Gender

Benita's Paper cover

“People like me, they have to bypass”

Research Paper

What does it mean to live in Lebanon without Lebanese citizenship even though your mother is Lebanese? Benita Kawalla pursues this question in her paper “People like me, they have to bypass- Lebanese young adults without citizenship”: The paper examines the situation of young adults, children of binational parents in which the Lebanese mother cannot transmit them her nationality because of the restrictive Lebanese nationality law. Using the concept of performative and affective citizenship, she claims that these young adults perform their Lebanese citizenship by political and social activism for a more inclusive citizenship law, by finding coping strategies to exercise basic human rights and by feeling Lebanese and stating their right to be legally Lebanese.