Fostering Democracy in the New Middle East: Bet on the Region’s Women and Girls

The massive wave of social and political protests of the “Arab Spring†shook up the status quo in the Middle East, making the voice of the women in the region heard with unprecedented power. Yet, in the post-revolutionary phase, this initial rise in the status and influence of women has been reversed.
Hey, America: I’m a Muslim, let’s talk
I have developed an overwhelming urge to tell everyone I meet I’m a Muslim. As a Muslim woman who doesn’t wear a headscarf, I’m often mistaken for a Latina and other ethnicities that my features match. But as anti-Muslim sentiment has risen across the United States, so has my urge to say: “Hey America: I’m a Muslim. Let’s talk.â€
Hey, America: I’m a Muslim, let’s talk
I have developed an overwhelming urge to tell everyone I meet I’m a Muslim. As a Muslim woman who doesn’t wear a headscarf, I’m often mistaken for a Latina and other ethnicities that my features match. But as anti-Muslim sentiment has risen across the United States, so has my urge to say: “Hey America: I’m a Muslim. Let’s talk.â€
Marlyn Tadros
Executive Director, Virtual Activism

Dr. Marlyn Tadros teaches Computer and Internet Technologies at the Arts Institute of New England in Boston. She is a specialist on human rights in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the role that technology can play in promoting human rights.
Ruthie Ackerman
Senior Fellow, World Policy Institute

Ruthie Ackerman is an award-winning journalist focusing on Africa, women and politics. She has special expertise on refugee issues, post-conflict environments, and security, and is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute. She is the founder of the non-profit organization Ceasefire Liberia.
Treat us not like kids
Malaysians are tired of ideologues and demagogues who turn every difference of opinion into a threat to the survival of race and religion.
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