Kurdish Studies Network

Kurdish Studies invites academics, policy makers, activists, and students to submit high quality academic papers on the topic Women and War. Over the last years Kurdish women have become highly visible in international media coverage through different types of images. Images of female guerrilla fighters, of women in leading positions, of women in captivity of the Islamic State, of women as victims of state and communal violence, escaping war and arriving as refugees in Europe and elsewhere, have circulated widely.

Gendered analyses of war show that women are often differently affected by war, violence, and displacement than men. Studies also show that war can be seen as a time in which existing social structures are turned upside down and may be (temporarily) replaced by others. Consequently, traditional gender-relations, existing ties and social norms are challenged. This may make women vulnerable to further violence and discrimination, or, alternatively, it may open up new spaces of opportunities to women.

What is more, in the current developments in Kurdistan, most notably in Rojava (Kurdistan- Syria) and in Bakur (Kurdistan-Turkey), women are actively involved both in warfare as well as in the political process. But even if many women take up such roles, there may be many others who do not have such endeavours.

The Kurdish Studies Journal wishes to contribute to critical and empirical based analyses of the present realities of Kurdish women in all parts of Kurdistan, along with their representation as well as images that circulate about them in the international media.

Kurdish Studies invites contributions from all disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences that relate to women and war in Kurdistan. Submissions can be in the form of research papers, theoretical or conceptual papers, commentaries, review articles and book reviews. As a general guide, full research papers should be around 8,000-9,000 words and book reviews around 800-1,000 words. Please feel free to circulate this call for papers.

Deadlines: please submit a 250-500 word abstract before July 10, 2017. We will invite the authors of the most promising abstracts to contribute. The article deadline will be October 31, 2017.