Arab Women and the Attack of September 11, 2001

Major political upheavals always affected women, though changes in their lives are rarely linked to the primary cause. This was true of women’s status in the Arab World where foreign policy issues, militarization, the spreading threat of war, and any such destabilizing factors inevitably affected women’s lives and attitudes. Although not commonly viewed as political actors, Arab women nevertheless influence public opinion in their own countries directly through the expression of their own views and indirectly through their involvement in protest movements. Women also have an enormous impact on public opinion through their own suffering which dramatizes their role as mothers, sisters, wives and daughters, or simply as the weakest members of society. Clearly, the success of the Israeli military in disrupting the security of the Palestinian family and thereby inflicting pain on women and children have influenced Palestinian public opinion. Moreover, the deterioration of a country’s standing in the worldwide global community of states, such as what Saudi Arabia experienced as a result of its citizens’ involvement in the attacks on the US on September 11, was bound to have a serious impact on all sectors of Saudi women.