Guaranteeing Women’s Rights In The New Egyptian Constitution

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This appeal comes from Tim Symonds at Eyecatcher/Shevolution

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Work is already commencing on the new Egyptian Constitution. Lesley Abdela and I have been in touch with Egyptian women activists over the past 16 years and they would very much appreciate counsel on what elements must be in the new Constitution guaranteeing women’s rights, including, significantly, the right to representation of women in the Parliament (see an appropriate excerpt on this from the Iraqi Constitution below). Lesley was working with activist women in Hilla, Iraq, in 2003 to get a guaranteed minimum quota for women parliamentarians written into the new Constitution. If it had not become a Constitutional requirement, it is estimated only one woman – from the Kurdish regions – would have entered Parliament, rather than nearly 30%.

I would appreciate it greatly if, as fast as possible, this email and the extracts below could be circulated worldwide such that recommendations and other examples from Constitutions which come to me can be passed to Egypt’s activist women at this truly critical time in the whole region’s history.

With best wishes

Tim

Tim Symonds

Eyecatcher/Shevolution

tim.symonds@shevolution.com

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Excerpts guaranteeing women’s rights from the post-Saddam Iraqi Constitution, the Namibian Constitution and the post-Apartheid South African Constitution.

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IRAQI CONSTITUTION

The Preamble

We, the people of Iraq, who have just risen from our stumble, and who are looking with confidence to the future through a republican, federal, democratic, pluralistic system, have resolved with the determination of our men, women, elderly, and youth to respect the rule of law, to establish justice and equality, to cast aside the politics of aggression, to pay attention to women and their rights, the elderly and their concerns, and children and their affairs, to spread the culture of diversity, and to defuse terrorism.

Section Two

Rights and Liberties

Chapter One

[Rights]

First: Civil and Political Rights

Article 14:

Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity,

nationality, origin, colour, religion, sect, belief or opinion, or economic or social status.

Section Three

Federal Powers

Chapter one

The Council of Representatives

Article 49:

First: The Council of Representatives shall consist of a number of members, at a

ratio of one seat per 100,000 Iraqi persons representing the entire Iraqi people.

They shall be elected through a direct secret general ballot. The representation of

all components of the people shall be upheld in it.

Fourth: The elections law shall aim to achieve a percentage of representation for

women of not less than one-quarter of the members of the Council of

Representatives.

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NAMIBIAN CONSTITUTION

Article 10- Equality and Freedom from Discrimination (1) All persons shall be equal before the law. (2) No persons may be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status.

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CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA NO. 108 OF 1996

CHAPTER 2 BILL OF RIGHTS

7. Rights.-( 1) This Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

9. Equality.- l) Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.

(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.

Panel at Middle East Studies Association 2011 conference on language in the Arab revolts

From Dr. Muhamed Osman Al Khalil, Director of Arabic Studies, New York University Abu Dhabi


The Fresh Language Scene Attending the Current Arab Revolts



The ongoing popular revolts in the Arab World have not only disrupted and upturned the long-stagnant political scene in the region, but have of a sudden disrupted and energized the lethargic linguistic scene as well. The revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, and the popular bestirrings in other Arab countries, have exposed the hollowness of defunct official discourses (of regimes and their symbiotic traditional oppositions alike) contrasting them with new young and lively discourses arising in the street. Examples of this could be seen in the use of new catchy slogans in both Arabic Standard and Colloquials (e.g.إذا الشعب يوما أراد الحياة , تونس حرّة حرّة بن علي برّه برّه , الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام , مش عايزينك etc. ), the formulaic Arabic used by the presidents and their old guard, the use of “Facebook” Arabic, the effective marrying of Standard to regional colloquials on Satellite TV stations, the confused prevaricating English of the White House, the variety of rhetorics adopted by regional and international media (unequivocally pro-street on Aljazeera, regimes-friendly on Al-Arabia, editorial enthusiasm on Al-Hurra that often conflicts with official US positions, angry tones of CNN crews beaten by pro-regime thugs, Israeli newsmen torn between enthusiasm and trepidation, etc.).



This panel seeks to explore and understand the various manifestations of this new linguistic scene forming around the popular Arab revolts and the various discourses and language phenomena at work in it. If you are interested in presenting a paper in this panel, please email an abstract of about 300-400 words to Dr. Muhamed Al Khalil (muhamed.alkhalil@nyu.edu) by February 14 . You can also email me to discuss your thoughts before you submit your abstract. I myself plan to present a paper on the reinvigorated use of Arabic poetry in the revolts and the implications for the art and its future.



