Research Library

Whereas the royal decree granting Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run for elections in May 2005 raised hopes for political recognition, the glass ceiling remains intact, blocking females’ access to the decision-making process, write fellow Marwa Shalaby and research associate Adan Obeid. The authors examine the factors affecting women's political representation in the Kuwaiti parliament in this article published by the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs

Nonresident fellow Valentine Moghadam argues that women’s legal status, social positions, and collective action prior to the Arab Spring helped shape the nature of the 2011 mass protests as well as the political and social outcomes of individual countries.

Using the work of the women’s caucus in Iran’s Sixth Parliament as a case study, the authors examine women’s struggles to obtain a voice and influence within an authoritarian polity and a male-dominated political body.

What has the Arab Spring meant for women’s rights in the region? Three years after the mass social protests of January and February 2011, when and where can we expect the promises of democracy and equality, and the revolutionary spirit of unity and purpose, to be realized? This article takes stock of significant events and possible future directions, with a focus on prospects for a women-friendly democratization.

Women have been central to the events that have shaken Tunisian politics since the Arab Spring. This article addresses how Tunisia came to occupy a premier position in regard to women's rights and discusses some of the current debates on women's rights in Tunisia following the Arab Spring.

Starting in the 1950s and ever since, Tunisia has implemented gender legislation expanding women's rights in family law. This article documents the two major phases of reforms in favor of women's rights in Tunisia and outlines the conditions that permitted or encouraged the continuity over the last half century.