Othering the Other: Gendering Racism, Colourism and Xenophobia in the Middle East

Haje Keli

This lecture locates gender in the Middle East at the intersection of race, class, ethnicity, labour and sexuality. How can we use the study of racism, xenophobia and religious discrimination as analytical tools to better help us understand how gender works and how sexuality is understood and read in the region?

Haje completed her PhD in Gender Studies at SOAS in 2018 – her research topic is gender-based violence in Iraqi Kurdistan, where she applies an intersectional lens to understand the underlying factors of violence against women and the power structures that work to maintain the status quo, perpetuating the marginalisation of women. Belonging to a minority in the Middle East and being informed by Black feminist writers from the United States of America, Haje is interested in how colourism, racism and xenophobia are manifested in the Middle East at the intersection of gender and sexuality.