neer creation of university graduate units such as
one for women’s studies in Rabat and another for
gender studies in Fes. These graduate units have
produced the first cohorts of masters and doctorate
holders in women’s and gender studies in Morocco.
University centers and graduate units have signifi-
cantly contributed to bridging the gap between the
university and civil society as students often carry
out fieldwork with women’s non-governmental
organizations. They have also been very instru-
mental in democratizing higher education. More
national and international colloquia are devoted to
women’s issues and more books by and on women
are introduced in the university curricula. The cur-
rent move in Maghribian women’s movements is
from a predominantly political discourse to more
academic discussions, building-up of scholarship
and fieldwork, bridging gaps between academia
and activist civil society, and, most importantly,
preparing students who will ensure continuity.
Gender is more and more used as an analytical tool
for understanding men, women, and society in this
part of the world.
The great headway obtained by women in the
Maghrib highlights the fact that women’s experi-
ences, interpretations, and understandings of issues
and events were unique and often differed from
men’s. These endeavors brought about the issues of
health, enterprise, jobs, and other similar in-
fluences, as relating to women for the first time.
Women’s voices began to be taken seriously by the
decision-makers. Women’s movements in the three
countries of the Maghrib share some aspects and
differ in others. On the one hand, these movements
crystallize around continuous demands for the revi-
sion of the family laws, they denounce the sexist
practices of their heavily patriarchal sociocultural
environment, they want more political and legal
rights, and they capitalize on education as women’s
empowerment. On the other hand, women’s move-
ments are deeply affected by the political leadership
of each country: while the king in Morocco as the
highest political and religious authority is in favor
of women’s promotion, no such support is found in
Algeria or Tunisia. In Algeria, women rely more on
political parties, and in Tunisia, the secured rights
may be jeopardized by increasing restrictions on
human rights.
All in all, the role of women in the revolutionary
movements of the Maghrib has become nowadays
one of the pillars of the general development and
democratization. Through their movements, women
in this region have succeeded in creating and main-
taining opportunities for women by providing edu-
cation, health care, legal assistance, and economic
palestine 655opportunities. Their achievements are remarkable
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1999.Fatima SadiqiPalestinePalestinian women have been part of the resist-
ance against Israeli colonialism throughout the his-
tory of the conflict. They have often been mobilized
via their domestic roles and kinship ties as mothers
and wives, but also as militants, politicians, and
grassroots organizers.
During the Arab Revolt (1936–9), a sustained
strike against the British Mandate and Zionist
incursions in Palestine, women hid and prepared
food for fighters and acted as couriers for men who
had less freedom of movement (Sayigh 1993, 188).
Through their involvement, some women gained
political consciousness and awareness of social
problems, and their families encouraged their par-
ticipation because it supported the national cause
(Antonius 1979, 36). These themes would reappear