In Egypt 18 days of revolution in January resulted in President Hosni Mubarak’s withdrawal after 30 years of despotic reign. This crucial event in Egyptian history happened by effort from Egypt’s women.   

In Morocco, single mothers, women divorcees and victims of domestic violence and abuse – those are amongst the marginalized groups of women in society; all in a daily struggle to overcome numerous kinds of major and minor obstacles. Nevertheless, there are also people in Moroccan society who assist, support and make the case for those women. And there are people with a positive and constructive attitude – stressing that these issues are severe and must be dealt with.  

The stories from the two different corners of the Arab world were amongst the winners of the contest Positive Change in Action launched by the the 1001 Stories of Common Ground website earlier this year. The categories were Best video, which was won by ‘The Women of Tahrir’ by Yasmin Moll from Egypt and Best video on women’s rights, won by ‘On Moroccan Women’s Condition’ by Abdelhadi Zaatari of Dounia Project Maroc from Morocco. 

The 1001 Stories of Common Ground website is a modern paraphrase to the famous “One Thousand and One Nights”  - in the new version with ‘1,001 constructive stories relevant to 21st century issues.’ The site has a special focus on the Arab world while stories from that particular region often have a hard time making the media headlines. 

Read more about The 1001 Stories of Common Ground

Watch the contest winning videos - ‘The Women of Tahrir’ by Yasmin Moll from Egypt