CGDS is excited to announce the third Jan Warner Visiting Scholar for the spring semester of 2022, Ms. Munirah Eskander. Munirah received a dual degree from the American University of Sharjah, earning her BSc in Chemical Engineering and a BA in International Studies, and pursuing a double minor in Engineering Management and Women’s Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she worked for two years as a research assistant for a project focused on gender complementary in Emirati families. She subsequently obtained her master’s degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Leiden University, for which she received a scholarship from the Lutfia Rabbani Foundation, and conducted research for her master’s thesis on the intersection between politics and sexuality. More specifically, she examined the political and gender-related ramifications of how Najdi customs were imposed across the entirety of Saudi Arabia through the institution of matrimony. Similarly, during her graduate studies, she also worked as a research trainee on a digital humanities project focusing on the analysis of formulaic blessings used in ancient Arabic letters sent during the medieval Islamic period. Before joining CGDS, she worked as a Research Fellow with Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), an organization that seeks to promote peacebuilding and reduce the impact of militarization on women’s lives. Prior to that, she also worked as a freelance translator with the Human Rights Foundation, New York. Her research interests include gender and sexuality, social justice, political and Islamic reform, and educational developments in the MENA region. In addition to teaching the Social Justice in Theory and Practice Course (HUM 255 in the Department of English) for the gender studies minor, Munirah will pursue her own research, focusing on women’s rights NGOs in Kurdistan. CGDS warmly welcomes Ms. Munirah.
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