Women have participated prominently in the popular protests that have swept the Arab world in the past 15 months, but are in danger of losing social, political and economic gains made under previous regimes.
Activists and experts studying transitions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya as well as developments in the Gulf and in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein say that Arab women need to be vigilant and make sure that the rise to power of Islamist political parties does not come at their expense.