Women and War in the Middle East: Transnational Perspectives

Citation:

Al-Ali, Nadje, and Nicola Pratt. 2009. Women and War in the Middle East: Transnational Perspectives. London: Zed Books.

Author: Nadje Al-Ali

Keywords: women and war, Iraqi women, Palestinians, international cooperation

Annotation:

"Women and War in the Middle East provides a critical examination of the relationship between gender and transnationalism in the context of war, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction in the Middle East. Critically examining the ways in which the actions of various local and transnational groups - including women's movements, diaspora communities, national governments, non-governmental actors and multilateral bodies - interact to both intentionally and inadvertantly shape the experiences of women in conflict situations, and determine the possibilities for women's participation in peace-building and (post)-conflict reconstruction, as well as the longer-term prospects for peace and security. The volume pays particular attention to the ways in which gender roles, relations and identities are constructed, negotiated and employed within transnational social and political fields in the conflict and post-conflict situations, and their particular consequences for women. Contributions focus on the two countries with the longest experiences of war and conflict in the Middle East, and which have been subject to the most prominent international interventions of recent years - that is, Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Issues addressed by contributors include the impact of gender mainstreaming measures by international agencies and NGOs upon the ability of women to participate in peace-building and post-conflict resolution; the consequences for gender relations and identities of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq; and how transnational feminist movements can most effectively support peace building and women's rights in the region.Based entirely on original empirical research. Women and War in the Middle East brings together some of the foremost scholars in the areas of feminist international relations, feminist international political economy, anthropology, sociology, history and Middle East studies." -The University of Chicago Press

Table of Contents

Introduction: Women and War in the Middle East: Transnational Perspectives
Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt

Part I: Gendering the Neoliberal Imperial Project

1. Gendering Informal Economies in Iraq
V. Spike Peterson

2. The United States, the Iraqi Women's Diaspora and Women's 'Empowerment' in Iraq
Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt

3. Post-war Reconstruction', Imperialism and Women's NGOs
Shahrzad Mojab

Part II: Revisiting Transnational Women's Activism in the Context of Conflict, Post-conflict and Peace-building

4. Gender Mainstreaming and Feminist Organizing in the Middle East and North Africa
Isis Nusair

5. 'Here, it's not about conflict resolution - we can only resist': Palestinian Women's Activism in Conflict Resolution and Non-violent Resistance
Sophie Richter-Devoe

Part III: Gender, Citizenship and Post-conflict Reconstruction

6. Fragmented Citizenship: Communalism, Ethnicity and Gender in Iraq
Martina Kamp

7. Gendered Palestinian Citizenship: Women, Legal Pluralism and Post-conflict Aid
Riina Isotalo

Conclusion: Gendering War and Transnationalism in the Middle East
Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt

Topics: Armed Conflict, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Mainstreaming, Globalization, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iraq, Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2009