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DISP: Rethinking Development's ArchivesMain MenuDeconstructing DevelopmentIntroductionThis collection of works explores the idea and practice of "development", seeking to challenge what has been taught in the Western canon by bringing forth scholarship from the Middle East, mainly written by womenI. Gender"The ungendered body does not exist"II. Modernization"Thinking otherwise" on modernity and progressIII. SovereigntyPracticing culture, community, and self without dominationIV. DignityHolding onto inherent self-worthReview of Imagine Otherwise Podcast "Lila Sharif on the Settler Colonial Politics of Food"AfterwordMusings about the research process and situating this work in a broader agenda to "decolonize the curriculum"Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630
"Um Al Zalghouta" | Syria
1media/umm2.jpg2020-05-09T22:21:28-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630373995by Huda, art by Sara Khayatimage_header2020-05-10T12:58:02-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630Written by Huda[1], this essay tells the story of a middle-aged Syrian woman named Zainab, later deemed “Um Al Zalghouta”, who joined the Syrian revolution. When discussing the many revolutions of the Arab Spring, the active role of women is highlighted in many countries, yet there has been little space carved out for Syrian women. In documenting the story of Um Al-Zalghouta, these authors seek to show what Syrian women have offered to restore their human dignity in opposition to the Assad regime. Zainab protested from the outside and from within. She joined demonstrations and also transformed her home into a workshop for sewing flags for the revolution. She was famous for her zalghouta ( زلغوطة ), or ululation[2], prompting her nickname. For her participation in the revolution, Zainab faced immense hardship and punishment, attempts to strip her of her dignity. This piece sheds light into how for many Syrians, this revolt was about dignity and reclaiming it from the Assad regime, whose oppression attempted to remove it.
[1]Huda is described as a “human being passionate about the Arabic language, who aims to create content for the causes of human beings in all shapes and forms” – author bio in Kohl Journal