THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED | How the West Undermined Women’s Rights in the Arab World

Based on personal narratives of women activists of different generations in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, this lecture explores the history of women’s activism in the Arab world from the 1950s onwards.

Nicola Pratt will help demonstrate the ways in which this activism has changed over time and what this tells us about the gendered dimensions of geopolitics in the Middle East. Highlighting the significance of women’s activism and women’s rights within radical political projects that resisted Western imperialism, from the 1950s until the 1970s, and the gendered consequences of the defeat of radical popular movements by the West and its local allies. This lecture argues that the demise of radical, secular movements has led to a decoupling of secular women’s rights agendas from local popular projects. Paving the way for their co-option and instrumentalization by authoritarian regimes and international actors, thereby undermining the credibility of secular women’s rights agendas.

This lecture will be held at the Murdoch University City Campus from 6:30pm to 8:00pm (doors open from 6:00pm)

*** Capacity at the venue is limited and door sales may not be available. Pre-purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment!
This event is being held at the new Murdoch University City Campus found on Level 9 of Golden Square, 32 St Georges Terrace. A map to this location can be found here ***

If you are unable to purchase tickets online, please call our Secretary on (08) 6225 2515 or email wa.branch@internationalaffairs.org.au to book a seat.

About the speaker:

Nicola Pratt is a Reader in the Politics and International Studies Department at the University of Warwick, UK. Nicola teaches and researches on the international politics of the Middle East, with a particular interest in feminist approaches as well as ‘politics from below.’ Her work has appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Third World Quarterly and Review of International Studies, amongst others. She has written and co-edited a number of books on women, gender and the Middle East, including, most recently, Rethinking Gender in Revolutions and Resistance: Lessons from the Arab World (2015, co-edited with Maha El Said and Lena Meari). Her forthcoming monograph is entitled, Embodying Geopolitics: Women’s Activism in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon from National Independence until the Arab Uprisings. She is also Vice President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. 

Event image: 'Silver Sky' (2014) by artist Marwa Alnajjar.

This event is being held in proud partnership with Murdoch University: