Elham Manea

Elham Manea (Arabic: إلهام مانع; born 1966 in El Mahalla El Kubra, Egypt) is a Swiss-Yemeni writer, professor, and human rights advocate. She is known for her human rights advocacy, especially for her defence of women's rights, freedom of expression, freedom of/from religion, minority and LGBT rights in the Arab and Islamic world (s). She has participated in several human rights campaigns in the MENA region and is considered part of the Islamic feminist movement that insists on the possibility of gender equality in Muslim majority countries. She has led mixed prayers in London, Bern, Berlin, Cape Town and Oxford in cooperation with inclusive mosques and open mosques initiatives.

Manea is a strong critic of far right religious groups ideologies inside and outside the MENA region. She has contributed to the knowledge production on women's rights in the MENA region and women under Muslim Laws with two well received books: The Arab State and Women's Rights: The Trap of Authoritarian Governance (Routledge, 2011)The Arab State and Women's rights and Women and Sharia Law: The Impact of Legal Pluralism in the UK (I.B. Tauris, 2016).Women and Sharia Law

Manea is a regular guest in Arabic news channels and talk shows such as BBC Arabic and Al Hurra. She has been also featured as a commentator in Swiss news, radio and TV.