????她們來到這家迪拜酒店的舞廳時，有的在繡花長袍下穿著跑鞋，有的在修身裙下穿著出自設計師之手的高跟鞋，有的包著絲綢頭巾，有的顯然剛從美發店出來。一位女青年穿著披頭士T恤，另一位則露出小塊紋身。她們啜飲著黑咖啡或薄荷檸檬汁，彼此交換名片，交流提升品牌與媒體形象、尋找天使投資及獲取政府合同的策略。

????總的來說，她們回避政治上更敏感的女性人權議題。德勤（Deloitte）中東地區首位女合伙人、來自貝魯特的拉娜?甘多爾?薩哈卜說：“我們必須將改革當作商業發展的必需品，探討它對該地區經濟競爭力的重要性?！?/p>

????盡管如此，探討如何推動女性地位的提升仍然頗為微妙。阿聯酋是該地區最寬容的國家之一，但上周該國仍然追隨埃及的腳步，關閉了旨在推動民主事業的美國國際民主研究院（NDI）在當地的辦事處，蓋洛普（Gallup）的調查業務也被迫停業，表明該國擔心阿拉伯之春可能會蔓延到其境內。去年秋季，該國政府還要求一場國際律師協會會議的組織者調整關于女性與伊斯蘭教的分組討論議題。

????此外，短期內政治動亂的經濟影響已經波及職業女性，不過來自埃及的阿拉姆認為工薪階層的處境比企業家更值得擔憂?！捌髽I家是在用自己的錢創業，自己承擔風險，”她說?！岸切檎蚍强鐕髽I工作的女性更讓我擔憂。有一種觀點認為，如果就業機會有限，僅有的工作應當留給男人，于是就會導致女性被裁員。”

????有趣的是，女性的教育成就超過了男性——科威特、卡塔爾和沙特的大學畢業生中，女生分別占到了67%、63%和57%。自由之家指出，女性的身影正更多地出現在公共與商業生活中。巴林、科威特和卡塔爾都廢除了要求女性必須獲得監護人批準方能申請護照的法律，沙特現在也開始允許女士學習法律及單獨入住酒店。通用電氣（GE）等跨國公司正招聘少量沙特女性。通用電氣能源集團阿聯酋人力資源主管喬?卡洛西說：“我們將這一地區的女性視為未經開采的人才富礦。”

????如果說去年的阿拉伯之春運動有所啟發，那就是中東并不能免疫于文化變革。活躍在經濟第一線的女士們認為變革斷斷續續，但她們都堅信改革必然會實現。

????譯者：小宇

????They arrived at a Dubai hotel ballroom wearing running shoes under embroidered abayas, designer heels under slim skirts, some covered in silk head scarves or others in salon-fresh hair. One young woman wore a Beatles T-shirt; another sported a small tattoo. They sipped dark coffee and mint lemonade as they swapped business cards and strategies for branding and media imaging, finding angel capital and accessing government contracts.

????Mostly, they avoided the more politically sensitive talk of human rights for women. "We need to make [reform] a business imperative, and talk about its importance to the economic competitiveness of the region," says Beirut's Rana Ghandour Salhab, Deloitte's first female partner in the Middle East.

????Still, talking about advancing the status of women remains a delicate exercise. The UAE, among the most tolerant in the region, followed in Egypt's footsteps last month by shutting down the local office of the National Democratic Institute, a U.S. group whose mission is to promote democracy, as well as Gallup's polling operation -- a sign of worry about the Arab spring uprising spreading into its borders. Last fall, the government asked the organizers of an International Bar Association conference to revise a panel on women and Islam.

????And, in the short term, economic fallout from the political tumult has taken a toll on working women, though Egypt's Allam says she worries less about entrepreneurs than salaried-employees. "You're doing it with your own money and at your own risk," she notes. "I worry about the women who work for government, or businesses that aren't multinationals. [There's a view that] if there's so much unemployment, the few jobs we have should be given to men, so women will be laid off."

????Interestingly, women outpace men in education -- as 67% percent of university graduates in Kuwait, 63% in Qatar, and 57% in Saudi Arabia. Freedom House notes that women are becoming more visible in public life and in business. Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar dropped laws requiring women to get a guardian's permission for a passport; Saudi Arabia now allows women to study law and check into hotels alone. Multinationals like GE (GE) are hiring small numbers of Saudi women. "We see women as a rich untapped talent in this part of the world," says Joe Chalouhi, HR director for GE Energy in the UAE.

????If anything, the lesson of last year's Arab Spring is that the Middle East is not immune to cultural change. The women at the forefront see reform coming in fits and starts -- but they're betting it will come.