MESA Banner
Shaping the Revolution: The Role Egyptian and Tunisian Female Activists Played in the 2011 Arab Uprisings
Abstract
In 2011, a series of uprisings took place throughout the Arab World in order to remove the authoritarian leaders that had ruled for decades. Surprising political analysts and scholars in the field, these uprisings succeeded in the removal of the authoritarian Egyptian and Tunisian dictators Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The success of these Arab uprisings hinged on the logistical efforts that were orchestrated across the region. In this paper I investigate the role that Egyptian and Tunisian female activists played in the success of the Arab Spring. I define “success” as the removal of Egypt and Tunisia’s respective authoritarian dictators. I argue that without the organizational and logistical efforts of female activists, the protests that took place in 2011 would not have been as effective in shaping the political goals of the uprisings. To assess the role that female activists played in perpetuating/organizing the uprising, I will conduct a historiography of the usage of the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and blogs in order to demonstrate how these women were able to use the technological advancements of the time as a catalyst to assist them in reaching citizens in the most rural of places. I examine these women and the unconventional role they played in creating a new genderless public social sphere. Understanding the importance of gendered public spheres/spaces which have played an important role throughout the history Tunisia and Egypt allowed for female activists to create a new sphere through the use of cyberspace and social media. In this new social sphere, they unified protesters under a single narrative and eventually mobilized protesters to demonstrate throughout Egypt and Tunisia. Lastly, I examine these women and the unconventional role they played in shaping the political atmosphere post-revolution. Although their push for social reform resulted in underrepresentation in the conventional political sphere, these activists have continued to push boundaries and create new spaces in order to advocate for social change. Ultimately this paper argues for sustained interest in the role of women in the shaping of Arab politics. The role of women is often overlooked by scholars which prevents an accurate historical analysis when examining momentous events in the Arab World.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Egypt
Tunisia
Sub Area
None