CALL FOR PAPERS: Citizenship and Gender in the Arab World

The Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW), based in the Lebanese American University, is soliciting articles for the forthcoming issue of its quarterly publication Al-Raida The central topic for this edition of the journal will be "Citizenship and Gender in the Arab World".

We are interested in receiving academic studies, reviews, short critical essays, testimonials, and artwork that revolve around the issue in question. Arab women throughout the region are denied the fundamental human right of granting their citizenship and personal status to their husbands and children. This has grave consequences especially if their husbands are foreign nationals because their “foreign” children are denied the right of acquiring the citizenship of their mother and all the rights and responsibilities that go with it, including access to healthcare, education, employment, ownership of property, and participation in politics and civil society. This basic human rights violation is additionally flagrant considering that the countries involved are states that are signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Topics can include but are not restricted to:

Topics can include but are not restricted to:

• The gendered nature of citizenship in the Arab world;
• Review nationality laws in the Arab world;
• Arab countries reservations to the CEDAW article on the law on nationality;
• Case studies: Arab countries who succeeded in amending their law on nationality;
• The role of women’s organizations and other NGOs in highlighting citizenship rights;
• The role played by the children and husbands of Arab women in highlighting their citizenship rights;
• The role of the media and media campaigns in highlighting the issue;
• Testimonials: Who is suffering?
• Artwork (e.g. poetry, music, graphic art, children’s drawings, etc.) expressing the plight of those denied their citizenship rights because of gender discrimination.

If you are interested in contributing to this issue of Al-Raida, kindly send your abstract (250-300 words) no later than April 10, 2010. All abstracts submitted are reviewed by Al-Raida's editorial staff and are subject to its approval. Once the abstract is approved contributors will have to send us their submission (paper, testimonial, artwork, etc.) no later than May 15, 2010. Submissions are accepted in English, Arabic, or French. All non-English submissions will be translated by IWSAW and published in English following the approval of the author.

This journal edition will be edited by Dr. Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous. Kindly send your emails simultaneously to the managing editor, Ms. Myriam Sfeir, at al-raida@lau. edu.lb al-raida@lau. edu.lb al-raida@lau. edu.lb> > and to the guest editor, Dr. Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous at sensenig@cyberia. net.lb