Special focus: The new Arab man
The articles in this section are dedicated to the new Arab man who believes in and lives gender equality. These men champion women‘s rights and/or challenge traditional ideas of masculinity. Although these progressive men are still, sadly, a minority in the Arab world – they exist and their ranks are growing.
Nevertheless, they too often fly undetected under the radar, even though there is nothing new about them and they have been around for decades. The Arab patriarchy fears them because they undermine the current male order from within. In the West, they lack visibility out of ignorance, intellectual bias and the reductionist political need by some for binaries: Arab woman, oppressed; Arab man, oppressor.
But progressive Arab man need to raise their voices and be heard, not only to help the emancipation of women, but also to empower the average Mo, as it were, by providing him with positive role models of a new and confident masculinity that is not threatenend by strong and equal women.
If you would like to contribute an article or ideas to this special focus, please drop us a line at [email protected]
Sexual harassment and the medina
November 2014 – In Egypt, sexual harassment is a largely urban phenomenon fuelled by a sense of male powerlessness, insecurity and unrealistic gender ideals.
ابريل 2014 – لوحظ في الأونة الأخيرة تزايد الرجال المناصرة لحقوق المرأة عربياً، مقدمين مثالاُ رائعاً في تحدي المعنى التقليدي للرجولة الشرقية.
The new Arab man: The Middle East’s male awakening
April 2014 – In the first of a Chronikler series on the new Arab man, we meet men who champion women’s rights and challenge traditional ideals of masculinity.
The battle for the soul of the Arab man
May 2012 – The polarised debate over Arab women overlooks the fact that men can be victims of the patriarchy too and their identity is a cultural battlefield.
International Women’s Day: Empowering the average Mo
March 2012 – Arab men who do not fit the traditional ideal of manhood are often regarded as inferior, and this stereotype holds back the emancipation of women.
November 2010 – Some in the west are more likely to believe in elves in Middle Earth than in Arab men in the Middle East who are secular and do not oppress women.
