The Arab Women Revolution

Many things have changed over the last 10 years. And many changes have happened in the last few months. They call it the Arab spring - and it will be remembered in years to come. But the gradual change over the past 10 years that has got overlooked - due to Western focus on getting Osama - is another advent of change in the Middle East. We call them the "Lady Leaders". Almost under our noses, the Lady Leaders have emerged. People like Sheikh Lubna and Queen Rania. These two are just the iceberg:

Now the minister of foreign trade for the UAE and the most powerful woman in the Arab world, according to the Forbes 2010 list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, Al Qassimi is no longer an anomaly. She is one of a small but significant group of women who are defying expectations and making a difference in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

It's obvious a real change is happening. Women are involved in making the key decisions. In fact many women lead these decisions. That's probably very surprising to some who look at Arab societies as if they can't be modernist or "normal". And in time the equality will more and more prominent - a new revolution, a new Arab spring.

Women Leaders in the Middle East - Read the s&b article (free sign up) - it's a powerful piece