Al Jazeera 'Head to Head' with Mona Eltahawy
Event Information
Event description
Description
Do Arab men hate women?
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Mona Eltahawy, renowned Egyptian-American journalist and women’s rights activist in front of a diverse Oxford Union audience.
In this episode of Head to Head, we discuss the reality and the misconceptions about the place of women in Arab world. Mehdi Hasan will engage and go head to head with Mona Eltahawy, the renowned Egyptian-American journalist and women’s right activist who calls herself a “proud liberal Muslim”.
Based on Eltahawy’s controversial article “Why They Hate Us”, in which she argues that “The Islamist hatred of women burns brightly across the region -- now more than ever”, Mehdi Hasan will challenge this generalisation raising key questions such as: Can it objectively be argued that Arab fathers and brothers hate their daughters or sisters? Is this portrayed “hatred” the result of religious or cultural values? Can the use of head scarves be labelled as an oppressive act or is it strictly a woman’s own choice? And how does the narrative of Islam being sexist plays into geo-politics and Western designs for the Middle East?
This is a robust interview with an expert panel and in front of a diverse and lively Oxford Union audience.
This event will be televised at a later date on Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America.
If you have a relevant affiliation or would like to ask a question to our guest, please email debates@aljazeera.net
Thumbnail image: personaldemocracy on Flickr (Creative Commons)
Organiser Al Jazeera: Head to Head
Organiser of Al Jazeera 'Head to Head' with Mona Eltahawy
Head to Head is Al Jazeera’s forum for ideas, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.
The show tackles the big issues of our time, like faith, democracy and freedom of speech and includes a Q&A with the audience at the Oxford Union.