For more information contact,



Muhamed Osman Al Khalil, Ph.D.
Director of Arabic Studies
New York University Abu Dhabi
Work: +97126284112
Mobile: +971501145502

email: muhamed.alkhalil@nyu.edu

Language, Literacy, and The Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies

I dearly, dearly wish I could attend this. I can't wait to read Zekeria Ahmed Salem's paper, “From Slaves to Imams? Knowledge, Islamic Authority, and Social Change in Mauritania”! And I am missing the chance to see Kristen Brustad present. At least I'll always have my Al-Kitaab dvds to listen to!

THE ABBASI PROGRAM IN ISLAMIC STUDIES AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

presents in collaboration with

The Kuwait Program at Sciences Po (Paris, France)

Workshop on

Language, Literacy, and The Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies

March 3-4, 2011, 10:00 am - 6:30 pm
Landau Economics Building, Lucas Conference Room
(579 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305)

FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC
Registration required: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/islamic_studies/register.fb
For more information: http://ica.stanford.edu/node/2753

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2011

10:00 am - 12:40 pm - CONTEMPORARY STRUGGLES FOR AUTHORITY

Ebru Erdem-Akçay, University of California, Riverside, “Religiosity, Language Use and Political Expression: A Study on two Turkish Online Communities”

Peter McMurray, Harvard University, “Listening to the Poetics and Politics of Contemporary Balkan Sufism"

Stéphane Lacroix, Sciences Po, “Ulama, Intellectuals and the Struggle for Authority within Islamist Movements”

Bernard Rougier, Collège de France/Sciences Po, “A Micro-sociological Look at the Struggle for Religious Authority in Tripoli, Lebanon”

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm - LANGUAGE, LITERACY AND THE NATION

Parna Sengupta, Stanford University, “Schooling Faith: Religious Pluralism in Twentieth Century Bengal”

Nabil Mouline, Sciences Po/Princeton University, “The Sultan is the Caliph in His Territories: The Construction of Political Authority in lat 16th - early 17th century Morocco”

Alexander Knysh, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, “Arabic as the Language of Resistance: The Caucasus Emirate”

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm - LITERATURE AND PERFORMANCE

Prashant Keshavmurthy, McGill University, “Sirajuddin Ali Khan Arzu and the Emergence of the Universal Human Subject in early Modern Persian Literary Theory”

Melis Sülos, CUNY, “The Rise and the Politicization of the Popular Theatre in the Late Ottoman World”

