Gender and Violence in the Middle East

Moha Ennaji is a former Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at Rutgers University. He is Professor of Linguistics, Culture and Gender Studies, co-editor of Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Agents of Change (2010) and author of a number of books on culture and gender studies in North Africa.

This book examines the issue of gender and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. While gender-based violence is a universal phenomenon, it takes interesting nuances and in this region where tradition, social norm, religion, war, and politics intermingle in a powerful space-based patriarchy. Drawing on case studies across the region, the authors examine the historical, cultural, religious, social, legal and political factors affecting the issue.

Introduction: Contextualizing Gender and Violence in the Middle East Part 1: Conceptualization and Theoretical Background 1. Feminist Anthropological Perspectives on Violence Part 2: Armed Conflict and Gender Based Violence 2. Counter-Narratives of Palestinian Women: The Construction of Her-story and the Politics of Fear 3. Gender, Youth and Institutional Support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 4. Impact of Armed Conflict on Gender Roles in Lebanon Part 3: Politics, War, and Violence against Women in Iraq and Afghanistan 5. War and Gender in Ba'thist Iraq 6. Violence Against Afghan Women: Tradition, Religion, Conflict and War Part 4: Religious and Social Violence Against Women 7. Religious-based Violence against Women and Feminist Responses: Iran, Afghanistan and Algeria 8. Strategy in the Battles over Her: Islamism and Secularism 9. Violence During Pregnancy in Jordan: Its Prevalence and Associated Risk and Protective Factors Part 5: Gender-Based Discrimination and Legal Reform 10. Legal Reforms on Violence against Women in Turkey: Best Practices 11. Violence Against Women in Morocco: Advances, Contentions and Strategies to Combat it Part 6: Language, Sexual Harassment and Media 12. Gendered Language Use, Hierarchization of Linguistic Space and State Building 13. Dismantling the Discourses of War: Palestinian Women Filmakers Address Violence