The (Beard-) Veil Also Matters on Facebook: Syrian Men and Women Between Patriarchy and Revolution

This article discusses how the publishing of Syrian women’s photos on Facebook provokes controversy in Syrian Facebook communities, in the context of ongoing violent political upheaval. After the Arab uprising reached Syria in March 2011, Syrian men and women have been using Facebook extensively to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jaramani, Araa al (Author)
Contributors: Sonneveld, Nadia
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2024
In: Hawwa
Year: 2024, Volume: 22, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 413-435
Further subjects:B Gender Equality
B Arab uprising
B Veil
B Cyber space
B Syria
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Summary:This article discusses how the publishing of Syrian women’s photos on Facebook provokes controversy in Syrian Facebook communities, in the context of ongoing violent political upheaval. After the Arab uprising reached Syria in March 2011, Syrian men and women have been using Facebook extensively to fight for their rights. Yet, the photo of a young dead Syrian woman activist caused a heated debate on Facebook, because she was not wearing a veil. We argue that while gender inequalities, which are prevalent in Syrian society seemingly persist in cyberspace, we are in fact witnessing the emergence of what we call a “limping” mobile society. In this mobile society, authoritative notions of womanhood are challenged, whereas dominant understandings of manhood barely change. In explaining this, this article contributes to scholarly debates in the fields of gender and power in conflict and post-conflict societies as well as social media and gender equality studies.
ISSN:1569-2086
Contains:Enthalten in: Hawwa
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15692086-12341421