The Emerging Field of Kurdish Gender Studies
Dr Necla Açık, School of Law, Middlesex University London
In this talk, I will contextualise the growth of KGS in relation to decolonial knowledge production in Kurdistan and the Global North. I will argue that both KGS and KGSN have emerged from and actively engaged in the politics of recognition and the struggle against oppression, marginalisation, and silencing. They have significantly contributing to critical knowledge production in both academia and political activism.
| An Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies research event | |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 March 2024 |
| Time | 17:00 to 19:00 |
| Place | IAIS Building/LT1 |
| Provider | Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies |
| Speaker(s) | Dr Necla Açık, School of Law, Middlesex University London |
Event details
Abstract
Dr. Necla Açık is a Research Fellow at the Middlesex University London. She earned her PhD in Social Statistics from the University of Manchester and holds a Magister degree in Islamic Studies from the Free University of Berlin. Dr. Açık’s scholarly work in Kurdish gender studies spans over three decades. She was a member of the International Kurdish Women’s Studies Network from its formation in 1996 to 2002 and is currently a member of the Kurdish Gender Studies Network. In the last decade, Dr. Açık has been actively involved in large international research projects that utilized mixed methods. Her work includes designing and analysing surveys as well as conducting ethnographic fieldwork on topics related to migration, extremism, radicalisation, as well as counter-terrorism, with a particular focus on gender, youth, and ethnicity.
For a long time, research on Kurdish gender issues and women was scarce compared to research on Kurds in general. However, since the turn of the twenty-first century, Kurdish gender studies (KGS) have been developing as an academic field. Linked to this development, the establishment of the Kurdish Gender Studies Network (KGSN) in 2020 emerged from a need to create alternative spaces for knowledge exchange and intellectual solidarity among women and queer scholars in Kurdish studies. The network is also rooted in decades of struggles by Kurdish women who have grappled with the dual challenge of resisting external colonial forces while simultaneously confronting internal patriarchal dynamics in both domestic and public spheres, including in the academic realm.
Location:
IAIS Building/LT1
