One of the goals adopted by Arab intellectuals of the nineteenth century was Womens liberation; when examining the discourse on womens liberation at the time of the Arab Renaissance, however, one finds a series of inconsistencies, three of those dominating the contemporary discourse. Firstly, the discourse was dominated by men and their needs, the latter disguised as the needs of women, but without a real understanding of them. Secondly, most intellectuals did not espouse and put into practice the very ideas they called for. Lastly, some of the Arab Renaissance pioneers retreated from their progressive attitudes and abandoned their bold ideas under pressure from the religious establishment. Despite these inconsistencies, women were active in Arab society, both before and after the Arab Renaissance movement, particularly in literature and journalism. Alongside men, educated women did contribute to knowledge creation, writing in newspapers and magazines they themselves had established.
