In October 2014, Mada hosted a study day for Palestinian female doctorate candidates. The event was introduced by Dr. Suhad Daher-Nashif and Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, who highlighted the potential of Palestinian women’s scholastic achievement to subvert narratives of victimhood promoted in Israeli settler-colonial discourses.

The workshop’s first session focused on national political issues and was chaired by Ms. Maysan Hamdan. This session featured papers on constitution writing and reconciliation-based policymaking in conflict communities, youth work institutions in the occupied Palestinian territories, the trans-generational inheritance of the collective memory of the Nakba, and theatrical representations of Palestinian lived experiences.

The second session focused on social issues of import to the Palestinian community and was moderated by Ms. Manal Shalabi. This session included presentations on women’s study organizations, Arab mothers raising children with mental disabilities, femicide and its impact on the culture of the household, and assistance centers for Palestinian survivors of sexual violence in Israel.