Outline

Helen will discuss changes in women’s choices in the past two decades, focusing on the impact of economic difficulties on women’s social and legal status. She will address the changes in perception which have occurred since the 2011 uprisings and the rise of women as a political force. Her participation in the National Dialogue Conference [2013-14] and her long experience of working with rural women will provide some illustrations of changes which have taken place.

Short bio

Helen Lackner has been involved with Yemen since 1973 when she first visited the PDRY. She then lived there from 1977 to 1982. Since then she has lived and worked in all parts of Yemen for varying periods of time. She has just edited ‘Why Yemen Matters’ (Saqi 2014) and is actively researching various aspects of Yemeni society and politics, water management in particular. She still occasionally works as a consultant on social aspects of development which has given her experience of over 30 countries.

Women’s Rights Research Seminars

The Women’s Rights Research Seminars at Oxford was founded in 2009 with the initial aim of directing interdisciplinary scholarly attention to the legal status of women in Iran. Since then, the research group has broadened its purview to the rights of women in the Middle East, covering topics such as the politics of fertility, women in ethnic minorities, and the treatment of women in states governed and influenced by Islamic law and jurisprudence. WRRS welcomes seminar and paper proposals from any discipline. Enquiries: soraya.tremayne@anthro.ox.ac.uk