Women, Activism, and the Arts

This special issue of al-Raida is devoted to women, activism, and the arts in the Arab world – a subject that was not chosen at random. Women and creativity has always been a topic of interest in the discipline of Women’s Studies, and this issue in particular has as its focus the ways in which women of the Arab diaspora channel their creativity in a positive way in order to develop tools of consciousness-raising and a means of actively participating in the history – past, present, and future – of their own communities and countries as well as of the world in general. The goal of such activism is to improve the lives of contemporary women and their families with the outcome having a direct impact on the quality of life in Arab societies and beyond. The arts are one of the few unifying forces for such activism since they enable all women to potentially find a common medium of communication regardless of social class, ethnic or religious background, or level of formal education.