Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Anthropology
First Advisor
Ida Susser
Second Advisor
Gerald Creed
Academic Program Adviser
Marc Edelman
Abstract
This thesis examines the mechanisms through which veiling is constructed as a social crisis in Kosovo, a country with a majority Muslim population. I examine how Kosovo's position in the Balkans as a liminal space between the ideological positions of the East and West, its historical legacies and political ambitions have contributed to positing veiled women as a site for the negotiation of a national identity. Drawing on ethnographic interviews and paying attention to the notions and imaginaries mobilized in these discussions, I trace the Western epistemological frameworks that frame the issue speakable as such. By exploring the gap between experience and representation, this research suggests that while framed as an internal cultural crisis, the discussion of the veiling is instead indicative of external pressures tied to legitimacy.
Recommended Citation
Blakaj, Blerta, "Veiling in Kosovo: Gender and the Politics of Visibility under the Western Gaze" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1579
