A Women’s Empowerment Campaign in Egypt

Is It Really Empowering

Bibliographic Data

ID12955650
AuthorsAya Shata (0000-0003-1599-8179, University of Miami, corresponding author), Michelle I Seelig (0000-0003-0462-7452, University of Miami)
Year2021
Volume14
Issue3
Pages350-365
Publication date2021-09-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMiddle East Journal of Culture and Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1873-9857 • E-ISSN: 1873-9865
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18739865-20219104
OpenAlexW3201851283
LanguageEN
References cited18

The last few years have seen many movements aimed at empowering women worldwide. The question of what it means to be empowered and how to empower others needs to be studied further. Using ‘Taa Marbuta,’ a women’s empowerment campaign in Egypt, this paper attempts to understand the process of empowerment from the campaign/content creators’ perspective, including levels of empowerment and forms of power, and factors that influence a campaign success or failure. In-depth interviews with the campaign makers were conducted, as well as a textual analysis of the campaign messages. The analysis shows that the campaign exhibited three forms of power: power from, power to, and power over, and created a sense of belonging among advocates. Organizational empowerment was strongly apparent, followed by individual empowerment, but with minimal community empowerment. The context, leadership, political will, variety of communication channels, and collaborations among community organizers were success factors, while stereotypes and focus on awareness-raising instead of actions acted as barriers

Context (archaeology · Empowerment · Geography · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Public relations · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Computer Science · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Religion, Society, and Development

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