Carla Boulos is a Syrian human rights activist, researcher, and PhD candidate in the Dialogics of Justice programme at the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH) in Utrecht. Her work sits at the intersection of gender justice, transformative justice, civil society, and post-conflict social change.
Before joining academia, Carla spent over a decade working with local and international civil society organizations across Syria, Lebanon, and Europe on women’s rights, civic participation, and human rights. Her activist background continues to shape her academic work, with a particular interest in producing research that remains accountable to the communities it studies.
Her PhD explores how conflict can create openings for transforming gender relations and how civil society can help translate these shifts into long-term gender justice. Rather than focusing solely on institutions or individual experiences, her research explores the often-overlooked meso level: civil society organizations, community initiatives, and everyday collective practices that sustain social transformation. Drawing on feminist theory, sociology, conflict studies, and dialogical approaches to justice, she investigates how gender justice is negotiated, imagined, and practiced in societies emerging from conflict.
Alongside her research, Carla regularly contributes to public debates on Syria, women’s rights, and justice through policy engagement, media interviews, public speaking, and collaborations with civil society organizations. She is committed to bridging academic research with public dialogue and social change.
DIALOGICS OF JUSTICE
Conflict as a Transformative Moment for Gender Justice: Civil Society, Agency, and Social Change in Syria
Armed conflict is often understood primarily through its destructive consequences. This research starts from a different question: can conflict also create openings for social transformation?
Situated in the Syrian context, the project examines how more than a decade of conflict has reshaped gender roles and explores whether these shifts can contribute to long-term gender justice. While many wartime changes are temporary, others create new forms of agency, participation, and social organization that challenge pre-existing gender norms.
The research focuses on the meso level of transformation by examining the role of civil society organizations and community initiatives in sustaining or reversing these changes. Bringing together feminist theory, sociology, conflict studies, and dialogical approaches to justice, the project investigates how gender justice is imagined, negotiated, and practiced in post-conflict contexts.
Ultimately, the research contributes to broader debates on transformative justice by asking how societies emerging from conflict can move beyond restoring the past towards building more just and inclusive futures.
Contact: c.boulos@uvh.nl
PUBLICATIONS
MEDIA
Article on when knowledge becomes action
1/10/2026 “When Does Knowledge Become Action? – KAN Zine
Carla Boulos wrote an article on anger, knowledge and action: When Does Knowledge Become Action? The question is whether our actions are helping to confront injustice or simply making it more manageable.
Read moreCarla Boulos spoke at a roundtable at the Dutch Parliament
5/3/2025
On March 5, 2025 Carla Boulos participated at the Dutch Parliament in a roundtable on Syria as a women’s rights specialist, sharing her thoughts on how the Dutch government can support Syrian women in this critical moment.
Read moreInterview on the necessary role of women in the transition in Syria
16/12/2024 ‘Sin las mujeres no podrá haber una transición en Siria’ – Artículo 14
Carla Boulos emphasizes that women have been fundamental to Syria’s survival during the war. She notes that while men were engaged in combat, women managed households, took on various jobs, and led civil society, effectively sustaining the country. However, she laments…
Read moreWelcoming Carla Boulos as a new team member
1/9/2023
We are happy to welcome Carla Boulos, who will join the Dialogics of Justice team in September 2023.
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EVENTS
15-17/4/2026 – Dialogics of Justice Final Conference
April 15th-17th 2026 Dialogics of Justice (NWO-VICI) – Final Conference About the conference The last decade has witnessed an increase in civil proceedings brought before Dutch district courts by people adversely affected by colonial violence, military missions, sexual abuse, and environmental harm. Does legal action against institutions such as the Dutch state, the military, the church, and…
Read more14/6/2025 – Speech at the IncLUsion Graduation Ceremony – Leiden University
As keynote speaker at the IncLUsion graduation ceremony, Carla reflected on the role of education, belonging, and the contributions of refugee scholars to academic communities. Drawing on her own journey from refugee to researcher, she argued that refugee students are not merely recipients of opportunity but active contributors to knowledge production and democratic societies. Read…
Read more16-18/10/2024 – German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) – Doctoral Researchers’ Conference: Researching with the Global South?
Carla Boulos was a speaker on researching with the Global South, reflecting on the relationship between academia and activism, knowledge co-production, and the opportunities and challenges of conducting research in collaboration with communities from the Global South. Read more about the conference here.
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