Women from Muslim Communities and Theirengagement in Politics

ESRC Funded Conference

Women from Muslim Communities and theirEngagement in Politics

Conference Programme

Monday 20th September 2010

10:00 – 10:30 / Coffee and Welcome
10:30 – 10:45 / Background: The ESRC Project and Conference
10:45 – 12:15 / Panel 1 “Women from Muslim Communities: Beyond Europe” (Chair: Daniele Joly)
 Cassandra Balchin (Researcher & activist; part of MWNUK, Musawah and WLULM, London)
Title: “Women’s transnational engagement for equality and justice in the Muslim Family”
 Afiya Zia (Independent researcher and activist, Karachi, Pakistan)
Title: “The politics of researching the organic Muslim woman”
 Nicola Pratt (Associate Professor in Politics & International Studies, University of Warwick)
Title: “Middle East women’s activism”
12:15 – 13:30 / Lunch Break
13:30 – 15:00 / Panel 2 “Women from Muslim Communities: Private and Public Spaces” (Chair: Nicola Pratt)
 Amel Boubekeur (Associate Research Fellow, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
Title: TBC
 Nacira Guénif-Souilamas (Associate Professor, University of Paris 13)
Title: “How can one be a female, French Muslim? On the invention of an oxymoron”
 Maleiha Malik (Professor in Law, KingsCollegeLondon)
Title: “On headscarves: accommodating religious symbols in schools and the workplace”
15:00 – 15:30 / Tea Break
15:30 – 17:00 / Panel 3 “Local Perspectives: Building Political Engagement and Movements Around Political, Socio-Economic and Cultural Issues” (Chair: Nacira Guénif-Souilamas)
 Nadia Falfoul (Local Councillor, Bobigny; Doctoral Candidate in Law, University of Paris 13)
Title: TBC
 Shaista Gohir (Director: Muslim Women’s Network UK, Birmingham)
Title: “Cultural taboos related to sexuality: getting difficult issues onto public agendas”
 Rokhaya Diallo (Director: Association Les Indivisibles, Paris)
Title: “Representing Muslim women in French public space”

Tuesday 21stSeptember 2010

09:00 – 09:30 / Coffee
09:30 – 11:00 / Panel 4 “Women from Muslim Communities in Europe: With or Against the State” (Chair: Faeeza Vaid)
Sara Silvestri (Senior Lecturer in Religion and International Politics, CityUniversity, London)
Title: “From categories to human beings: Muslim women in the variable geometry of Europe”
Katherine Brown (KingsCollegeLondon)
Title: “Muslim women and proscribed political violence”
Dr Laura McDonald (Lecturer in Sociology, University of Birmingham)
Title: “Engaging with security: challenges for activist Muslim women in the UK”
11:00 – 11:15 / Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:45 / Panel 5 “Women from Muslim Communities and Politics” (Chair: Katherine Brown)
Daniele Joly (Professor in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick)
Title: “Muslim women: theatres of action”
Khursheed Wadia (Senior Research Fellow, University of Warwick)
Title: “Women from Muslim communities in Britain and France: political participation and issues”
Giulia Fabbiano (Associate Research Fellow, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris) and Alexandra Poli (Research Fellow, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
Title: “Who are ‘Muslim women’ in France? Deconstructing the implicit evidence of a category”
12:45 – 14:00 / Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30 / Round-Table Session 1: Issues of Concern to Women from Muslim Communities (Chair: Khursheed Wadia)
15:30 – 16:00 / Tea Break
16:00 – 17:00 / Round-Table Session 2: Engagement and Mobilisation Strategies and Shaping Public Agendas (Daniele Joly)
17.00 / End of conference