Sara Didi Hassane

As the death toll of the Arab Spring and the ensuing conflicts exceeded the thousands, many of those who died were hailed as martyrs of the revolutions to be remembered and honoured. Previously the title of martyr was an exclusivity reserved to those who the state or major religious institutions chose to bestow upon; new narratives around martyrdom emerged as early as the first casualties were announced, with Mohammed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor whose self-emulation is arguably credited with triggering the protests, being one its first examples. The citizens on the street became active actors in deciding whose life is to be immortalized in this manner, often through slogans and stories recounting their personal lives and their needless deaths during the fight for freedom and dignity in the face of oppressive regimes. My research focuses on these new models of martyrdom that emerged post-2011 in the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa, also known as the Middle East and North Africa, MENA), analyzing how they were constructed and the manner in which they evolved until the present era.