( CNN ) -- Three years ago , scenes of the Arab Spring broadcast across the globe showed women who appeared to be equal participants in the revolutions and their aftermath . These images of women taking such public positions -- from Tunisia to Egypt , Libya and Yemen -- took much of the world by surprise . But not Arabs . Despite the stereotype of them as an oppressed group , Arab women have a long history of participating in the region 's upheavals , dating back at least to the anti-colonial movement when women emerged from the confinement of the household to take up crucial organizational positions . Today , as the world grapples with this challenging and tumultuous moment in the region , it is important to pay close attention to the voices of Arab women and their plight . But rather than confining the story of women to an issue of religion or culture , it is important that the world uses what is happening to them as a barometer of the trajectory that individual societies are on . After all , how a country or a region treats its women in many ways tells the story of the future political direction of that country . The trouble is that this trajectory is in too many cases not particularly encouraging . In the Arab Spring 's aftermath , there have been plans to lower the legal marriage age , support expressed for polygamy after years of being regulated , restrictions on women 's mobility and political participation , a massive increase in sexual harassment and assault on the streets with police failing to intervene , and the use of virginity tests on women arrested for participating in a demonstration , as seen in Egypt . But young women now are not willing to back away from their demands , and they are speaking out in spite of public harassment . And while many women have been beaten and imprisoned for making their voices heard , they have crossed what is often described as the line of fear . In doing so , their message to the older generation of feminists is that the rights of women must be included in the civil rights discussion of societies more broadly . The hope is that the voice of women might also have more influence on the direction of policy in the region , perhaps offering a path that encourages calm in a part of the world too often wracked by violence . Ultimately , what young women in the post-Arab Spring are saying is that they are seeking out a new form of identity , one that is inclusive of both their religious identity and their desire for civil liberties . It is with this view in mind that my partners Abby Disney , Gini Reticker and I announced our commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative 2014 to launch `` The Trials of Spring , '' a multimedia initiative that focuses on the voices of Arab women , their plight and their dreams for the future . The world can no longer treat women 's issues as if they are somehow separate from everything that goes on in , and defines , a country or region . Indeed , women should be seen as the bellwether for the direction of society at large -- where women thrive , so do opportunities for all . Where women are oppressed , oppression of all dissenting voices typically goes hand in hand . Above all though , women 's issues should not be discussed as if they are somehow relevant only at the margins of a society . Instead , they should be considered front and center , and an international priority . And the first step toward making them such a priority is listening to what they have to say in the first place .
Arab women have a long history of participating in the region 's upheavals , Zainab Salbi says . Situation has deteriorated for many women in Mideast since Arab Spring , she says . How women treated offers useful barometer of where a society is heading , Salbi says .