First Palestinian Woman to Receive PhD in Constitutional Law from Lancaster

Sanaa won An-Najah university full scholarship to study an LLM in Durham University after ranking top in her class at An-Najah. After a fine performance in her LLM she again won an An-Najah full scholarship to study a PhD in constitutional Law at Lancaster University. Sanaa’s thesis entitled  ‘Once powers are concentrated, are they likely to remain so? An analysis of the Palestinian Basic Law in light of Constitutionalism theory’ discusses what type of constitution the future Palestinian state should draft and adopt.

Sanaa is also the only female doctor teaching law at An-Najah University Law School currently.  She was an active member of Graduate College where she worked as an Assistant Dean of the College for three years and she helped to create the new cafe which is the latest academic addition from Graduate College to the PhD community. She is an active member in TAM, an NGO that intends to change the stereotypical image of the Palestinian women in the Media. Previously, she worked as a TV presenter in Al Fajer TV local station. Her social and political talk show 'Tam Time' was screened on the Palestinian National TV for two years.  Sanaa also helped in producing several documentary movies that focus on the protection of social rights. After working with TAM for 11 years, Sanaa was elected recently as the chairwoman of TAM, which makes her the first female chairwoman under 30 to run an NGO in Palestine.

Sanaa was the Palestinian fellow in the 1325 fellowship which is the first fellowship established by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon launched in Scotland and hosted by Beyond Borders in August 2016.   This is an initiative training women in prevention and resolution of conflict and highlights the need for women to play an equal role in promoting peace and security in conflict affected areas.