In person icon Strategies of Resistance: Intersectional Activists Confronting Opposition and Hostility

Abstract

This panel focuses on the strategies of resistance developed and used by intersectional activists to confront opposition and hostility. Across Europe and beyond, intersectional activism is increasingly met with resistance from various fronts – political, ideological and institutional. As activists push for broader recognition of gender-based violence, equality and democracy, they encounter deeply entrenched structures that seek to contain, redefine, or silence their efforts. Papers in this panel analyse activists’ resistance in different contexts and from multiple standpoints. Studying femi(ni)cide from an intersectional and decolonial perspective reveals, for instance, how divisive feminist movements can be with regard to what a woman is and whose bodies count within the fight against gender-based violence. Similarly, debates over equality expose deep fractures, as different actors strategically frame the concept to either expand or restrict its reach. These struggles are not confined to the area of gender politics but are entangled with broader democratic movements, as seen in the ways women’s activism intersects with resistance against authoritarianism and declining democracies. Intersectional activists navigating hostile (socio-political) environments face threats that cross borders, requiring them to develop resilience in the face of surveillance, coercion, and violence. This panel explores the several forms of opposition, alliances and activism that emerge when hostility unfolds.

Title	Details
Faithful Resistance: Religious Actors and the Articulation of Dissensus in Romania and Greece	View Paper Details
Rethinking Femi(ni)cide Intersectionally: Between Definitional Boundary-Work and Transformative Practices in Feminist Activism	View Paper Details
From Female Warriors to Motherly Worriers: A Typology of Women’s Embodied Political Performances in Israel's Pro-Democracy Protest	View Paper Details
Between Repression and Resistance: Iranian Women’s Rights Activists and the Negotiation of Transnational Repression in the Diasporic Space	View Paper Details