Citizenship is not often mentioned in relation to women in the Middle East. Mostly women’s movements are analyzed in relation to nationalism, Islamism, law, and civil society. Citizenship, however, predates nationalism and Islamism. Moreover it is broader than law and more fundamental than political or religious ideologies, especially when it comes women’s movements and the sense of rights. Although I will concentrate on Egypt, I want to demonstrate in this talk how concepts of citizenship can help to analyze historical and present women’s movements in the Middle East.

Roel Meijer was previously Associate Professor at Radboud University, Nijmegen) and has co-edited three volumes on citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa and is currently working on a Dutch history of the Middle East and North Africa.

The Women’s Rights Research Seminar (WRRS) at the Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College was founded in 2009 with the initial aim of directing interdisciplinary scholarly research on women in Iran. Since then, the research group has broadened to include the Middle East region. The aim of the WRRS is to present current research on the changing Middle East and how development and globalization have affected women’s rights. www.sant.ox.ac.uk/research-centres/middle-east-centre/womens-rights-research-seminars