Guest Talk by Scholar with Dual Expertise in Middle East and Women Studies

On December 1st, the Middle East Society invited Evelyne Accad to talk about women's movements in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon and Tunisia.

Ms. Accad discussed the lack of access to basic human rights for women in most Middle Eastern countries, describing the oppression that they undergo through forced marriage, polygamy, and various forms of sexual slavery. She examined those aspects in relation to two historic events that have impacted society. The first is what can be considered as a changing point for the Middle East: 9/11. She discussed the development of the Islamic State in the aftermath of the attack, with a focus on the role and condition of women.

She also spoke of the Arab Spring, explaining how women have played an active role in the uprising as well as in re-establishing democracy: they participated in active marches and protests even though their lives may have been threatened–much more than that of men, as they were subject to sexual violence, and labelling by the Islamists.

Evelyne Accad was joined in her presentation by Amel Ben Aba, whom she met while touring the Middle East to study women's movements in the region.

Evelyne Accad is a Lebanese-born American scholar and author with expertise in Women Studies, African Studies and Middle East Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, and is a Professor Emerita at the Lebanese American University and the University of Illinois, where she taught for thirty years. She became interested in the subject of sexuality and war when she started to compare male to female authors when reviewing citations. 

Her publications include L'Excisée/The Excised (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1992, 1992: English translation, 2008: new bilingual edition), Sexuality and War: Literary Masks of the Middle East (New York: N.Y.U. Press, 1990, Paperback edition, 1992), Veil of Shame: the Role of Women in the Contemporary Fiction of North Africa and the Arab World (Sherbrooke: Naaman, 1978; received the International Educator's Award), and Des femmes, des hommes et la guerre. Fiction et realite au Proche-Orient (Paris: Côté Femmes, 1993; received the France-Lebanon Literary Award). Evelyne Accad's books are based on the daily journals of her journeys throughout the Middle East. Some of these publications have been turned into plays in Tunisia.