General News
Al-Raida: Women & Disability in the Arab World
This special issue of Al-Raida on Women and Disability in the Arab World calls for papers addressing womenโs experiences of disability in the Arab region. It is prompted by ongoing concern that the voices of disabled women in the Arab world, their allies and their representative organizations are seldom heard.
We wish to consider the lives of disabled Arab women in relation to contemporary debates about disability and society. We are interested in papers which explore ways in which disability is being experienced by Arab women. We also have in mind the concerns of women who are mothers of disabled children or practitioners working to support disabled women and girls. In this Special Issue we hope to provide the opportunity to share research and critical thinking on a wide range of topics, which will increase knowledge and understanding of Women & Disability in the Arab World.
We would welcome submissions on:
- Experience of disabled Arab women
- Issues raised by mothers of disabled children
- Policy agendas relating to disabled women in the Arab world
- Education for disabled Arab girls and women
- Access to work for disabled Arab women
- Community and identity matters
- Sexuality and desire of women with disability
- Family, marriage and motherhood
- Changing frontiers of social care
- Conflict, women and disability
- Disability and ageing in the lives of Arab women
- Images of women and disability
- Perspectives on women and disability in an increasingly globalised world
The above list is not meant to be exhaustive and we encourage contributors to be creative in their interpretation of topics which open up new conversations about Women & Disability in the Arab World.
We are particularly keen to receive papers that will make visible the origins and significance of disability in the lives of Arab women, challenge assumed deficit images of disabled womenโs lives and / or suggest strategies for challenging the barriers which lead to disablement where marginalization and oppression of Arab women and girls is observed.
In addition to academic papers we would also like to include conference reports, interviews, book reviews, student perspectives and disabled womenโs arts news. Please send suggestions for possible inclusion to the Guest Editor before February 29th, 2012.
Submission Procedure
Complete manuscripts should be prepared in English in MS Word and adhere to the manuscript submission guidelines. Academic papers should be 6000-8000 words, including notes and references. Papers should be accompanied by an abstract of 300 words and a list of 4 to 5 keywords. The manuscript must contain a separate title page that should include: the title of the manuscript; the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s); full contact details of the author(s); the author's brief biographical statement. All papers will be subject to anonymous double peer review following submission. Authors will be provided with feedback from the editorial committee to assist them in the further development of their scholarly work.
Please send your submission as an e-mail attachment to the issue editor, Michele Moore, Professor of Inclusive Education, Northumbria University at michelemoore1@btinternet.com and to the Managing Editor, Ms. Myriam Sfeir, at myriam.sfeir@lau.edu.lb on or before 30 July, 2012.
Deadline for complete manuscripts: July 30th 2012. This special issue will be published in 2013.
About the Journal
Al-Raida is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published twice yearly by the Institute for Womenโs Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU). Al-Raida was the first of its kind in the Arab world appearing first in May 1976, 3 years after the founding of the first institute for womenโs studies in the Arab world (IWSAW).Al-Raida publishes papers on topics across a wide range of academic disciplines that raise gender issues in historical and contemporary contexts. Through the research published, Al-Raida aims to create links across the conventional divides of scholarship and activism; "Western" and "Third World" feminisms; professionals and students; men and women.
The journal seeks both multidisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives, and invites submissions in the form of scholarly articles, student papers and literary pieces. Papers are considered for the originality of their contribution to knowledge. In addition to publishing peer-reviewed articles, Al-Raida will continue to publish experimental pieces, testimonials, interviews, short stories, poems, and photographic essays. The journal also publishes book reviews and review articles on recent scholarly publications in the field of women and gender studies.
Articles must be based on original research or offer well grounded theoretical and methodological contributions. They must be written in a clear and concise style in English and they must not be under consideration by any other publication. The articles are submitted to a double blind peer reviewing process and must follow the style guidelines of the journal. All papers are double blind refereed and authors are provided with feedback from the editorial committee to assist them in the further development of their scholarly work.
For more information please contact the editors at the following address
