Sunday, September 1, 2013

Social Justice in the MENA Region

By: Talal Al Husseini
 
The Arab spring is a social movement that brought millions of people out on the streets to address the issues of inequality in the MENA region and to demand immediate political action for social justice. Social and economic developments, accompanied by an equal distribution of knowledge, income and power, are essential to build a just and equal society and assure an inclusive democratic position.
The Arab Youth have created a new reality by overthrowing their dictators and are a few steps closer to functioning democracies. This will entail a lot of work down the road, but the Egyptians, Tunisians, Yemenis, and other Arab nationalities alike understand the meaning of sacrifice for a bigger cause. Western concepts such as freedom of expression and information, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, respect for labor rights and decent work, and access of coverage and quality services will be part of the Arab culture and identity in the near Future.
Social media empowered the Arab Youth to overthrow their corrupt governments and will also empower them to transform their societies to functioning democracies that play an equal role in this globalized world.