Fatima, Rosa & Iman: literary voices from the Arab world

Paying tribute to the Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi, Iman Humaydan and Rosa Yassin Hassan will read from their own work and talk about their authorship against the background of revolution, censorship, and their shifting social positions. Along with Abdelkader Benali, they reflect on Mernissi’s importance in the development of the female voice in the Muslim world, and the enduring need for bridges between the West and the Arab world, including with respect to literature. Karima el Fillali & ensemble will provide musical intermezzos.

This year, the VUB is reaching out to the literary journal DW B, which is presenting 16 female literary voices from the Arab world. DW B is taking a literary journey around 8 Arab cities around the Mediterranean, from Morocco to Syria, and is introducing its readers to an exceptional variety of penetrating texts about the Arab world today, seen through the eyes of a self-confident, strong generation of female authors. An encounter with 16 new voices who deserve to be better known in the West.

with Abdelkader Benali, Sigrid Bousset, Rosa Yassin Hassan, Iman Humaydan, Iman Lechkar & Nadia Dala (moderator)