March 28 – Reset-Dialogues Talks at New York University
Democracy for Women: the promise and the risk of Arab political change
The last several months have brought radical transformations to political structures in states across North Africa and the Middle East. Many of these changes are moves toward democracy—either in the communications infrastructures created by access to new mediated forms or in recalibrations of political processes—but all these changes represent risks and opportunities to women in particular. In some instances, such as in Egypt, shifting political power is leading to proposals to restrict certain enumerated rights of women. In others, such as Morocco, transformations seem to be opening up new space for women in the public sphere, although not without drawbacks. This discussion will address the promise and the problems presented by new democratic forms in the region.
Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations (ResetDoC) in collaboration with the Institute for Public Knowledge, NYU
Wednesday, March 28th 2012, 6:30 p.m.
New York University – Journalism School at 20 Cooper Square,
Participants:
Dr. Nouzha Guessous (Key political actor in the creation of Morocco’s progressive 2004 Family Code or Moudawana, Casablanca University honorary professor, feminist, human rights activist)
Dr. Nadia Guessous (assistant professor of anthropology and gender studies at the Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University)
Dr. Helga Tawil-Souri (assistant professor in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University)
Chair: Nina zu Fürstenberg, President Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations
————————————————————–
March 29 – Reset-Dialogues Talks with COLUMBIA University
Expanding and Shrinking Areas of Liberty: Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Syria
Through a series of informal conversations between the speakers and discussants, this conference will explore factors that have led to greater, or more restricted, liberties in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The talks will focus on the role of religious actors, international bodies like the UN, civil society and developments emerged since the Arab Spring.
Co-Sponsored by The Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion and The Middle East Institute at Columbia University and Reset – Dialogues on Civilizations (Reset-DoC).
Thursday, March 29, 2012 2:00 -7:00 pm
1501 International Affairs Building, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Speakers:
Dr. Nouzha Guessous (Key political actor in the creation of Morocco’s progressive 2004 Family Code or Moudawana, Casablanca University honorary professor, feminist, human rights activist)
Radwan Masmoudi (President, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Tunisia)
Dr. Toby C. Jones (Specialist on Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University)
Dr. Tarek Masoud (Egyptian Specialist on Political Transitions, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government)
Dr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Chairman, United Nations Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria).
Discussants:
Dr. Alfred Stepan (Wallace Sayre Professor of Government, Columbia University)
Nina zu Fürstenberg (President, Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations)
—————————————————————
April 2 – Reset-Dialogues Talks at YALE University
Arab democracy and women: A Moroccan Perspective on Gender Politics and Law Reform
Does the space opened up for Islamist parties by a new season of democratic reforms mean an unambiguous sacrifice for women’s issues, or does it reveal a more complex competition between various actors and movements? One of the most significant recent events in the realm of law, religion and gender in the Middle East was the 2004 reform of the Moroccan family law (Moudawana). The Moroccan legal reform has attracted international attention both for its substantive provisions in the direction of gender equality and fairness, but also for the process that brought it about. While largely enacted under the initiative of the monarchy, the reforms also reflected the efforts of civil society to advance the cause of gender equality in conversation with Islamic legal traditions and Islamist social actors. The 2004 reforms in Morocco are thus relevant for all those interested in the new politics of gender, authority and law in Arab and Muslim societies in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations in collaboration with the Council on Middle East Studies and the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Fund, The MacMillan Center, Yale University.
Monday, April 2nd 2012, 12am -2 pm
Yale University, Institute for Social and Policy Studies Building, 77 Prospect St., New Haven, CT
Participants:
Dr. Nouzha Guessous (Casablanca University honorary professor, feminist, human rights activist, key political actor in the creation of Morocco’s progressive 2004 Family Code or Moudawana)
Dr. Andrew F. March (Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale)
Dr. Zakia Salime (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers)
Dr. Jonathan Wyrtzen (Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Yale)
Chair: Dr. Joseph LaPalombara (Political Science, Yale, and President of Reset-Dialogues US)
Introduction: Nina zu Fürstenberg (President, Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations)