Dima Dabbous
Details
Media
‘Equality Now’ calls on MENA governments to urgently review sex discriminatory laws Middle East Monitor Nov 23, 2022
Marriage laws in MENA region put women at increased risk of child marriage and domestic violence Middle East Monitor Oct 14, 2022
MENA has the highest number of nationality laws denying women equal rights The New Arab Sep 8, 2022
‘Marry your rapist’ laws in 20 countries still allow perpetrators to escape justice The Guardian Apr 14, 2021
‘Marry-your-rapist’ bill proposed to be introduced by lawmakers in Turkey The Independent Jan 22, 2020
Arab world turns its back on religion – and its ire on the US The Guardian Jun 24, 2019
This Woman Is Fighting for Gender Equality at the Forefront of Lebanon’s Uprising Global Citizen Nov 22, 2019
Countries Around The World Move To Repeal ‘Marry Your Rapist’ Laws National Public Radio Aug 9, 2017
Dr. Dima Dabbous (@ddabbous1) is the Regional Representative in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at international women’s rights organization, Equality Now. A native of Lebanon who is based in Beirut, she has worked more than 30 years to further gender equality in the Arab World.
Dima worked in 2020 on Moroccan Women’s Legislative Gains and Opportunities for Reform in Lebanon, an Equality Now publication on family law reform. She has spoken and written widely on family law reform and Islamic feminism in the MENA region, as well as on broadcast regulation in the Arab world, and women and Islam on Arab satellite television. She has featured as a senior expert on media laws and gender in the Arab World for UNESCO and the BBC.
In 2019, Dima contributed to a report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief which said states should not use religious beliefs to justify violations of the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community. She helped facilitate workshops in Tunis, Tunisia and Geneva, Switzerland organized by the Special Rapporteur to discuss strategies to advance the human rights of women and sexual orientation and gender identity minorities and to protect the right to freedom of religion and belief.
As director of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World from 2005 and 2013, Dima implemented internationally-funded development projects to empower women in the region. Her career began in journalism and she subsequently worked as an academic, researcher, and consultant before joining Equality Now in 2018.
Dima holds a B.A. magna cum laude in Communication Arts from Beirut University College, Lebanon, an M.A. in Media Studies from Concordia University in Montreal, and a Ph.D. in Broadcast Law/Policy Analysis from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK.
She is available for interviews in English, Arabic, and French.