CAIRO - Over 30 politicians, experts and academics from the Arab world, Europe, and the US will gather in Cairo tomorrow for the fourth session of the Think Tank for Arab Women (TTfAW). Hosted by Karama and the Swedish Institute of Alexandria, the session, entitled 'From Electoral Processes to Incomplete Revolutions: Women and the Arab Revolts, Eight Months On', will examine the main obstacles to women's equal participation in elections, including gender stereotypes, psychological and traditional barriers, and inequalities in education, training and resources from interdisciplinary perspectives. With a view to informing and shaping the views of emerging female political leaders, this session will also focus on the role of women in ongoing conflicts that have not yet resulted in full regime change. The Arab revolutions have toppled governments from Tunis to Sanaa in 2011. In Egypt, Tunis, and Jordan, the focus has turned to the next phase: rebuilding the political landscape, planning elections, and reforming or rewriting existing constitutions. Meanwhile, in other areas of the region, including Libya, Syria, and Yemen, conflict between state and anti-government protesters continues. Frustration with economic injustice, poverty, unemployment, political stagnation, human rights abuses and alienation from the government are at the heart of the revolutions. As the next steps are taken to guarantee the troublesome ways of old regimes are reformed, the future of the region remains uncertain. Now more than ever, civil society must organise the research and analysis to provide recommendations and strategies for how to navigate the next phase of the Arab revolutions and ensure that women are not left behind. The TTfAW will convene to discuss and analyse research, informing strategies to ensure women's political participation, protect women and assure their safety in areas of conflict, and identify local, regional and global partners, including the media and donors, to provide support for related initiatives. Among others, the fourth session will feature Arab academics from Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Tunisia, as well as European Ambassadors Charlotta Sparre and Malin Karre. The meeting will open with speeches by the founder and CEO of Karama, Hibaaq Osman, and Ambassador Stig Elmevar, Acting Director of the Swedish Institute of Alexandria. The TTFAW is a unique research initiative founded in 2009 that brings together global and regional experts to analyse and share results of academic research on pressing issues affecting Arab women today. The fourth session will focus on two major themes: women, elections and electoral law in post-revolutionary political transitions, and the role of women in ongoing revolutionary struggles. Arab women from Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and additional countries will participate as speakers, moderators and analysts. The meeting will take run from October 1 to 3.
