VOA标准英语2012--Women on Front Line of Arab Spring Protests

Women on Front Line of Arab Spring Protests

Many women have been among the protesters on the front lines of anti-government movements in the Middle East and North Africa. They helped to topple longtime leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

“They played a catalytic role in terms of coming out and organizing protests, smuggling¹ arms, getting information to international media outlets², nursing the sick and the people who have been injured as a result of the protests,” said Karen Sherman, the executive director for global programs at Women for Women International. 

An Egyptian woman, Sara Galal, witnessed the protests in her country first hand. She is taking part in the Women's Initiative Fellowship Program at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

“It was wonderful seeing all these women in the street, walking, protesting and singing and leading the protests. It was amazing,” Galal said.

Samar Elhussieny is also taking part in the same fellowship program. She says she remains³ frustrated⁴, despite the changes in Egypt.

"Before the revolution, you were fighting the Mubarak regime and you are thinking if you can just get rid of Mubarak, everything will be OK. But after the revolution, I can say that I'm disappointed,” Elhussieny said.

Egyptian political analyst⁵ Rania el Malki offers similar sentiments. "I think it's much easier to bring down a dictator than to change the patriarchal nature of the society, which is going to take time, a lot of time," el Malki said.

Women in Yemen also took part in the uprising there. Ashwak el Rabbie says a lot more work needs to be done.

"Yemeni women have to fight for their rights. They are not going to give them their rights easily," el Rabbie said.

But Zaafaran Ali, a writer and supporter of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, says as much as many people disliked Mr. Saleh, he advocated for women's rights.

"He created a culture that allowed a woman to travel by herself, ensure her right for education, marriage and having children; her right to work and practice her daily life," Ali said.

Karen Sherman with Women for Women International stresses that economic gains are important in order for women to achieve equal rights.

“It makes a big difference in terms of how a woman is perceived within the family and within the society so that economical participation⁶ is equally perhaps if not more vital than political participation," she said.

Whether it's political or economic, many women who have taken part in the Arab Spring say they are ready to face any challenge in order to be part of their countries' transition to democracy. 

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。