Gendering Italian Pro-Islamic Policy in Ethiopia (1936-1941) through the prism of oral and visual sources

This paper explores the complex interplay of narrative and oral, written, and visual media on the Islamic Policy the Italian authorities claimed to pursue during the Ethiopian occupation (1936-1941). Adopting a gender perspective, it discusses the role of Sittī ʿAlawiyya, a leading Eritrean Muslim spokeswoman during the occupation. Special attention is paid to the contro-versial relations she established with the Fascist regime. Her memory is still alive in both Ethiopia and Eritrea, where she was considered a ‘queen without a crown’. In Harari oral tradition, her travels in Ethiopia were associated with the construction of mosques in her honour, such as those founded in the Harär region and in Addis Abäba. Through an analysis of oral, visual, and written evidences, this paper will shed light on local memories of a Mus-lim woman leader, her competence, and her public visibility in Ethiopia during the Italian occupation.