My doctoral research explores Syrian nationalism as a gendered regime of governance. The dissertation examines how nationalist ideologies, state institutions, and social practices have produced and institutionalized gendered identities and roles in Syria, mainly under Baʿthist rule between 1963 and 2010, prior to the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in 2011.
The study considers a clear gap in the literature. Classical studies of nationalism have largely focused on nation formation, state-building, and collective identity, while paying limited attention to how gendered power relations shape these processes. Feminist scholarship has been essential in demonstrating that nationalism is deeply gendered and in showing how women’s roles, bodies, and identities are implicated in nationalist projects. Building on these important contributions, this dissertation argues that, in the Syrian case, there is still considerable room to examine how nationalist ideology shaped gender through institutions and governance practices. Although existing research on Syria has explored authoritarianism, Baʿthist ideology, and state formation, it has only rarely analyzed gender as a central dimension of nationalist rule, particularly in relation to the institutional production and regulation of gendered subjectivities.
My dissertation tackles this gap by examining how Syrian nationalism shaped gender through three key domains: education, women’s political participation, and personal status law. By assessing these areas, the study shows how nationalism produced and regulated gendered subjectivities and offers new insight into the institutional mechanisms underpinning gendered power in Syria.
Programmes de recherche
Formations
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Since 2013, alongside my doctoral research, I have gained experience in feminist research, facilitation, and organizational leadership. After completing a Gender Studies Diploma at Beirut Arab University in 2016, I earned a master’s degree in American Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin.
I began my career as a gender consultant and independent researcher with Syrian and international NGOs. I then served as Lead Researcher with Women Now for Development (2019–2022), Co-researcher with IMPULS e.V. and Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (2019–2020), and as a Research Assistant in the American Studies Department at Humboldt University of Berlin (2020–2021). Since January 2022, I have managed the Feminist Research Unit at Women Now e.V.
My doctoral dissertation, Gendering the Syrian Nation: Nationalism, State Institutions, and the Construction of Gender Roles, analyzes how Baʿthist Syria (1963–2010) produced gendered notions of citizenship and belonging. It focuses on three domains: education, women’s political participation, and personal status law.
The main Research Question is: How did Syrian nationalism under Baʿthist rule operate as a gendered regime of governance through education, women’s political participation, and personal status law and regulations, and how did these domains produce and institutionalize gendered identities and roles?