Our Colors: Advancing Women's Rights in the Middle East with the ALWANE Coalition

The dust is still settling on the Arab Spring. The images beamed across the world from Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, and countless other nations will live on in history books, and its implications and effects are varied and diverse.  For some, the events of the past two years represent a cautious step forward towards freer elections and governance, for others it is the continued struggle for stability and liberty as the last vestiges of an antediluvian leadership clings to power with weapons and fear. For half of the region’s population however, it simply means a return to normalcy; the normalcy of subjugation, suppression, and exclusion.  Women played equal, if not commanding parts in the revolutions and uprisings that gave voice to millions of marginalized citizens living under autocratic governance throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Yet in the aftermath of the uprisings, women’s involvement has not only been severely limited, but in many places has regressed, as conservative religious ideologies and parties have sought to re-write laws that provide safety and rights to women, and in doing so threaten to erase the accomplishments and status of women for this, and the next, generation.

It would be easy, as many already have, to cut losses. It would be easy to simply praise the determination of the countless millions who sought a more transparent and free society, regardless of the concerning implications taking shape in the post-conflict governments. It would be easy to wave a flag of victory for the human spirit, despite the fact that half of its population remains in a pre-ordained, disenfranchised position even after so much change has come. However, the women of the ALWANE Middle East North Africa Initiative are not used to “easy”, and they are not taking “good enough” for an answer.

Conceived by Women’s Campaign International in early 2012, ALWANE (translated to “My Colors” in Arabic) has breathed life into a struggle for equality and freedom that had in many nations become bogged down with partisan rhetoric, false promises and ulterior agendas. The ALWANE movement consists of committees of experts, academics, entrepreneurs and mentored youth representing 16 nations in the Middle East and North Africa region, all brought together for their devotion to the advancement of women’s rights in their country, and in the region as a whole. Through the tireless efforts of the men and women of the Coalition, ALWANE has gained major traction throughout the region, giving voice to a wide range of issues relating to women’s rights, from increasing the number of women in the workforce. Each committee is located in one the 16 nations and maintains autonomous control of their campaign, but simultaneously acts as a contributing member of the regional coalition. As such, the committee’s approaches vary greatly, and their immediate goals are tailored specifically to their country’s sociopolitical situation, allowing each campaign to develop its own distinctive national character through dynamic and localized strategies for progress, rather than broad, one-size-fits-all solutions.

Now, while Syria continues its bitter and seemingly unending fight for freedom, and Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia take their first steps as newly independent nations, the members of the ALWANE Coalition met in Amman, Jordan as part of the ALWANE Regional Summit. At the summit, the dedicated activists, academics, government officials, and students from all 16 nations joined together for the first time to share their work, and to formulate solid next steps for women’s advancement in the region. With this meeting, the ALWANE Coalition demonstrated that the foundation exists for lasting, fundamental, and region-wide change regardless of ethnicity, gender, or age, and that the governments of the region—both new and old—cannot continue to suppress or exclude large portions of their own population.

Most importantly however, as the Regional Summit ends, and ALWANE begins the next phase of its existence, the leaders of the ALWANE Coalition are working to sow the seeds of the next generation of entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development in the region. The men, women, boys, and girls of ALWANE are teaching youth that female innovation—and innovation as a whole— can take many forms, but that it is first and foremost an attainable goal for women in society, and no longer just a pipe dream. Though we may not yet fully understand the implications of the Arab Spring, this does not give us an excuse to simply allow the progress thought impossible by so many to slip away from those who need it most. Instead of writing off these recent regressions as temporary or inevitable, we should treat this new and ever-changing world as the malleable, formative foundation that it can—and must—be. True change comes from within; from within the borders of a nation, and within the minds and hearts of the men and women who inhabit them. The ALWANE Coalition allows women to push for equality in their own country, with their own voice, in their own colors. We must support this vitally important initiative, and continue to seek out ways to allow the marginalized of the world to be heard, because while it is their land and their colors, it is our world, and our future.