event
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

A New Age for Female Militancy in the Middle East?

Thu. April 27th, 2017
Beirut, Lebanon

From the so-called Jihadi Janes who have taken up arms with the self-proclaimed Islamic State to the female fighters of the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), female militancy in the Middle East has captured international attention. The Islamic State has seen hundreds of women join its ranks, flocking from countries as diverse as Austria, France, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. On the other front of the same war, Kurdish female fighters have made international headlines following their resistance in Kobanî and Sinjar.

What do we know about these women’s motivations to take up arms in the region’s ongoing conflicts? How do we understand women’s support for the Islamic State in spite of its extreme attitude toward them? Other than an essentialist and sexualized portrayal of the YPJ in the media, what do we know of complex historical and personal trajectories that brought these women to play such key roles in Rojava?

The Carnegie Middle East Center held a panel discussion on this important topic with Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, Mohamad Abu Rumman, and Isabel Käser. Maha Yahya moderated.

SPEAKERS

Mohamad Abu Rumman is a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.

Dalia Ghanem Yazbeck is El Erian fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

Isabel Käser is a PhD candidate at the Center for Gender Studies at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies, London.

MODERATOR

Maha Yahya is director of Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

Political ReformMiddle EastWestern EuropeLevant
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Mohamad Abu Rumman

Dalia Ghanem

Senior Resident Scholar, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Dalia Ghanem was a senior resident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where her research focuses on Algeria’s political, economic, social, and security developments. Her research also examines political violence, radicalization, civil-military relationships, transborder dynamics, and gender.

Isabel Käser

is a PhD candidate at the Center for Gender Studies at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies, London.

Maha Yahya

Director, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Yahya is director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, where her research focuses on citizenship, pluralism, and social justice in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.