Yaseen Noorani, University of Arizona, “Literary Aestheticism and the Formation of the Notion of Islamic Civilization”

~~~

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011

10:00 am - 12:40 pm - THE ULEMA IN MODERN TIMES

Mara Leichtman, Michigan State University, “Arabic Literacy, Conversion to Shi'i Islam, and the Transformation of Religious Authority in Senegal”

Zekeria Ahmed Salem, University of Florida, “From Slaves to Imams? Knowledge, Islamic Authority, and Social Change in Mauritania”

Thomas Pierret, Princeton University, “Tradition as an Asset: Informal Religious Teaching and the Cooptation of the 'New Literate Elites' by the Ulema in 20th Century Syria”

Laurence Louër, CERI/Sciences Po/CNRS, “Mohammed al-Shirazi and the Construction of Religious Authority”

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - MODERN TRANSFORMATIONS OF AUTHORITY

Kristen Brustad, University of Texas, Austin, “Standard Language Ideology and the Construction of Modern Standard Arabic”

David Lelyveld, William Paterson University, “Sir Syed's Printing Press: Print, Literacy and Islam in Early Nineteenth Century India”

Brett Wilson, Macalester College, “Qur'an Translation in the Age of Nationalism”

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM – VISUALITY

Chanchal Dadlani, Columbia University, “The Visual, the Textual, and the Construction of Cultural Authority in the Late Mughal Empire” (abstract) (paper)

Hamza Zeghlache, University of Setif, “Text, Space and Images: Written Representation of Islamic Architecture in Arabic Manuscript”

Elham Etemadi, University of Leuven, “The Verbal Conditionality of Visual Literacy: Early Modern Persian Paintings"

Contact: Dr. Burcak Keskin-Kozat, Associate Director

The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies

Stanford University

Division of International, Comparative and Area Studies

http://islamicstudies.stanford.edu
Email: abbasiprogram@stanford.edu

From AWID: Female genital mutilation and cosmetic genital surgery: Do they have anything in common?

I've re-posted this from AWID. I have written about FGM before here and here and here.
Source: AWID, 11/02/2011 2:17 am

Credit: BlatantWorld

FRIDAY FILE: At first glance, female genital mutilation and genital surgery carried out for cosmetic purposes might seem intrinsically different. On closer examination, however, they may be more similar than they initially appear.

By Kathambi Kinoti

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the centuries-old practice of removing part or all of the external genitalia of women. It is predominantly carried out in parts of Africa and the Middle East as a tool to control women’s sexuality. Genital cosmetic surgery is a modern practice that is undertaken, mainly by women, in order to improve the appearance of their genitalia. Although they are practices that have developed from very different premises, they share some commonalities.

Female Genital Mutilation

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies the different forms of FGM as follows:

1. “Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
2. Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
3. Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
4. Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area. “

The harmful effects of FGM are numerous: shock, haemorrhage and sepsis are some of the immediate effects. Some girls and women bleed to death after undergoing the practices. In the long term, women can face infertility, obstructed labour during childbirth, obstetric fistula and other conditions.

FGM is recognized in international law as well as in the laws of several countries as a human rights violation, but it remains deeply entrenched in the cultures in which it is practised.

Labioplasty and other modern cosmetic procedures

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women electing to undergo cosmetic surgery on their genitals in order to appear younger or more beautiful in modern youth- and beauty-obsessed cultures. Between 2004 and 2007 the number of labiaplasties in private hospitals the United Kingdom tripled, while there was an increase of almost 70 percent in public hospitals in the country between 2006 and 2008.[i]

Procedures include “reduction of the inner labia (labia minora), vaginal tightening, hymen ‘reconstruction,’ clitoral ‘lifts’ and liposuction of the mons veneris (fatty tissue over the pubic bone, these are performed in order to create a sense of proportion when the inner labia have been shortened) clitoral hood reductions and clitoral repositioning.” [ii]

Viv Groskop [iii] wrote of the rise in the numbers of women seeking cosmetic genital surgery: “In the vast majority of cases, labiaplasty is simply a response to the physical appearance of the labia, a desire for more ‘attractive’ genitalia.” Tracey Plowman, a social psychologist who reviewed the ‘The Perfect Vagina,’ a documentary filmed in the United Kingdom, says: “It is common for youth and beauty to be conflated in the world of cosmetic surgery… [and] female genital cosmetic surgery is no different.][iv]

Different but some commonalities

At a basic level, FGM and cosmetic female genital surgery are similar because they both involve modification to female genitalia and neither of them are performed for medically justifiable reasons (although in rare cases there are medical reasons for genital modification such as when girls are born with labia that have not developed properly). Both are performed based on cultural norms and expectations.

Any surgery or excision to the body comes with risks. These risks are on the whole much higher with FGM, since girls or women undergoing cosmetic genital surgery generally have access to top-notch medical facilities. In some contexts, FGM is now carried out by qualified medical doctors in hospitals, but the ‘medicalisation[v]’ of FGM has been strongly advocated against by international entities such as the World Health Organization and United Nations.

