About Us

The Arab Network for Women’s Civil Society is a coalition that encompasses 77 member organizations from 13 different Arab nations. This network is dedicated to fostering gender equality by advocating for and influencing policies and legislative measures. Its primary focus is to tackle various forms of gender-based discrimination and promote women’s rights and empowerment across the Arab region. Through collaborative efforts and strategic initiatives, the network aims to create a more equitable society where women have equal opportunities and are free from systemic barriers and injustices.

The idea of the formation of the Arabic Network for Feminist Civil Society emerged as a direct result of the gathering of Arab feminist and women’s organizations in September of 2019 in Amman, Jordan to discuss the parallel report of the Beijing 25+ Declaration and Platform for Action. The COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on women and marginalised groups have had an impact on pushing forward for network formation after discussing and analysing the gendered impact of the pandemic on women in the MENA region. The member organisations of the Network came together to amplify and deliver the voices of Arab feminists, both in the Arab region and internationally, and to empower the Arab feminist community to work collectively to strengthen the influential voices defending women's rights in the region. Enable young women and youth initiatives in particular to participate in the regional and international feminist movement and related events and mechanisms. Enabling various women's organisations to exchange experiences, successful practices and lessons learned. Therefore, Building and learning from them. At the end of this first meeting of the network, members decided that it should be a sustainable network that not only addresses the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls in the MENA region but that it also ensures its continuity beyond this specific objective, to address the structural inequalities that women and girls face in our region and, thus, continue beyond the pandemic. The network now includes 62 CSOs from 13 Arab countries in the MENA. Since March 2020, The Network has met many times to exchange information, experiences, and data on its diverse activities aimed at protecting women from the impact of COVID-19, as well as the need for systemic changes necessary to address gender inequalities in all spheres. The network has engaged in global feminist activities preparing for the parallel review of Beijing 25+, the Generation Equality Forums, as well as Action Coalitions and the agenda for global women/feminist movement plan.

Working on building and sustaining a strong and effective regional feminist network from the MENA region that can act together to solidify and strengthen feminist and women’s rights movements in the Arabic region, through the creation of common agendas, which build on commonalities, embrace diversity, and provide solidarity to all.

• Improve the socio-economic status of women and girls in the MENA region, to obtain and protect all rights and ensure that the needs of the intersections of women and girls in the region are included. • Ensure equal rights for women and girls in all walks of life, in both the public and private spheres, including the rights of marginalised groups of all women and girls, such as women and girls with disabilities, refugees, migrant women, older women, rural women and women minorities. • Address inequalities resulting from political, institutional, social, cultural and local gendered biases that affect the rights, dignity, health and opportunities of women and girls. • Ensure the development of relevant legislation and personal status laws that improves women and girls’ autonomism in the private and public spheres. • Influencing governments’ policies in terms of gender responsiveness with women actively participating in their formulation. • Ensure the development of governmental and non-governmental structures that can assist, monitor and ensure the implementation of relevant legislation that protects women and girls in the private and public spheres. • Improve women's access to leadership positions, as well as adopt the gender equality and social justice agenda and relevant international conventions. • Ensure the dissemination of knowledge and information through alternative media channels, as well as ensure that women and girls in their intersections have access to mainstream media. • Ensure that women and girls from the MENA region are supported to participate and their voices heard in regional and international alliances and conferences.

تاريخ انشاء الشبكة في عام ٢٠١٩، تم اختيار كل من دكتورة فاطمة خفاجي من مصر وعضوة لجنة العشرين النسوية Civil Society Advisory Group to the Core Group والسيدة لينا أبو حبيب من لبنان وعضوة لجنة التخطيط لمنتدى جيل المساواة Generation Equality Forum للالتحاق ببرنامج هيئة الأمم المتحدة للمرأة للمشاركة في مؤتمر إقليمي للمرأة في عمان وذلك في إطار نشاط كُل منهما في مجموعات ومنتديات نسوية في المنطقة. توافقت هذه الدعوة للتعريف بأهداف وأنشطة منتدى جيل المساواة مع الذكرى الخامسة والعشرين لإعلان ومنهاج عمل بيجين. عملت المؤسستان على توفير التمويل الكافي، وتمكّن من ضمان حضور أكثر من ثلاثين ممثلة من الجمعيات النسوية وبينهن شابات من عدد من البلدان العربية للمشاركة في هذا المؤتمر، وقد تم مناقشة واعداد التقرير الموازي الإقليمي لإعلان ومنهاج عمل بيجين +٢٥ وتم نشره على موقع هيئة الأمم المتحدة للمرأة. كما أسفر هذا الاجتماع على اقتراح قدمتاه السيدة لينا أبو حبيب والدكتورة فاطمة خفاجي بإنشاء شبكة للنسويات العربيات حتى يكون لهن صوتاً فعالاً يؤخذ به في فعاليات جيل المساواة وفي كل مؤتمرات وتجمعات قضايا المرأة التي تطرح إقليمياً ودولياً. وخلال الأعوام من ٢٠٢٠ -٢٠٢٢ وفّرت المؤسستان المساندة والدعم لإنشاء الشبكة والتمويل اللازم ووضع الخطط اللازمة لتنظيم عمل الشبكة، كما دفعتا بمشاركة عدد من النسويات الشابات العربيات الأصوات العربية للمشاركة في كل أنشطة جيل المساواة خلال العامين. وعملت كلُ من دكتورة فاطمة خفاجي والسيّدة لينا أبو حبيب على التخطيط لإنشاء الشبكة وتكوين لجنة توجيهية لأعمال الشبكة لتقوم بتيسير الأعمال والاجتماعات الدورية، وتم الاتفاق على أن المؤسستين تتوليان منصب مسيّرة الشبكة بالشراكة. أعضاء اللجنة التوجيهية ٢٠٢٠: الأساتذة سامية ملكي من تونس فاطمة أبو طالب من المغرب ونهى محريز من الأردن ومزن حسن من مصر