Lily Hijazi-Sacay

December 26, 2022

2022 Convening

MENA Women: Addressing Violence and Post-COVID Challenges
&
Differing Narratives, a Shared Future

Athens, Greece ~ September 2022

After not being able to meet for two years, FGW brought together more than 42 women leaders for an in-person convening in Athens, Greece, in September. Like many organizations around the world, we were unable to travel in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. Elected leaders, activists, and academicians from Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and the US took part, and for the first time, we also had a participant from Libya. For five days, we heard from keynote speakers and panelists on two primary topics: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the rise of gender-based violence in the MENA region as a result of the pandemic.

Photos

Keynote Speakers

Cheryl Thomas

Global Rights for Women

United States

Nouzha Skalli

Former Minister of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity

Morocco

Angela Panayiotou

Feminist Entrepreneur

Greece

Topics

During Forward Global Women’s ninth annual convening consisted of keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, and panels about the two topics of the convening, as well as focused on work done for the Rula Quawas Scholarship, may she rest in peace.

MENA Women: Addressing Violence and Post-COVID Challenges

MENA Women: Addressing Violence and Post-COVID Challenges

The primary topic of the 2022 convening was the growing incidence and response to violence against women in the MENA region. Statistics reveal that the pandemic exacerbated the problem as families were forced into isolation and all social activities put on hold. The evolving movement to end violence against women was also discussed with nuances of differing perspectives and work being done from the MENA region and beyond.

Differing Narratives, a Shared Future

The secondary topic of the 5-day convening was about, Differing Narratives, a Shared Future.

A significant portion of this year’s convening was devoted to a frank and open discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Participants from both Israel and Palestine presented their narratives, while also hearing from other participants from around the world about the impact the conflict has on the region.

Rula Quawas Scholarship

FGW also once again awarded the Rula Quawas Scholarship in honor of one of our founders who passed away in 2018. Recipients for 2022 were Liat Daudi from Israel and Zineb Rabouj from Morocco who did a joint paper entitled Cultures Beyond Nations: Visualizing Trans-Culturalism, Female Agency and Peacemaking in the Movie Orange People.

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Climate Action Plan

August 19, 2019

Dina Baslan’s “On the Refugee Route” post out now

June 29, 2016

In this second to last blog in 2016 convening participant Dina Baslan’s five part series, “On the Refugee Route” takes us along my friend Somar’s journey through Europe’s firewall; the Balkans. We tread through Greece, Macedonia and Serbia –queuing in lines, crossing borders on foot and sleeping in camps– before something (un)expected takes place which leads to separating our group. Read the rest of the story on her Medium blog: https://goo.gl/Yg2J9F

US Ambassador to Cyprus to Host Opening Reception

June 20, 2016

We are very appreciative that our opening reception will be hosted by the US Ambassador to Cyprus, Kathleen Dougherty.

For the convening, our keynote speakers include:

Professor Fatima Sadiqi, a Moroccan convening participant, professor, and researcher. She has an academic background in women and gender studies in the MENA region.

Anat Thon, a successful lawyer and activist promoting the representation of diverse women in a public-decision making bodies, and submitting numerous petitions to the Supreme Court on Res. 1325 in Israel. She will be joining our Israeli team.

Amal Hamidallah, Director of the Gulf Foundation, lawyer, and civil society analyst residing in the Netherlands.

Q&A with Tunisian Women’s Rights Activist Ikram Ben Said

April 17, 2016

Ikram Ben Said is joining the Forward Global Women team from Tunisia. Learn more about her in this Q&A session with TIME Magazine.

Rash Report: International Women of Courage Award winners offer Mideast hope

April 13, 2016

President Sandy Pappas met with the two women offered the Women of Courage Award. Read more about Dr. Nagham Nazwat Hasan of Iraq and Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi’s of Yemen’s work on behalf of women in the Middle East.

FGW President Sandy Pappas met Dr. Hazan, an International Women of Courage Awardee

Sen. Pappas with Dr Al-Awlaqi and the Al-Hajiby family from Yemen

Thousands of Women are Saying “Enough,” Demanding a Peaceful Resolution to the Conflict

April 4, 2016

Summer 2014. Fifty days of war with near-constant rocket fire between Israel and Gaza. Chilling fear seeps into our bones. Adults are consumed with worry about sons, daughters, neighbors and friends at the front lines, frail parents, and young children: not everyone succeeds in running for cover at a moment’s notice. Afterwards, we recalibrate our new reality, with its dead, its survivors, its heroes, its injured, and its bombed places. All over again.

Summer 2015. Fear lingers: when will the next violent round erupt? Despair follows: the constant message that there’s no partner on the other side with whom to negotiate dashes hopes for a lasting agreement and the beginning of normality. And yet. Thousands of Israeli women face their fear and despair by joining a movement, Women Wage Peace, formed just as the last missile fell in August 2014. Our political beliefs vary, but we all believe in re-awakening demand for a non-violent, honorable and bilaterally or regionally acceptable political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. READ MORE.

Women Wage Peace (WWP) is a NGO of Israeli women working for a viable peace agreement. WWP is a screening partner for the Women, War & Peace series and has coordinated screenings of Hebrew and Arab subtitled versions of Pray the Devil Back to Hell for thousands of viewers.

At Security Council, UN Women Chief Urges Greater Input, Visibility of Women in Peacebuilding

March 29, 2016

28 March 2016 – Emphasizing the consistent, dependable and universal commitment of women to conflict prevention, the head of UN Women today called for greater efforts to reach the goal of allocating at least 15 per cent of peace-building resources to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

“Women need to be resourced so that they can do more,” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women told the Security Council during an open debate on the role of women in conflict prevention in Africa. Read more.

U.S. Institute for Peace releases new “Thought for Action” kit

March 23, 2016

Check out the new “Women Preventing Violent Extremism” thought for action kit published by the U.S. Institute for Peace. This document is for policy makers, practitioners and academics who are interested in understanding “why gender matters” in preventing violent extremism. Check it out here.