The primary difference between the procedures is consent. While cosmetic genital surgery is carried out on women who agree to the procedure, FGM is largely carried out on young girls who do not have the capacity to consent. There are, however, some women who elect to undergo FGM. But for women who consent to either procedure, their decision may not always be from a position of knowledge or power. What constitutes informed consent? Questions about how the practice of cosmetic surgery is regulated have been raised. Are the risks and possible complications of the surgery explained? Is it the knowledge that the procedure is unnecessary, or that they risk losing their lives from excessive bleeding? Or is it about understanding that human vulvas come in a variety of forms, and there is not an “ideal-looking” form?

The power of social pressure

FGM is a measure to curb women’s sexual desire, even though it is acknowledged that it does not always eliminate this desire. FGM is also a community affair. In many cultures there is a regular circumcision season during which girls who have attained a certain age collectively undergo rituals that “transform them into women.” These rituals involve the physical removal of parts of the genitalia, as well as the impartation of social and cultural mores that prepare them for womanhood in that community. Some societies that practice FGM do not require girls and women to undergo any particular ritual, but their state of being circumcised or uncircumcised is still considered the business of their communities. Not having undergone the cut isolates them and precludes them from marriage. FGM confers social status on many parties: parents, extended families, husbands, circumcisers and of course, women and girls themselves.

On the other hand cosmetic genital surgery is a measure that is regarded as improving women’s desirability. Although the choice to undergo the surgery may be an individual one, the suggestion that it is necessary originates in evolving societal values that define what desirable genitalia look like. The beauty industry, mainstream media and profit-making health care sector all collaborate to exert immense pressure on women to be youthful and beautiful according to rigid standards. Groskop quotes a gynaecologist, Dr Sarah Creighton who says that “women are aiming for a certain genital appearance that used to be an obligation only for some glamour models.” While it can be argued that women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, the combination of actors influencing any woman’s decision to undergo this surgery makes it difficult to ascertain to what extent her choice is completely informed.

Sara Johnsdotter and Brigitta Essén [vi] argue that “procedures involving genital modifications are intertwined with political considerations; they are never purely about anatomy and physiology but are intrinsically entangled with cultural norms and ideology.” In the context of women’s bodies, these cultural norms and ideology give rise to notions about how women are expected to look. So a woman who elects to undergo cosmetic genital surgery may be unduly influenced to think that she needs to modify her body. In the case of FGM these cultural norms and ideology restrict women’s sexuality.

The harmfulness and pervasiveness of FGM should never be downplayed. Indeed, there is extensive work being done to eliminate FGM, and there has been some success even though the practice persists. It is also important to challenge modern ideologies that influence women to seek to modify their genitalia. Although the two practices may stem from different beliefs and have different effects, they both have roots in societal impositions on women’s bodies.

[i] “A cut too far: the rise in cosmetic surgery on female genitalia.” The Guardian, November 20, 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/20/cosmetic-vulva-surgery. Site accessed on February 7, 2011.

[ii] Johnsdotter, S and Essén, B. 2010: “Genitals and ethnicity: the politics of genital modifications.”Reproductive Health Matters 2010; 18 (35) 29-37.

[iii] See note ii.

[iv] Plowman, T. “The Perfect Vagina.”Reproductive Health Matters 2010; 18(35) 111-114.

[v] FGM provided by medical practitioners in order to make it safe – advocates cite the performance of this needless procedure on children as a violation of medical ethics. (Broken bodies broken dreams, 2005:52)

[vi] See note ii

Follow up to: Open letter to a misogynist from a member of the weaker sex

This is a companion entry to an earlier entry I wrote addressing Mr. Bouhani about his book.



After I get a respectable amount of research done today for my dissertation, I will come back, translate this magazine review of Bouhani's book in the Moroccan women's magazine Citadine, and destroy it with gusto. To be continued...

The BEST advice ever for writing a literature review

Way back when I set out to do my first literature review (it might have been for IPE...but I can't remember which class exactly), I found this guide. I found it so helpful that I carry around a hard copy with me wherever I go in the world, and it comforts me.

Where do dissertation topics come from?

This is the story of how my dissertation was born. During my 2nd year (fall 2007) of PhD coursework in the Graduate Program in International Studies at ODU, in Dr. Kurt Taylor-Gaubatz' course on democracy in the international system, a great friend and fellow PhD student Kim passed along a fantastic article from Foreign Affairs. Firstly, Kurt is amazing, and definitely one of the best things about GPIS. Secondly, Kim changed my life with that suggestion. The article led to my paper topic for the course on whether electoral quotas for women enhance democracy.

