BB: Conceptualising Feminism(s) at War: The case of Kosovo in the 1990s

In times of war, women’s and feminist activism is often shifted, reinvigorated, transformed, co-opted, erased, and marginalized. In times of ethnic conflict especially, the entanglement between feminism and nationalism becomes even more complex as gender is co-opted in the name of the nation. The case of Kosovo has received immense scholarly attention on the multiple dimensions of state-building, peacebuilding, and peacekeeping missions in the country since the war in 1998-1999. This dissection has however, overwhelmingly, left behind encounters of "women" and the "local" in state building processes. This lecture reflects upon these gaps by conceptualizing feminism(s) at war in Kosovo during the 1990s through the utilization of the intersectionality framework. In this lecture we will embark on an exploration of the feminism(s) that were articulated in Kosovo during its struggle for national liberation and its relationship with Yugoslav feminism(s). 

Enduena Klajiqi is a fundamental research fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and a doctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her dissertation focuses on encounters of feminist statebuilding in Kosovo during the 1990s. Her research interests lie in the nexus between feminist activism, nationalism and statebuilding practices.