When the twenty-six-year-old college graduate, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in Tunis, he sparked a revolution that was more than 40 years in the making. Sadly, he did not live to see the change. "Revolutions do not cause change they confirm the change which has already happened," wrote Dr. Don Beck, a complex systems strategist. Typically, this happens more to societies that are already changing, as the raised expectations put pressure on existing leaders and structures, like the geologic tectonic shifts that will rise to the surface during earthquakes.

As a once second generation Arab Nationalist who now works on emergence and geopolitical reform in Arab cultures, I have longed for this day to come. Since the end of colonial rule we in the Middle East have taken several shots at defining ourselves and our nations. We haphazardly embraced Marxism and Socialism, copying ideas that did not fit our cultural values. My generation believed that the road map to democracy in our region should not come from bloodshed but rather from building capacities in Arab people and institutions in the culture. Unfortunately, our political-clannish leaders who were embroiled in the history of the region were not interested in making our vision a reality. We were defeated. Our aspirations were crushed as we left our homeland in droves seeking opportunities in other parts of the world. Those who couldn't leave watched the oppression fester for years as it took the lives and the freedom of hundreds of thousands of people.

For the Arab world, this is just the beginning.

To help shape the newly liberated Middle East, we should look at what type of institutions must be created to harness the dreams of the people demonstrating in the streets and co-design for their emergence. Unfortunately, because of the effects of past repression and the historic absence of democratic institutions, the Arab street lacks the depth of political maturity required to create a full picture of democracy with viable and sustainable institutions. The Arab street never had effective leaders who concerned themselves with building the foundations for democracy. From Nasser to Assad to Saddam Hussein, leadership in the last fifty years in the region has lacked vision and capacity. It has too often relied on the rhetoric of empty promises. These men were leading as paternal leaders with impassioned speeches rather than pragmatists with a developmental road map for their countries.

This revolution is one that is toppling the old patriarchy and has little chance of succeeding if women are not given a voice as an equal partner in society. "Arab women will no doubt change the world" says Dr. Jean Houston, one of the founders of the Human Potential Movement who consults with the UN and advises on our projects in the Middle East.

It has been my experience (through numerous projects that I start in the Arab world) that women emerge as natural leaders in their community and beyond. They are the power that is moving the Arab world forward, and are creating their own version of feminism that does not look anything like the Western feminist revolution. Theirs is one that empowers their daughters to get the best education and gain the autonomy needed to be a true partner in nation building. In doing so they have been fostering and practicing their own brand of Arab and Islamic feminism that fits the value-systems within their cultures.

Dr. Suleiman is a charismatic woman in her 40s, a former psychologist of the Dubai Police Department who intimates women's role in Arab culture. She says:

"We now have two generations of women who obtained advanced degrees from Western countries and came back home and yet we're still veiled by society - and not by the veils on our heads. We are working to change this unhealthy attitude towards women, and will not rest till our daughters have the same rights and social standing as our sons."

Demanding equal rights for women has to be an integral component of the new Arab identity that is being shaped, and must be recognized under the law and enforced by authorities. Adding this evolutionary piece will serve as the catalyst for this monumental change.