16/10/2026
TAPRI is pleased to congratulate Zahra Edalati on the successful defence of her doctoral thesis, Transversal feminist peace: Iranian women’s movement(s) and the potential for doing politics across differences.
The thesis examines how women’s rights activists in Iran and in exile practise transversal feminist politics across differing priorities, positionalities and geographies. It uses a collective and reflective “kitchen-table patchwork” methodology that combines interviews and autoethnographic research. This brings together multiple voices and avoids treating Iranian women as one homogeneous group.
The thesis makes several significant contributions to feminist peace research:
Transversal feminist peace, a concept that explains how coalitions form across generations, strategies and borders along an inside–exile continuum.
The exilic rope of resistance, a relational structure that sustains the agency and political participation of women in exile, made particularly visible during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
Transversal tactics, including micro-feminist praxis and storytelling, through which everyday and often invisible acts of resistance gradually shift patriarchal boundaries.
Historical and temporal depth, showing how women’s struggles connect past, present and future across generations.
We warmly congratulate Zahra on this important and timely achievement. We also thank the opponent, Professor Mulki Al-Sharmani (University of Helsinki), the custos and supervisor, Professor Tarja Väyrynen, and the supervisor, Docent Marjaana Jauhola, for their contributions.
