Arab Spring and Women’s Rights: Lessons from the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon

• In Event: 277 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Rights, Gender, and Violence

Abstract

Some claim that the Arab Spring started with by the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in 2005. The Cedar Revolution is the only case in the context of the Arab Spring that provides some historical depth for analysis to answer the important question if women’s activism for national freedom liberates women.

This paper examines how activists advanced their movement by capitalizing on shifts in political discourse and by framing feminist principles within contexts sanctioned by their cultural norms and values. I argue that while activism for national causes did not have a manifest impact on women’s rights, the latent impact has created openings in the public sphere, showcased emerging leaders, and rendered the patriarchal politico-religious apparatus less legitimate.

The paper examines practical political opportunities that became available for women’s rights activists in Lebanon as a result of the Cedar Revolution. By deconstructing the conceptualization of gender and feminism in a Lebanese context, this paper reveals how women’s rights organizations were able to reformulate their demands for women’s rights within the context of activism for democracy, liberty and sovereignty in the private as well as the public sphere.

Author

• Rita Stephan, U.S. Department of State