MESA Banner
Women “in the Crossfire”: the Syrian Revolution 2011
Abstract by Dr. Manal al-Natour On Session 133  (Left Behind Democracy)

On Monday, November 24 at 8:30 am

2014 Annual Meeting

Abstract
This study examines the role of young Syrian women grassroots-level organizers from inside and outside Syria in the Syrian Revolution of 2011, with particular emphasis on the voices of “unknown” nonviolent activists. Informed by intersectionality theory, the essay provides an analysis of certain aspects of their resistance to Assad’s regime in relation to intersectional paradigms of ethnicity, religion, class, gender, and nation, focusing on the subjectivity of the oppressed, Syrian women in this case, and investigating their dynamics and exploring their marginalization by traditional political actors. The study offers a historical perspective of the Assad regime’s interactions with varied ideologies (Islamism, Nasserism, Communism, and the Democratic Baath) and ethnicities (Alawite, Kurds, Turkmen, Armenian, Circassians, and Druze) in Syria that will allow for a better understanding of the significance of the resistance of Syrian women and question its universality. Keywords: Syrian Revolution 2011, Syria, women grassroots organizers, Intersectionality, Syrian women, regime change, Arab Spring, national identity, democratization
Discipline
Literature
Geographic Area
Syria
Sub Area
Current Events