Nazra for Feminist Studies

Within its yearly participation in the occasion of the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence; in 2020, Nazra for Feminist Studies, as part of this international campaign, will re-highlight the lives and experiences of those who chose to combat this violence by shedding light on the feminist awareness development of some Egyptian women.

From November, 25th, 2020 till December, 10th, 2020, Nazra will focus on documenting the journey of young feminists from the personal to the public sphere and their awareness development throughout the years.

As an act of solidarity with the feminists of Lebanon, we, a group of feminists from the MENA region, launch this initiative in support of the feminist issues facing Lebanon’s women after the harbor’s massacre.

This paper gives a brief background on violence against women since "the Black Wednesday" in 2005 with a focus on the past few months amid COVID-19 pandemic from both state and non-state actors. The paper aims at showing how the pandemic led to increased targeting of women human rights defenders and provided an opportunity for the state to further shut down the public sphere.

Right to drive, women’s guardianship system’s amendment, anti-harassment law, right to minor’s guardianship, women’s right to run for elections;

While many governments around the world are taking measures to release women prisoners amid the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we followed with great sorrow the three shells that hit the women section in Taizz Central Prison, Southern Yemen, on Sunday, 5 April, killing seven women and one girl child, and wounding two other girls and four women.

We Believe that the day patriarchy was born, is the same day that witnessed the birth of the first feminist as argued by Gerda Lerner. This is how feminists came into existence through the act of resistance. The feminist movements, wave after another have learned how to fight oppressive and discriminatory structures while being mindful of the intersectionality of women's conditions. Moreover, they learned how to build and make progress out of major crises.

Introduction

The 11th of March 2020 marked a turning point for the world and humanity, as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the COVID-19 virus as a global pandemic. All humans now need to survive together and hold on to responsibility, collectiveness and solidarity in the face of a disease that threatens thousands each day.

Today, March 16th, the day that marks the Egyptian women Day, Nazra concludes its campaign "Our Struggles Continue" which was launched on March 8th, the International Day for Women.

The Campaign aimed at supporting and highlighting some of the struggles the WHRDs and feminists go through in Egypt and the MENA Region. Those women decided to continue their activism amid harsh circumstances and an environment of targeting and harassment or suffer today by being imprisoned because of their activism for a better future for the women of their countries.

Sudan witnessed a revolution in December 2018 and succeeded in overthrowing Al Bashir's regime in April 2019. During the revolution, Sudanese women firmly and bravely stood against repression and injustice which they suffered from for decades. And amid the regime militias' efforts to break the protesters' will, many violations took place against women including the crimes committed during the dispersal of the sit-in infront of the Military HQ. Killings, injuries, rape, and systematic sexual assault against Sudanese women and WHRDs.