“Surveillance Technology as a Weapon” is the nineteenth session in South Feminist Future’s Political Education series. This series is an initiative by South Feminist Futures that seeks to strengthen cross-regional, intergenerational dialogue and build a cross-regional feminist constituency. The series cuts through various topics to interrogate and strengthen understanding of issues shaping conditions in the Global South.

This session took place on the 29th of January 2025 and was taught by Islam al Khatib.

Islam al Khatib is a Palestinian researcher born and raised in Lebanon. She currently works as the Knowledge Building Co-Strategist at Noor and is pursuing a PhD exploring surveillance as a methodology in academia and anti-colonial knowledge production at LSE. Her research focuses on surveillance, digital fascism, and the geopolitics of AI. Her recent work includes Beyond Techwashing: The UAE’s AI Industrial Policy as a Security Regime, published with the AI Now Institute.

Here is our specially curated reading list designed to enrich your understanding of the topic and spark engaging discussions! It features resources from authors and thinkers in the Global South.