ABSTRACT

The stories of women and revolutions have always intertwined, and the revolution of 2011 brought women in Egypt new opportunities and avenues for participation in social and political reform. From the start, most women had been at the forefront of civil resistance, which took virtual and real forms. Their fight for democracy and a secular society sprang from the social and political oppression they had witnessed for decades. The key role women played in the revolution may have shaken the social power structure and deconstructed master narratives about the Arab woman.