1. Conferences and debates

Inicio / Vídeos / SDG 5: Gender equality in the the Middle East and North Africa

Síguenos también en Youtube

casa árabe en youtube

SDG 5: Gender equality in the the Middle East and North Africa

Publicado el 19 de mayo 2021

As part of the series of conferences on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized by Casa Árabe, on the upcoming date of May 19 we will be analyzing Goal 5, which seeks gender equality and the empowerment of women. The debate will be broadcast live for all audiences on our YouTubeand Facebook Live channels. Written in terms of “Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,” SDG5 is one of the most important for the Middle East and North Africa. The reason is that, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (2021), the region has the largest gender gap in the world (at around 40%), and ten of its countries rank among the bottom 15 on the list. Despite undeniable advancements attained in recent decades, it is impossible to speak of a homogeneous situation either between or within countries. Furthermore, the coexistence of certain factors at the present time cast doubt on these outcomes and highlights their fragility. In particular, the region is suffering from widespread public discontent, the rise of ultra-conservative movements, the spread of armed conflicts and, for more than a year now, COVID-19. All of these circumstances have raised the risks for women, who are more exposed than ever to violence, disease, premature wedlock and, on the whole, to their definitive relegation to the status of second-class citizens. What other challenges will be faced by those who strive for the effective, robust implementation of SDG5? At this event, we will be joined by three speakers who discuss gender issues in the Middle East and North Africa region: Lina Abirafeh, an expert on the prevention of and responses to gender violence in humanitarian and emergency contexts, Sama’a Al-Hamdani founder and executive director of the Yemen Cultural Institute for Heritage & Arts, and Asma Khalifa, an activist and researcher in the field of human rights, women and youth empowerment. The session will be moderated by Olivia Orozco, Casa Árabe’s Economics and Training Coordinator. Lina Abirafeh is the Executive Director of the Arab Institute for Women (AiW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU). Lina completed her PhD at the London School of Economics (LSE) and, on the basis of her research, published “Gender and International Aid in Afghanistan: The Politics and Effects of Intervention.” Abirafeh is a board member at several organizations (SheDecides, Forced Migration Review, Society of Gender Professionals and Greenpeace MENA, as well as others). In 2018, she was one of two Arab women included on the list “Gender Equality Top 100: The Most Influential People in Global Policy,” on which she was named again in 2019. She has recently focused her work on the need for a feminist response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Arab women and girls. Asma Khalifa is a Libyan activist and researcher devoted to creating a structure for civil society and peace building in her country. As a non-Arab, Amazigh Libyan who grew up under Colonel Gaddafi’s rule, she witnessed the negative impact of discrimination and violence against women. In 2016, she was awarded with the Luxembourg Peace Prize and a year later was named one of the “100 Most Influential Young Africans” at the Africa Youth Awards. Khalifa is also a co-founder of the Tamazight Women’s Movement, a group for thought and action which works on gender equality and research about indigenous women in Libya and North Africa. Sama’a Al-Hamdani is the founder and executive director of the Yemen Cultural Institute for Heritage & Arts. As an art curator, she has been concerned with recovering the unique art forms and heritage of Yemen. In August 2019, she took part in a pilot program involving women in conflict (Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship), which focused on “The Arts as a Tool for Peacebuilding.” At present, she is a non-resident analyst at the Middle East Institute (MEI), whose main work deals with Yemen’s political dynamics. Prior to joining MEI, she was a visiting researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), specializing in Transitional Justice, and a researcher at the Yemen-headquartered Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (SCSS). She has had articles published by Arab world and Western media and groups of experts, including Al-Monitor, the Lawfare blog, Brookings Institution, The National (UAE), MENAsource (Atlantic Council Blog), Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Fikra Forum, The Middle East Institute Journal, Yemen Observer and the Yemen Times, as well as others. More info: https://en.casaarabe.es/event/sdg-5-gender-equality-in-the-arab-world

TODOS LOS VÍDEOS DE ESTA CATEGORÍA

Debate: "Journalism and Transitions in the Mediterranean" [VO español/inglés]

