Since 1985, scholars and students specialized in Gender and Women’s Studies in the Middle East and North Africa have worked diligently to support and grow our organization, the Association for Middle East Women’s Studies. As feminist scholars from the region and the rest of the world, we continue to work diligently to bring attention to the pivotal role of women and gender in the historical, social and political transformations in Middle Eastern and North African communities. As a feminist collective, we continue to bridge scholarship and advocacy to ensure that the voices of our scholarly community are raised against discrimination, racial and gender injustice, religious prejudice and attacks on freedom of expression. Our work is also concerned with bringing attention to the atrocities committed against the people of the region. In Gaza, women and children, entire families and villages have been decimated in an ongoing genocide. In war-torn Yemen, tens of thousands have been killed and children continue to suffer from lack of food and shelter. In Lebanon, where thousands of people are forced to seek refuge and shelter, others have perished in military onslaughts. In Sudan, millions of children and adults are malnourished and face death this year due to the civil war. In our writing, publishing and speaking against these atrocities, we aim to document, theorize and inform the scholarly and public communities. AMEWS is an active affiliate member of MESA (the Middle East Studies Association), where we sponsor panels and roundtables dealing with Gender and Women’s Studies. Conferences and outreach events celebrate and showcase the work of our members. AMEWS’ scholarly journal The Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, published triennially by Duke University Press, is a cutting-edge contribution to the field. The annual AMEWS Book Award highlights the best scholarship in the field.
I am honored and proud to be the current President of AMEWS and to continue to forge ahead with our mission and objectives. In the first year of my presidency, our organization has worked tirelessly to broaden its impact and reach. We now have an AMEWS committee that deals exclusively with Palestine to mobilize our collective response to the ongoing genocide and devastation of Gaza and its people. Our Palestine Committee has organized events and discussions that raise awareness and provide a forum for discussions and healing. The newly established Membership Committee has been busy recruiting and retaining members and has just completed an analysis of AMEWS membership patterns. An important accomplishment for AMEWS is the completion of its By-Laws review, which has now been approved by the members of the board. AMEWS is finally developing a new website that better meets the needs of our membership, and our current website is being maintained to keep everyone up to date with current events and information. Our AMEWS Committee on Human Rights continues to draft our statements against injustice and discrimination, and the AMEWS Graduate Students Committee works to support and mentor its members. Our next step is to put in place a fundraising committee to increase fundraising efforts for AMEWS. This will be another new initiative open to all members and past presidents, whose vast experience can bring to the organization extra funding and more impact. This committee will potentially oversee our conference planning as well as speaker series and collaborate with other feminist organizations in, and concerned with, the Global South.
Being part of a community like AMEWS not only brings us in touch with one another but also provides us with purpose and direction. It is the one space where we, as scholars of Gender and Women’s Studies of the Middle East and North Africa, can truly stand together and unite across our disciplines and regional specializations to organize and share our work and to take count of the directions of our field and ensure that we play a role in shaping its future. AMEWS welcomes you all—continuing members and new members alike. It will be a great year to strengthen our community and our reach.
With warmest wishes,
Sherine Hafez
AMEWS President
Professor, Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies
University of California, Riverside
November, 2024