Reconstruction of gender identity in conflicts and wars from the perspective of feminist security studies: The case of Syria

Gender roles are one of the most fundamental building blocks of our lives. Yet, these roles are doomed to change or transform with social changes or at critical junctures. Two of these most important turning points are conflicts and wars. Conflicts and war conditions provide opportunities to rebuild, change and transform gender identities, and sometimes to consolidate them. Depending on the cultural context, these conditions set new rules and gender roles for both men and women. The strong and brave man, traditionally viewed as the guardian of the motherland and the woman, is asked to prove his masculinity through these roles in conflict and war conditions. Those who successfully prove their masculinity reinforce and legitimize their gender identity. Conflicts and wars are also carried out on success and failure, and they are built on the enemy's failure to fulfill their gender roles. Women are expected to be in the private sphere, that is, at home, as a requirement of their traditional gender roles, and they are not welcomed to participate in wars and conflicts, which are seen as male work. Priorities are determined through the prism of culture and conditions and gender identities are, thus, reconstructed. In the case study part of this thesis, how gender identities are reconstructed in the context of wars and conflicts are presented with examples from the Syrian Civil War.