The quarterly journal afkar/ideas (published in French and Spanish by IEMed and Estudios de Política Exterior) has followed change in the Mediterranean throughout the last decade. International journalists and analysts have analyzed the main geostrategic, political, socio-economic and cultural developments in the region in the more than 40 issues which have come off the press since 2003. As of 2011, the journal has applied a journalistic, analytical approach to providing in-depth explanations of the obstacles and successes in the transitions which arose with the Arab Spring. It is a new stage in the region's history which has made clear once again all of the challenges faced by journalism as a profession and by the media. This debate, on the occasion of the journal's tenth anniversary, is an attempt to discuss the key factors in the role played by journalists and the media in the current political era in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. With the participation of journalists Ethar El-Katatney (Al Jazeera), Carla Fibla (Aish) and Luis de Vega (ABC). More: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/journalism-and-transitions-in-the-mediterranean

Publicado el 14 de julio 2014
Conference: "The Geometry of Light in the Islamic World", by Sabiha al Khemir

On Tuesday, October 29th, Sabiha al Khemir, scientific director and curator of the exhibition Nur: Light in the Art and Science of the Islamic World, offered a conference at our headquarters in Madrid, at which she discussed the symbolism of light (Nur in Arabic) in the artistic contributions of the Muslim world. On the occasion of the official opening of the international exhibition organized by the Focus-Abengoa Foundation, this expert on Islamic art gave the presentation The Geometry of Light. Introduction to the International Exhibition of Art from the Islamic World in Seville: Nur. For more information please visit: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/the-geometry-of-light-in-the-islamic-world

Publicado el 14 de julio 2014
Conference: "Contemporary Arab Art" and "Mudejar Art in the Americas". [V.O inglés/español]

Series of events titled "Amrika: Arabs in the Americas," which Casa Árabe, Casa de América and Casa Mediterráneo are organizing from March 24 through June 11, offering round table discussions, film screenings and conferences to analyze the presence of the Arab world and culture in Latin America. In this context, Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi, President of the Royal Society of Fine Arts Jordan, offers a presentation entitled "Contemporary Arab Art". Followed by Rafael López Guzmán, Professor of Art History, University of Granada with his speech "Mudejar Art in the Americas." More: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/“amrika-arabs-in-the-americas”

Publicado el 14 de julio 2014
Conferencia: Traducir las sociedades árabes: realidades y desafíos [V.O. francés / español]

El acto, organizado por Casa Árabe y Transeuropéennes, cuenta con la participación de Franck Mermier, director de investigación del Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Milagros Nuin Monreal, traductora de árabe en la Oficina de Interpretación de Lenguas del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Nathalie Bontemps y Marianne Babut, traductoras, y Pedro Rojo, presidente de la Fundación Al Fanar para el conocimiento árabe. Modera: Bahira Abdulatif, académica y traductora. A más de tres años de la llamada "Primavera árabe", el futuro de las sociedades al sur del Mediterráneo es cuestionado de forma cotidiana. En un contexto en el que la esperanza y la resignación, la comprensión y la incomprensión están entrelazadas, ¿cómo se define nuestra percepción de estas realidades? Más info: http://www.casaarabe.es/eventos-arabes/show/traducir-las-sociedades-arabes-realidades-y-desafios

Publicado el 26 de junio 2014
Conference by Ilan Pappé: The Semblance of Peace in Palestine

On Monday, May 13, 2013, Ilan Pappe, Director of the European Center for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) gave a conference at Casa Árabe's headquarters in Madrid. The event was presented by Musa Odeh, the Ambassador of Palestine in Spain, and Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe. During his conference, Professor Ilan Pappe analyzed the efforts which have been made in the peace process since 1967, focusing his hypothesis on the idea that these efforts have been based on a false paradigm which has ignored the Israeli strategy concerning the Palestinian Territories. Pappe analyzed this viewpoint and the implications it has for the future of the region. This conference, held with the cooperation of the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine in Spain, has been organized on the day of the Nakba (May 15), the date on which Palestinians commemorate the partition of the Palestinians' territories under the British Mandate in 1948, and their indigenous population was dispersed until today. Ilan Pappe Born in Haifa in 1954, Mr. Pappe is the Director of the European Center for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. He forms part of a group of Israeli academics known for their work on historic revisionism, especially in relation with the events that took place in 1948. He is the author of 15 books, several of which have been translated into Spanish, with the titles La limpieza étnica de Palestina (The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Crítica, 2008); Historia de la Palestina moderna: un territorio, dos pueblos (History of Modern Palestine: One Territory, Two Peoples, Akal, 2007); Gaza en Crisis (Gaza in Crisis, with Noam Chomsky, Taurus, 2011). For more information: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/the-semblance-of-peace-in-palestine-2

Publicado el 12 de junio 2014