Marina de Regt

Marina de Regt is an Associate Professor and Programme Director in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on gender, migration, labor, and development in the Middle East and Horn of Africa, particularly Yemen and Ethiopia. She holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam (2003) and has conducted extensive fieldwork on topics including migrant domestic workers, adolescent migration, and early marriage among Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Her academic career includes fellowships at Humboldt University (2011/2012) and multiple research grants from WOTRO and the Swiss Network for International Studies. Key publications include Pioneers or Pawns: Women Health Workers and the Politics of Development in Yemen (2007), co-edited volumes on migrant domestic workers (2014) and adolescent migration (2019), and award-winning films like 2 Girls (2016).

De Regt teaches courses on identity, gender, and theoretical anthropology while leading projects addressing Yemeni-African descent communities and Syrian refugee youth. She co-founded the Jemencast podcast and the website Lives in Perspective, emphasizing accessible knowledge dissemination. Her work engages feminist methodologies, focusing on friendship as ethnographic practice and participatory research approaches.

• Research Grants: WOTRO (2004–2006, 2017–2020), Swiss Network (2014–2016), Humboldt Fellowship (2011/2012)
• Key Projects: Syrian Refugee Youth in Jordan (2017–2020), Yemeni Muwalladeen Study (2021), Adolescent Girls Migration in Ethiopia (2014–2016)
• Awards: 2016 award for documentary 2 Girls

Her recent work addresses Yemen’s civil war impacts on marginalized communities, including Muwaladeen groups, and explores decolonial feminist ethics in fieldwork. She actively bridges academic research with public engagement through film, podcasts, and policy-oriented outputs.