Women’s Movements and Citizenship in the Middle East

Portrait of Dorriya Shafiq (1908-1975)

Women’s Movements and Citizenship in the Middle East

Tuesday, 30 May 2023 - 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Venue: 
Boardroom, Middle East Centre (Kirdar Building, 68 Woodstock Road), St Antony's College
Speaker(s): 
Dr Roel Meijer (Radboud Universiteit, The Netherlands)
Chair: 
Dr Maryam Alemzadeh (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Discussant: 
Professor Marilyn Booth (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford)
Series: 
MEC Women's Rights Research Seminars

Join us for our Women's Rights Research Seminar where our guest speaker, Dr Roel Meijer (Guest Lecturer in Islam Studies, Radboud Universiteit) will be presenting on Women’s movements and citizenship in the Middle East. No registration necessary. We look forward to seeing you with us.

Abstract: Citizenship is not often mentioned in relation to women in the Middle East. Mostly women’s movements are analyzed in relation to nationalism, Islamism, law, and civil society. Citizenship, however, predates nationalism and Islamism. Moreover it is broader than law and more fundamental than political or religious ideologies, especially when it comes women’s movements and the sense of rights. Although I will concentrate on Egypt, I want to demonstrate in this talk how concepts of citizenship can help to analyze historical and present women’s movements in the Middle East.

Biography: Roel Meijer was previously Associate Professor at Radboud University, Nijmegen) and has co-edited three volumes on citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa and is currently working on a Dutch history of the Middle East and North Africa.