Framing Feminism in Eurasia: Activists’ Strategies and Dilemmas
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This is an in-person event.
Tuesday, 25 February 2025 from 14.30 until 16.00.
Worldwide, feminist politics are increasingly marginalised and face resistance from governments and societies. In post-socialist Eurasia, gender discourses are dominated by international donors promoting a neoliberal approach, as well as states mobilising patriarchal norms for nation-building. Focusing on grassroots feminist initiatives in Eurasia, this presentation explores alternative gender visions emerging from the ground up, which are oriented towards social justice. Drawing on critical frame analysis, literature on creativity and gender, and intersectionality, we examine the framing strategies deployed by feminist groups in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan to advance their agendas and translate feminist thinking into local contexts. Analysing both discursive and visual forms of expressions, we identify two main framing strategies: depoliticisation (to reach broader audiences and avoid backlash) and repoliticisation (to disrupt dominant discourses). By discussing the dilemmas arising from each strategy, the presentation contributes to ongoing debates on feminist organising in contexts that are hostile to feminism.
SPEAKERS
Karolina Kluczewska is a visiting research fellow at UNU-CRIS, and a research fellow at the Academy of International Affairs NRW in Germany. She also remains affiliated with the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom, where she completed her PhD in International Relations in 2018.
Laura Luciani is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies, and an affiliated researcher at the VUB Research Centre for Democratic Futures. She received her PhD degree in Political Sciences from Ghent University in 2022.
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