The research for that paper led me to the amazing organization, IDEA, where I hope to work someday (I finally have a concrete, true, and reasonable answer to inquiries about where I hope to end up!). IDEA's work on parliamentary quotas for women is superlative, and their publications drew my attention to the participation of illiterate women in local councils in Pakistan. That tidbit was the next step in the life change that Kim's suggestion sparked.

That spring (2008) Dr. Jennifer Fish taught Gender and Globalization. Jennifer, like Kurt, is one of the gems of ODU--a real treasure. She is the one that nurtured the the idea into the topic that it is today. And of course, as a work in progress, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the chair of my dissertation committee, Dr. Francis Adams, and my 3rd committee member, Dr. Fran Hassencahl. Dr. Adams has a gift for massaging 'ideas' (by which I mean scatter diagrams, really) into cogent organization. Dr. Hassencahl provided invaluable support at the WOCMES 2010 conference in Barcelona, and is the first professor to witness me present my fieldwork from Morocco.

As of this moment, I am moving forward, fast as I can, to become Dr. Baines. There is a deadline with the end of the world scheduled for 2012 and all.

5th annual Virginia Council of Graduate Schools Graduate Student Research Forum

On Thursday 3 February I presented a poster of my research at the 5th annual Virginia Council of Graduate Schools Graduate Student Research Forum. My university, Old Dominion, chose me to present my Morocco field research via a full color 3' x 4' poster at the Library of Virginia. I was the only student from my department, the Graduate Program in International Studies, to be chosen.

I got some useful feedback. I find, as my research develops, and the more I talk about it with people, that there are 2 frustrating reactions.

Firstly, since the working title is: Women, Illiteracy and Public Participation: Barriers to Transforming Governance in Arab states?, many people make a pensive gesture and mutter something like, "oh, I see, you're educating women." No. Not at all. That is not AT ALL what my research is about. In fact, you might say just the opposite. I am DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT our notion of 'education' is actually not clearly defined. I am refuting the culturally biased assumption that knowledge ipso facto means being literate. What do we mean by education or literacy anyway? What if your native language isn't written? How are you supposed to be literate, and is it really reasonable for the world to assume that you are doomed to be useless or unproductive in this case?

Secondly, 2 people so far have denied that the stereotype of 'illiterates as obstacles to development' is a common theme throughout development literature. This baffles me, but I have to admit that it merits investigation since more than one person has suggested it. Obviously I will take great pleasure in refuting them. Not only is this stereotype almost universally present, it remains virtually uncontested! This is just one of the treats I will be offering to the world.

Here are the specifics of what I presented in Richmond:

Degree Program: Graduate Program in International Studies (PhD)

Research Working Title: Women, Illiteracy and Public Participation: Barriers to Transforming Governance in Arab states?

Illiteracy is a gendered factor across societies at all levels of development and globalization. Literacy is not simply an indicator of class, social status and educational level, but is assumed to serve as a major barrier to large swathes of society—namely women. Women have marginalized voices, both written and spoken, yet are counted in number in terms of their participation in politics at all levels of governance. "Most women fight wars on two fronts, one for whatever the putative topic is and one simply for the right to speak, to have ideas, to be acknowledged to be in possession of facts and truths, to have value, to be a human being."[1] By investigating the ways in which illiteracy affects women’s agency in terms of obtaining, or desiring to obtain positions of influence and decision-making across all levels of governance, this paper analyzes the capacity of literacy to empower and exclude women from public participation.

The role of illiterates in society is complex and largely defined by agents other than the literates themselves. My dissertation focuses in part on the (non)existence of illiterate women in the literature that considers women’s political capacity. Historically where developing states achieved extensive advances in literacy, an increase in political participation also occurred. In Morocco there is expansion of participation without advances in literacy. If literacy is not necessary to empower women as assumed, how does the traditional focus of foreign aid and development regimes on literacy programs miss the mark in terms of the role that illiterate women play in political transition?

---

[1] http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174918

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: WOMEN & NEW MEDIA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS/ABSTRACTS: ISIS CENTER FOR WOMEN & DEVELOPMENT: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: WOMEN & NEW MEDIA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Source: Isis Center for Women and Development

