Moha Ennaji is a former Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at Rutgers University. He is Professor of Linguistics, Culture and Gender Studies, co-editor of Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Agents of Change (2010) and author of a number of books on culture and gender studies in North Africa.

Fatima Sadiqi is Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies at Fès University. A former Fulbright Scholar and recipient of a Harvard Fellowship, she is the author of a number of books on women in Morocco and co-editor of Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Agents of Change (2010).

Introduction: Contextualizing Gender and Violence in the Middle East Part 1: Conceptualization and Theoretical Background 1. Feminist Anthropological Perspectives on Violence Part 2: Armed Conflict and Gender Based Violence 2. Counter-Narratives of Palestinian Women: The Construction of Her-story and the Politics of Fear 3. Gender, Youth and Institutional Support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories 4. Impact of Armed Conflict on Gender Roles in Lebanon Part 3: Politics, War, and Violence against Women in Iraq and Afghanistan 5. War and Gender in Ba'thist Iraq 6. Violence Against Afghan Women: Tradition, Religion, Conflict and War Part 4: Religious and Social Violence Against Women 7. Religious-based Violence against Women and Feminist Responses: Iran, Afghanistan and Algeria 8. Strategy in the Battles over Her: Islamism and Secularism 9. Violence During Pregnancy in Jordan: Its Prevalence and Associated Risk and Protective Factors Part 5: Gender-Based Discrimination and Legal Reform 10. Legal Reforms on Violence against Women in Turkey: Best Practices 11. Violence Against Women in Morocco: Advances, Contentions and Strategies to Combat it Part 6: Language, Sexual Harassment and Media 12. Gendered Language Use, Hierarchization of Linguistic Space and State Building 13. Dismantling the Discourses of War: Palestinian Women Filmakers Address Violence

This book explores the relationship between Islamism, secularism and violence against women in the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on case studies from across the region, the authors examine the historical, cultural, religious, social, legal and political factors affecting this key issue.
Chapters by established scholars from within and outside the region highlight:
the interconnections of violence and various sources of power in the Middle East: the state, society, and the family
conceptions of violence as family and social practice and dominant discourse
the role of violence as pattern for social structuring in the nation state.

By centring the chapters around these key areas, the volume provides an innovative theoretical and systematic research model for gender and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Dealing with issues that are not easily accessible in the West, this book underlines the importance of understanding realities and problems relevant to Muslim and Arab societies and discusses possible ways of promoting reforms in the MENA region. As such it will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, sociology, political science and criminal justice.