Transformative Feminist Mobilization in the Arab Region

Transformative Feminist Mobilization in the Arab Region aims to identify how intersectional feminist civil society groups in selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)/ Southwest Asia and North Africa SWANA region advocate for change and how they interact with governments and the strategies, tools, and skills they utilize. It assesses their identification of success and failure, the factors in their advocacy campaigns, and their relationship with governments.

The book addresses a gap in knowledge production on how civic engagement and social mobilization can promote accountable governance in fragile and transition contexts. The following questions are raised concerning the advocacy strategies of feminist civil society in the Arab world: To what extent are the strategies employed by intersectional feminists capable of influencing the public policy process? How can we determine the success or failure of these strategies in achieving better civic engagement and in gaining popular support for feminists’ advocacy goals? What type of dynamics is developed between the government and these feminist movements? What is the role of research in supporting a feminist form of civic engagement and new feminist social movements to build effective strategies toward more accountable governance? To answer these questions, this book analyzes feminist advocacy campaigns in the region from 2011 to the present day. Thematic case studies cover two countries each, while the broader geographical outreach of the selected campaign is also considered.

Transformative Feminist Mobilization in the Arab Region will appeal to scholars and researchers studying the dynamics behind the growing role of civil society in the Arab region. It will interest those studying feminism, political science, social movements, and the MENA/ SWANA region more generally.