With the growing dominance of the Internet, blog, chat and mobile telephony, the great "big bang" of the new media has begun. Communication is rapidly changing and becoming mobile, interactive, personalized and multi-channel. This extraordinary revolution is affecting the basic structure of Mediterranean societies, especially those in the south, and is raising various discussions and debates that profoundly impact women: the rapid transformation of the boundaries between the public and the private spaces, the relationship between new technology, orality and women’s literature, changes in the relationship between written and oral languages, the increasing use of mother tongues (mainly oral) in the field of education, and the challenges of new transmissions of women’s knowledges. Deadline for abstracts: March 1, 2011.

These issues are the five main axes of the International Congress Forum on “Women and New Media in the Mediterranean Region”, to be held on June 24, 25 and 26, 2011 at the Palais des Congrès, Fez , Morocco :

1. The transformation of the relationship "gender and public space / private space" in the era of new media

2. New media, orality and literature Women

3.Femmes, written languages and mother tongues

4. The new media and education

5. The challenge of new transmissions of women's knowledge

Papers may be in Arabic, French or English and will last 15-20 minutes.

The deadline for receiving abstracts is March 1, 2011.

The successful participants will be notified by March 31, 2011, and the completed papers need to be emailed send before June 1, 2011.

Participants are responsible for their trip and lodging expenses.

Contact Information:

Fatima Sadiqi - sadiqi_fatima@yahoo.fr

Senior Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies (MA, PhD)

Co-Founder of International Institute for Languages & Cultures (INLAC )

Director of the Isis Center for Women and Development - Fez, Morocco

http://www.isiscenter.com/Presentation.php

Merciless Moroccan language critics!

The comments on these 2 videos of Minister of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity, Nezha Skalli, addressing a conference on peace building in English are much more interesting than her speech. These Moroccans are harsh! For my part, her English isn't so terrible, and I have to disagree with the many posters that claim that Moroccans do better. Minister Skalli isn't shaming you, Moroccans. Your English is just not that good, any of you--well ok, Hind, Hamza, Souhail, Loubaba, Najlae, you speak great English. But you are few, contrary to what these commenters write! As many of you point out, in your often ironically bad English, you speak Arabic or French or Darija. Speak that instead!

News roundup

The article, The Kingdom in the Closet, is long but worth the read. It's an interesting reminder that there are many ways of accommodating and reconciling societal expectations and personal needs.

Best quote: "Women’s rights, gay rights—why? Get your rights without being too loud."

and

The article, When revolution rocks North Africa and the Middle East, motivates me to move even faster with my dissertation. It alleges that four attempts at self-immolation in Morocco have been thwarted in the last fortnight, and a peaceful protest is planned for 20 February. I found 1 group for it (Mouvement du 20 Février - Maroc - حركة 20 فبراير), and several against it. I also learned that 20 February is also no bra day.

Send books to Tunisia: Inititive in favour of Tunisian colleagues

Appeal: Help our Tunisian University colleagues

Books that were banned under the Ben Ali regime are now beginning to be available in book stores in Tunis. Salma Yabes, manager of the Librairie al-Kitab in Tunis, said on January 20, 2011 that books which were banned under the Ben Ali regime have become available in the book store because friends and families who hid censored books in their homes now give them

for free to the shop. In turn the shop provides these volumes for free to intellectuals, researchers, lecturers and professors

Tunisian researchers, lecturers and professors will be crucial in building a new democratic Tunisia. Knowledge of current research is a high priority for them. In the past it was not possible to order books on the internet as they would be confiscated by the authorities upon arrival in Tunis. Tunisian researchers lack all kinds of books, but volumes in political science (democratization, authoritarian ism, Islamism, and MENA international relations), sociology,

anthropology and ethnography, and studies on contemporary Islam are in particular demand.

Librairie el-Kitab in Tunis is now working to establish contacts with publishers and order books, but there is also something YOU can do to help our Tunisian colleagues.

You can help in two ways:

1) Send one or more copies of books you have authored and other spare publication that you think falls in the categories above (they can be in English, French and Italian).

2) Send contact info of you publisher(s) to the Librairie al-Kitab so that they can get in touch and order books directly.

The Librairie al-Kitab is the biggest book store in Tunis and usually serves Tunisian academics. In the beginning they will make copies of books available in their book shop and at a later stage they will distribute the books to the relevant professors at the various universities and research institutes.

The books will be distributed/given for free.

This is truly a positive contribution we can make and we encourage you all to become involved.

Librairie al-Kitab

43, avenue Habib Bourguiba

1000 Tunis Le Colisée

Phone: 00216 71 258 566

Fax: 00216 71 332 450

e-mail: Alkitab-tunis@alkitab.com.tn

Rikke Hostrup Haugbølle Francesco Cavatorta

Ph.D. Fellow Senior Lecturer

Dep. of Cross Cultural and Regional Studies School of Law and Government

University of Copenhagen Dublin City University

Snorresgade 17-19, 2300 Copenhagen Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Denmark Ireland

E-mail: rikhostrup@hum.ku.dk E-mail: Francesco.cavatorta@dcu.ie

Dr. Francesco Cavatorta

School of Law and Government

Dublin City University (DCU)

Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Ireland

Tel: 00-353-1-7007858

webpage: http://webpages.dcu.ie/~cavatorf/