Thesis Title:
‘Where There is Repression, There is Resistance’: Societal Perceptions of Female Political Agency in Violent Resistance
Thesis Abstract:
My research examines how politically violent women in Palestine have their agency interpreted, contested and constructed within their families and communities. Through discourse analysis and first-hand interviews, I explore how agency is shaped and constrained in patriarchal and conflict-driven contexts. This project challenges liberal feminist frameworks that prioritise autonomy and choice as primary markers of agency by asking how agency is understood relationally and collectively in women’s most immediate social environments.
A significant gap exists in the literature regarding how families and communities interpret women’s participation in militant movements. My research addresses this by analysing how local perceptions of agency both reinforce and challenge dominant feminist theories, particularly where women’s roles intersect with cultural norms, societal expectations and political violence.
The project connects two key debates: one concerning the limits of liberal feminist conceptions of agency, as critiqued by Saba Mahmood (2005) and Lihi Ben Shitrit (2020), and the other concerning women’s roles in political violence. It is also informed by critical feminist and anti-authoritarian traditions that question how knowledge about women’s violence is produced or silenced across academic, media and NGO discourses. While primarily theoretical, the research offers practical insights to support more culturally attuned NGO strategies in conflict settings.
Primary Supervisor:
Dr Michael Farquhar and Dr Mona Morgan-Collins