Online Activism and the Arab Public Sphere

2019 ◽  
pp. 324-339
Author(s):  
Aziz Douai
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Exchange Site ◽  
Online Activism ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Arab Societies

YouTube has enabled new forms of political dissent in Arab societies. This article examines the development and rise of YouTube in the Arab world. In particular, it looks at how this video exchange site is invigorating the online public sphere's vigorous demand for political reform and respect for human rights. Specifically, this investigation explores how social networking capabilities have made YouTube an effective asset in dissidents' arsenal among Arab activists. To examine the vibrancy of this fledgling online public sphere, the chapter scrutinizes how activists incorporated YouTube videos to shed light on human rights abuses, specifically police abuse, corruption, and brutality in two Arab countries, Egypt and Morocco. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the new campaigning modes that the Internet and YouTube have facilitated.

Online Activism and the Arab Public Sphere

2015 ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
Aziz Douai
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Exchange Site ◽  
Online Activism ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Arab Societies

YouTube has enabled new forms of political dissent in Arab societies. This article examines the development and rise of YouTube in the Arab world. In particular, it looks at how this video exchange site is invigorating the online public sphere's vigorous demand for political reform and respect for human rights. Specifically, this investigation explores how social networking capabilities have made YouTube an effective asset in dissidents' arsenal among Arab activists. To examine the vibrancy of this fledgling online public sphere, the chapter scrutinizes how activists incorporated YouTube videos to shed light on human rights abuses, specifically police abuse, corruption, and brutality in two Arab countries, Egypt and Morocco. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the new campaigning modes that the Internet and YouTube have facilitated.

“In YouTube We Trust”

2014 ◽  
pp. 57-71
Author(s):  
Aziz Douai
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Exchange Site ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Arab Societies ◽  
Shed Light

YouTube has enabled new forms of political dissent in Arab societies. This chapter examines the development and rise of YouTube in the Arab world. In particular, it looks at how this video exchange site is invigorating the online public sphere’s vigorous demand for political reform and respect for human rights. Specifically, this investigation explores how social networking capabilities have made YouTube an effective asset in dissidents’ arsenal among Arab activists. To examine the vibrancy of this fledgling online public sphere, the chapter scrutinizes how activists incorporated YouTube videos to shed light on human rights abuses, specifically police abuse, corruption, and brutality in two Arab countries, Egypt and Morocco. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the new campaigning modes that the Internet and YouTube have facilitated.

Stigma on mental illness in the Arab world: beyond the socio-cultural barriers

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Merhej
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Research on mental illness stigma in the Arab world has traditionally focused on socio-cultural barriers that deprive persons with mental illness from their fundamental human right for privacy and informed consent. The purpose of this paper is to address the question whether or not mental health legislations in a number of Arab countries effectively safeguard the human rights of people with mental illness and protect them from stigmatizing and discriminatory practices. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative review of literature was performed over two rounds of search, targeting published research on mental illness stigma in the Arab world from year 2000 until now and existing national mental health legislations in the Arab world, using English and Arabic databases. Findings The review reveals that beyond society and culture, persistence of mental illness stigma in the Arab world may be explained by absent or inefficient monitoring mechanisms of mental health legislations and policies within the health-care setting. Although integration of mental health services into the primary health care system is being gradually implemented as a step toward de-stigmatization of mental illness, more remains to be done to change the stigmatizing behavior of the health personnel toward mental illness. Originality/value Mental health authorities in the Arab world need to be more aware of the public perceptions explaining people’s fear and reluctance to seek mental health care, so as to ensure that the control and monitoring mechanisms at both the primary and mental health care levels foster a human rights, culturally competent, patient-friendly and non-stigmatizing model of mental health care.

scholarly journals Children’s access to beneficial information in Arab states: Implementation of Article 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Sakr
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Lower Priority ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Screen Content ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
The Relationship

In theory, the multiple platforms and transnational nature of digital media, along with a related proliferation of diverse forms of content, make it easier for children’s right to access socially and culturally beneficial information and material to be realised, as required by Article 17 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Drawing on data collected during research on children’s screen content in the Arab world, combined with scrutiny of documents collated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this article explores how three Arab countries, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, presented their efforts to implement Article 17 as part of their periodic reporting on their overall performance in putting the Convention on the Rights of the Child into effect. It uncovers tensions over the relationship between provision, participation and protection in relation to media, reveals that Article 17 is liable to get less attention than it deserves in contexts where governments keep a tight grip on media and that, by appearing to give it a lower priority, all parties neglect the interdependence of human rights in relation to media and children.

Islamic Revivalism in the Arab World and Its Dialogue with the West

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-42
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Dhaouadi
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Cultural Sociology ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
The West ◽  
Religious Transformation ◽  
Arab Societies ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This paper seeks to underline two features of transformation in the Arab world since the late 1960s. First, that region’s religious transformation or ṣaḥwah(awakening) has been a general and overwhelming phenomenon. The pulse of Islam’s global surge can be easily observed at various levels of contemporary Arab countries: the individual and the collective, as well as their political behavior and organization. Second, the great tension between the West and Islam, particularly after 9/11, constituted a sort of change in the relationship between these two parties. I argue that these tensions could be reduced and minimized if the West were to improve its linguistic and cultural ties with Arab societies. The perspective of cultural sociology is very helpful in clarifying how to enhance such a dialogue. I shed light on these two topics through what I call a Homo Culturus perspective.

