Civil Society Review issue 5 - Challenging Power: Gender and Social Justice in the Middle East

This issue assesses the current moment of crisis in the region through the lens of gender, contributing new ways of thinking about, and reacting to the current compounded crisis plaguing the SWANA region. A further strength of this issue is the diversity with which authors use the terms “gender” and “feminist,” drawing attention to the ways that such terms are not “neutral;” rather, they are historically specific and signal established power dynamics, especially in the field of international development and humanitarian aid. Further, a handful of the pieces in this issue challenge gender as a standalone “identity,” and articulate a truly intersectional approach to the ways that gender must be used as a lens through which we can begin to understand and explain the power dynamics structuring our everyday lives.