‘Gender, sex and genocide: the imperative of anti-imperialist solidarity’ is the twenty-first session of our Political Economy Teach-in Series. It was held on March 25, 2025, and delivered by Walaa Alqaisiya.

The past fifteen months of genocide in Palestine have revealed a lot about the role of queer-feminism in reinforcing US imperialism and Zionist settler colonialism. This teach-in will situate the colonial and imperialist functionality of sex/gender, explaining how feminism can serve Zionism. It will also explore the possibilities of Global South-led revolutionary theory and praxis, along with anti-imperialist feminism, on challenging what Qaisiya calls the occupation of gender/sex by genocidal means (the waste of gender/sex), centering Palestine and its struggle for liberation.

Dr Walaa Alqaisiya is a professor of Middle East Studies at Northwest University in the People’s Republic of China. She is the author of the book Decolonial Queering in Palestine (published with Routledge in 2023) and has been widely published in many renowned journals on the topics of decolonial and anti-imperialist theories, gender and sexuality and Palestine liberation.

Our South Feminist Political Economy Teach-in Series aims to strengthen intergenerational dialogue and build a cross-regional feminist constituency. The series covers various topics to interrogate and strengthen understanding of issues shaping conditions in the Global South.

Here is our specially curated reading list, designed to deepen your understanding of the topic and inspire meaningful discussion. It features powerful contributions from authors and thinkers across the Global South.