An Emerging Trend in Arab Migration

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Françoise De Bel-Air
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Proximate Determinants ◽  
Migratory Patterns ◽  
Arab Societies ◽  
Female Professionals

The growing share of skilled and highly-skilled, often unmarried, young Arab women immigrating to the GCC is generally un-documented. Shedding some light on this population, therefore, will not only emphasize a new phenomenon, but it also, first, points at a new structural trend within Arab populations: the emergence of educated female professionals in Arab societies characterized by low female activity rates. Second, it challenges the dominant assumption that Arab migration to Gulf countries is a “male-only” phenomenon in which women are married dependents. This contribution aims at laying some ground to bridge the knowledge gap regarding Arab female highly-skilled workers in the Gulf. The study explores the proximate determinants—rise in age at marriage, development of female celibacy in the Arab world, expansion of female education levels—and structural conditions compelling an increasing number of Arab citizens, male and female, to seek better futures abroad. Findings, such as the widespread denial that patriarchal pressures are important factors in determining Arab female migration, question the categories used, including Arab, female, and Gulf migration patterns. The study also concludes that such partial results beg to be completed by a wider-scale survey involving highly-skilled female migrants from several Arab countries and systematically comparing their migratory patterns and experience.

scholarly journals Arab Countries in Transition: Gender Rights and Constitutional Reforms

1970 ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
Samira Aghacy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Women's Bodies ◽  
American University ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Lebanese American University ◽  
Constitutional Reforms ◽  
Countries In Transition

This second issue of Al-Raida consists of papers that were presented at the international conference “Arab Countries in Transition: Gender Rights and Constitutional Reforms” held by the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) in June 2014 and centering on human rights, women’s bodies, power relations, violations and testimonials.

Gender Disproportion And Political Representation: Case Studies Of Egypt And Morocco

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
Yasir Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Quota System ◽  
Arab Population ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Arab Societies

The study was carried out Gender Disproportion and Political Representation: Case Studies of Egypt and Morocco. It is the topic which encompasses socio-politicaleconomic conditions of the women in Arab countries, and their different obstacles in achieving the appropriate status in society. This paper investigates the role of Arab women in politics. Content Analysis was used as a methodology for analysis of different theoretical approaches. Morocco and Egypt were selected as a case study in order to analyze women political conditions in Arab world. Combinations of patriarchy, conservative religious interpretations and cultural stereotypes have built a very strong psychological barrier among Arab population regarding women’s participation in the public sphere. The hierarchy of patriarchal tribal structure of several Arab societies in the history was another factor that contributed to this state of affairs. It is argued in the paper that the quota system is the only solution which may provide better representation of women in political sphere. At the end, researcher summed up by giving some suggestions for the prosperous future of Arab world.

Constitutionalism, Human Rights, and Islam after the Arab Spring

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grote Rainer ◽  
Röder Tilmann J
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Transformation Processes

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact that new and draft constitutions and amendments—such as those in Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Egypt, and Tunisia—have had on the transformative processes that drive constitutionalism in Arab countries. The authors aim to identify and analyze the key issues facing constitutional law and democratic development in Islamic states, and offer an in-depth examination of the relevance of the transformation processes for the development and future of constitutionalism in Arab countries. Using an encompassing and multi-faceted approach, this book explores underlying trends and currents that have been pivotal to the Arab Spring, while identifying and providing a forward looking view of constitution making in the Arab world. In its analysis, this book also includes country-specific case studies on the relationship between Islam and the rule of law and human rights, within contemporary Islamic societies and offers an in-depth comparison of Arab Spring constitutionalism to the models of constitutionalism around the world.

scholarly journals Arab Non-believers and Freethinkers on YouTube: Re-Negotiating Intellectual and Social Boundaries

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Sebastian Elsässer
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Family Law ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Arab Societies

This article uses the increasing visibility of Arab non-believers in the virtual public sphere as an opportunity to re-examine the key issues and dividing lines between believers, sceptics, and non-believers in Arab societies. It analyzes the currently four most popular Arabic-language YouTube channels created by freethinkers, nonbelievers, and atheists and points out commonalities and differences in style, content, and message. The article argues that the sense of a lively and growing virtual community has raised the confidence of non-believers (lā-dīnīyūn) and atheists in the Arab world and made them more daring in their self-portrayal and in their demands on society. As the examples show, YouTube allows them to circumvent the hostility they face in society and in the mainstream media and to connect with an audience that numbers in the tens of thousands of people from all over the Arab world and the diaspora. The article argues that freethinking and non-belief imply an attempt to re-negotiate social and religious boundaries within Arab societies and could—in the long run—have an impact on legal and constitutional questions as well, such as family law and the prerogatives of religious authorities.

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