voices heard, both inside and outside the region. Mona Eltahawy, who authored "Headscarves and Hymens", and Najat el Hachmi, the author of "The Last Patriarch", met at Casa Árabe to discuss this problem and call out to demand gender equality. The event included the participation of the publishing firm Capitán Swing and the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Center (Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, CCCB).
Mona Eltahawy is a columnist and international analyst of the subjects of Arabs, Muslims and feminism. She was a correspondent for Reuters in the Middle East for six years and has worked for the media in several countries in the region, and in China. She is currently collaborating with media such as the New York Times and The Guardian. She is a member of the Communications Consulting Group Musawah, the movement for justice and equality in the Muslim family. She has received a wide range of awards and acknowledgments for her work as a journalist, and Time magazine named her a “person of the year” along with other activists from around the world. She is the author of the book Headscarves and Hymens: Why the world needs a sexual revolution.
Najat el Hachmi was born in Morocco after her father had already emigrated to Catalonia. At the age of eight, she moved to the town of Vic. She earned her undergraduate degree in Arabic Philology from the University of Barcelona. She has been writing since she was eleven years old, in the beginning as a form of entertainment, but little by little writing grew into a way for her to channel her thoughts about feeling like she was from two places at once, and a way to bring these two worlds to which she belongs closer together. In 2004, her book Jo també sóc catalana (I Am Catalan, Too) was published. She appears as a guest speaker on the radio and has articles published in the written press. Her work The Last Patriarch was bestowed with the Ramon Llull Award of 2008 and the Ulysse Award for a first novel in 2009, and she was a finalist for the Prix Meditérranée Étranger in 2009.
The series “Dialogues on Open Societies” is an initiative of Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation with the cooperation of Casa Árabe, co-directed by Doménec Ruiz Devesa, Advisor for the Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, and by Pedro Martínez-Avial, the General Director of Casa Árabe.
More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/%E2%80%9Cdialogues-on-open-societies%E2%80%9D-series-of-conferences#14462
