Arab civil and women groups from Beirut: The Arab spring was a clear disappointment

The Collective for Research and Training on Development Action convened on June 18 and 19th the Core Group Meeting of civil society and women organizations partners in the sustainable economic opportunities regional project.  The regional meeting was attended by 11 organisations from Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Libya, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon, which reviewed and discussed the current situation of women in the Arab region since 2011 and how to push the work of their organisations forward at the level of strengthening women's economic rights.  The participating organisations expressed their concern regarding the growing status of violence and internal division within and amongst Arab countries and the continuous degradation of overall economic situation.
The meeting concluded that high hopes placed on the civil movements in some Arab countries did not bring in an improvement in individual and general freedoms, failed in addressing needs of the population, in advancing the rights of women and in achieving inclusive citizenship and equality.  Discussions during the regional meeting also emphasized the need to come up with new political and economic alternatives which will go beyond the current duality in the regional and the limited choice between conservative fundamentalist powers and the old totalitarian systems.  The participating groups also agreed to press on with the implementation of their common work plan for the remainder of the year while focusing on strengthening the role of women in re-drafting Arab constitutions and legislations and highlighting the importance of women's work in general, and women's informal work in particular. (CRTD.A 20 June 2014)
Source: NNA, Al-Safir, Al-Diyar, 23 June 2014