Under the patronage of the Minister of Education, Elias Bou Saab, IWSAW hosted an international conference titled “Arab Countries in Transition: Gender Rights and Constitutional Reforms” from June 23 until June 25, 2014. The international conference was organized in partnership with the Women and Memory Forum-Egypt, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Rule of Law Program MENA Region, and the Danish Centre for Research and Information on Gender, Equality, and Diversity (KVINFO).

The conference hosted two guest speakers Dr. Suad Joseph, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies at the University of California, Davis and Dr. Hoda Elsadda, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University and head of the Freedoms and Rights Committee in the Constituent Assembly in Egypt.

Prominent academics, researchers, and activists from the Arab World (Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq) as well as from the U.S., Denmark, and Japan attended the international conference.

The topics discussed included women’s political participation during and after the Arab uprisings/revolutions, women’s equality in the new Egyptian constitution, gender and the Arab uprisings/revolutions, sexual violence in Egypt, Islamic law, struggle for democracy and gender rights in documentary films, and legal reforms and changes impacting women in the MENA region.

More details about the international conference are found in this LAU news article.