Introduction: Egyptian Women, Revolution, and Protest Culture

This special issue comes at a time when the Egyptian nation is facing deep divisions about the notion and definition of revolution. The articles here aim to look at the 2011 revolution and the central role of women within it from a critical perspective. Our objective is not to glorify the revolution or inflate the role of Egyptian women within its parameters, but to analyse and critique both the achievements and set- backs of this revolution and the contributions of various strata of women to this rev- olutionary process. Women’s participation is part of a broader picture and needs to be theorised as an essential aspect of the ongoing struggle for freedom and social justice, not in isolation of it. The reader will soon realise that the authors in this issue, perhaps, agree on one important element of the 2011 revolution: the struggle is ongoing, and the revolutionary process is still being shaped and recreated. Thus, I argue in this introduction that the story of the Egyptian Revolution still resists any kind of closure. Indeed, as political events continue to unfold, the years to come will no doubt witness an expansion of the political and cultural archive of the Arab uprisings, accompanied by much academic work on their meaning and significance. Women’s roles and contributions need to occupy a central position in these aca- demic analyses.