Driven by a commitment to socialist modernity, many state-socialist gender policies created new opportunities and unprecedented social mobility. At the same time, they often led to violence, displacement and marginalisation of minority populations. The study of gender policies aimed at minority Muslim populations opens up numerous multi-disciplinary questions regarding the complexities of gender, masculinity, femininity, heteronormativity, religious identity and practice, social mobility, education, public space, privacy, systemic exclusion, racialisation, violence, resistance, migration and displacement, etc. Post-socialist transformation has brought another reconfiguration of masculinities and femininities often interpreted as a return of repressed traditional gender norms, yet crucially influenced by both the socialist past and contemporary socio-economic, political and religious factors.Articles from the conference will be submitted to UCL’s Slavonic and East European Review.

Full programme and registration are available under https://sickle-and-veil.net/index.php/turning-muslims-into-comrades/