Why Arabs hate their leaders’ wives? More than a woman, less than a man

Menshawy, M. (2025) Why Arabs hate their leaders’ wives? More than a woman, less than a man. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. ISSN 1353-0194

Abstract

During the Arab Spring, anti-regime demonstrations involved shouts and slogans specifically targeting the wives of authoritarian leaders and their identities as women instead of directly targeting their brutal husband-leaders. This is often explained by characterizing these women as ‘easy targets’. The article challenges this explanation by demonstrating how the leaders’ wives in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan were key agents of authoritarianism, contributing to and benefitting from it through their positions both as political allies (as members of the ruling elites) and as women. Their contributions include oppressing and de-politicizing other women as part of a performance of ‘hegemonic femininity’, infiltrating civil society organizations, and making their husbands look good and democratic through public diplomacy activities. The benefits they accrue include access to state media and state funds. The negative public reaction can be understood as costs incurred by the leader and his wife due to their trade-off in the payment system.