Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees

The Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East’s program on Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees in the Middle East and North Africa produces in-depth research and substantive policy recommendations to help practitioners and policymakers assess ongoing developments and improve knowledge on these critical topics. The program also hosts public lectures and academic conferences to disseminate research and to build bridges between scholars and policymakers in the MENA region and the United States.

The program focuses on five main areas of study:

1. The outcomes of women’s political representation in the MENA region
2. Women’s mobilization in the post-Arab Spring period
3. Respect for human rights and inclusive citizenship by governments in the region
4. The rights of refugees and non-citizens residing in MENA host states
5. Trends in migration and migration governance in the Mediterranean region

Led by Kelsey Norman, Ph.D., the Baker Institute’s Kelly Day Fellow, this research program takes an interdisciplinary and data-driven approach, collaborating with partner organizations and regional scholars with a wide range of expertise. It aims not only to produce impactful and timely policy recommendations that address these areas of research but also to promote a better understanding of the intertwined factors shaping outcomes for women’s representation and respect for human and refugee rights in the Arab world.