Dr Fatima Ahdash
Staff details
Fatima is a Lecturer in Law, specialising in counter-terrorism, family law and human rights, and their recent interaction with each other. Her work is interdisciplinary, socio-legal and critical, drawing on feminist legal theory, social theory and critical terrorism studies.
Prior to joining Goldsmiths, Fatima taught family law, international human rights law and legal writing and research skills at the London School of Economics (LSE). She has undertaken her doctoral research at the LSE, and was awarded the prestigious Modern Law Review Scholarship for 2019-2020. Fatima holds an LLM in Human Rights Law and an LLB which were also obtained from the LSE. She has worked for a number of human rights organisations as a research fellow and/or a consultant including Reprieve, the British Institute of Human Rights, the Equal Rights Trust and Rights and Security International.
Academic qualifications
- PhD, LSE 2020
- LLM, LSE 2016
- LLB, LSE 2013
- PGcert HE, LSE 2018
Teaching and Supervision
Research interests
Fatima’s research focuses on the recent interaction between family law and counter-terrorism in the UK, interrogating an emerging category of family case-law known as the “radicalisation cases” which deal with the impact of terrorism, extremism and radicalisation on children and families. Using a combination of socio-legal research methods, feminist legal theory, critical terrorism studies and social theory, her research critically examines the nature of, reasons behind and the (human rights) implications of this recent interaction.
Fatima’s research is critical and interdisciplinary, drawing on critical sociology, feminist international relations and critical race studies. Her articles have appeared in a number of prestigious and internationally recognised journals and have been cited by the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Fatima served as assistant editor for the Equal Rights Review and has acted as a peer-reviewer for the Child and Family Law Quarterly.
Further profile content
Featured publications
Professional projects
Fatima has been a researcher with a number of human rights organisations including the Security and Rights International and the Equal Rights Trust.
Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups
Media engagements
2020:
Securitising Childhood? Targeting Children in the Name of Counter-Terrorism is a Dangerous Pattern in Europe
Blog post
2019:
Shamima Begum: what could happen to her child if she returns to the UK, according to recent case law in family courts
Blog post
2019:
Shamima Begum: What could happen to her child if she returns to the UK, according to recent case law in family courts
Article
2018:
Should the law facilitate the removal of the children of terrorists and extremists from their care?
Blog post
Conferences and talks
2020:
Protecting Children? Thinking about ‘radicalisation’ and ‘exploitation
Talk at Kent Law School
2019:
The Radicalisation Cases in the Family Courts: A Critical Evaluation
Guest Talk at the Centre for Legal Studies, Oxford
2019:
Regulating Islam and the Muslim Family through the Family Courts: A Critical Evaluation of the Radicalisation Cases
Conference Paper at the LSE Religion Scholars Network
2019:
Gender, Counter-Terrorism and the Family in the UK: Narratives of Infantalisation and Demonisation
Conference Paper at SLSA Annual Conference
2018:
he Presence, Regulation and Securitisation of the (Muslim) Family in UK Counter-Terrorism: Recent Trends
Conference Paper at 12th Pan-European Conference on International Relations
2017:
The Interaction Between Family Law and Counter-Terrorism: The Radicalisation Cases in the Family Courts
Conference Paper at SLS Annual Conference
2015:
Crucifixes versus Hijabs: Asymmetrical Approaches to Religious Visibility in European Human Rights Law
Conference Paper at Law and Culture Annual Conference
Grants and awards
2019:
Modern Law Review
Scholarship
Research Supervision
I am willing to supervise LLM and PhD students in the following areas:
