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Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies ACMES

ACMES Roundtable | Rethinking peace-building in Yemen: war-induced migration, gender and transnational activism

Speakers: Marina de Regt, Ewa K. Strzelecka, Saba Hamzah and Mustafa Naji al-Jabzi

In the context of armed conflict and political repression, Yemeni diasporas have been growing and their transnational networks expanding. Since the outbreak of war in 2014/2015, an estimated 4.5 million people have been displaced in Yemen and over 190 000 Yemenis fled the country to seek refugee status abroad. The number of Yemeni refugees and asylum seekers in Europe doubled between 2014 and 2019 to over 11,000. Most of them live in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK and remain deeply connected to Yemen. It is male-dominated migration, but the prominent participation of female leaders in peace-building activities and transnational networks made women stand out.
Date
6 June 2023
Time
15:00 -17:00
Location
P.C. Hoofthuis
Room
1.05

In this roundtable, we would like to explore how social mobility through war-induced migration contributed to transnational flows of information, ideas, activism, and financial resources. In particular, we address how the situation of violence and the ongoing war in Yemen have shaped the Yemeni transnational activists' and refugees’ political participation and contribution to peace-building and conflict management in and outside the country. Questions that are discussed are: To what extent are Yemeni female activists’ demands similar or different to those voiced by men in peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping? How have they endured growing challenges, articulated demands and engaged in practices for greater justice, equality and human rights? How have transnational activists and refugees influenced politics concerning the Yemeni conflict and peace processes in both their homeland and their host country? To what extent are they able to influence peacebuilding and stability in Yemen through social, economic and political remittances?

Speakers:
Ewa K. Strzelecka is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, leader of Peace Women project, and co-founder of MENARA.
Saba Hamzah is a decolonial poet-scholar, writer, educator, founder and chairwoman of the Yemeni Women Archive.
Mustafa Naji al-Jabzi is a PhD researcher at the Rouen University in France (Laboratoire DySoLab) and former Yemeni diplomat.

Chair:
Marina de Regt is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit and co-founder of MENARA.

Admission Free
Location: REC (t.b.c.)

In collaboration with the EU-funded PeaceWomen project