A longing for political liberty has fueled many of the recent uprisings in Arab and North African countries. First the efforts of protesters in Tunisia to oust President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali caused a massive chain reaction. Neighboring countries gazed at the willful power of their peers across the border and quickly developed their own anti-government demonstrations. Not long after, government opposition from other countries, including non-Arab countries, began to show their faces through similar protests. In particular, a resonating voice screamed across the world: If Tunisia can do it, so can we. Social media echoed this spirit via audio and video clips and live on our computers, televisions and cellphones.
These anti-government demonstrations were, and still are, the major force behind groups of fervent citizens eager for political change - change from the usual authoritarian leadership, change from the viciousness of genocide and torture and change from the absence of freedom and autonomy.
However, hidden behind these groups of men who fight for political change in their Islamic countries are Muslim women who wait for the day when their voices can be heard. In some ways, the issue of gender inequality transcends the political conflicts in these regions. For so long they have been disrespected and stripped of basic human rights.
Following in the footsteps of Tunisia, anti-government protests proceeded ardently in Yemen. The cries for change stemmed from President Ali Abdullah Saleh's oppressive government regime. Known to be especially devious, Saleh welcomes violence as a means to achieve his goals and condemns the very volatile flames that he himself ignites.
Yemeni women have been the silent sufferers of Saleh's harsh government regime for three decades. For so long they have been subjugated to the authority of a cold-hearted man who relies heavily on spineless actions to flex his muscles.
Recently, the women of Yemen reached a limit. After Saleh's regime ravaged the homes of innocent families and killed them in the process, Yemeni women shuddered in fear for their own lives. And when Saleh's forces attacked 60 women while killing their children, the Yemeni women could not stay quiet any longer. They collected their veils and burned them in protest of Saleh's heinous actions. Standing together with power in their eyes, Yemeni women incinerated the piece of cloth that held them back for so long.
The Arab Spring has underscored the struggle for gender equality by inspiring women to take action into their own hands.
The most commendable strength of the Arabic women's movement is that they remain undeterred by past history where social reform was a promise never kept. I recently heard a Saudi Arabian woman on the radio champion a strong belief: "We are not looking for a revolution. We want evolution."
The uprisings in Arab and North African countries have been met with some success, but the struggle for gender equality is continually marginalized. Islamic women are not looking for revolutionary action to be taken. They just want a voice. However, when acting alone, they face fatal repercussions.
This is a historic opportunity for the Western world to provide our support toward the women's rights movement. We have the power to assure that their movement succeeds.
In the future, historians will judge us by the side of the fence we stood behind in the face of blatant gender discrimination. We must make the moral choice. It is time that we offer our democratic values in the social context of the Arab world.
Akansha Mishra is a pre-law junior at UF. Her column appears on Fridays.
