AISHA: ARAB WOMEN'S FORUM

A network of progressive Arab women's organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of Arab women.

The Arab Women's Forum was founded by a group of Arab women's organizations in December 1992 in order to enhance collaboration and promote shared objectives. Members of the group include nongovernmental organizations from North Africa and the Levant. Objectives include the advancement of democratic principles, legal rights for Arab women, gender equality in all areas of society, and women's participation in the public sphere at the decision-making levels, as well as confronting all forms of discriminations against girls and women. It addresses such issues as violence against women, media portrayals of women, the promotion of human rights, and laws that discriminate against girls and women, and it works to educate women, especially on reproductive rights and on other health care and feminist concerns. It organizes panels, conferences, and presentations on these issues and on others that pertinent to women's lives. It also provides resources for research and awareness.

The forum also maintains a Web site, called NISAA (women in Arabic). This helps creates a network for Arab women and organizations, allowing them to make connections, exchange ideas, and share research and documentation on women's experiences. The Web site is maintained by the Women's Center, a legal aid and counseling center in Jerusalem, run by a Palestinian private organization. The forum relies heavily on the Internet to act as a central clearinghouse for ideas and research in its fight against injustices affecting women.

see also gender: gender and education; gender: gender and law; gender: gender and politics.

Bibliography

Arab Women's Forum. NISAA: An Arab Women's Web Site. Available at <http://www.nisaa.org>.

"Discussing the Exclusion of Women in the Arab World from the Effective Protection of International Human Rights Law." Available from <http://bunian.org.jo>.

Mirna Lattouf