“Mission Possible: Combatting Violence Against Women and Girls in the Middle East”

We are pleased to announce that the International Conference “Mission Possible: Combatting Violence Against Women and Girls in the Middle East” will take place at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences, Germany from Friday, November 25th to Saturday, 26th 2016.

Violence against women and girls is a transnational and transcultural phenomenon and its elimination is a global goal. Although women live worldwide in very heterogeneous and complex circumstances, shaped by religious differences, local traditions, ethnic differences, and socio-economic conditions violence pervades gender relations across all social categories in many parts of the world. Gender-based violence is fundamental to the functioning of the patriarchal gender structure; however, in many cases existing gender orders cannot be understood without the complexities of the colonial pasts.

November 25 as the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women” is based on the date of the assassination of three political activists in the Dominican Republic in 1960, known as the Mirabal sisters. The United Nations have designated November 25 to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly.

The two day conference opens discourse on gender relations in the Middle East and offers a forum for connection, mutual learning, solidarity and transnational feminist advocacy. It is with special excitement that we are pleased to welcome some outstanding human rights and women’s rights activists and academics from the area to our conference.

Date: 25th of November to 26th of November 2016
Location: Fachhochschule Kiel, Großes Hörsaalgebäude, Sokratesplatz 6, 24149 Kiel, Germany

Registration is open until the 15th of October.

All further information about where to register, registration fees, hotel reservations and the full conference program can be found here