Feminism ziba mirhosseini abstract islamic feminism has gained currency since the 1990s and has become the label for a new brand of feminist scholarship and activism that is associated with islam. A very short introduction alina isac alak university of bucharest, romania alina. It examines womens and mens social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, media studies, psychoanalysis, home economics, literature. The future of islamic feminism may see stronger social institutions and resources that support women and an end to the sugarcoating and apologetics, but most importantly, it may see a renaissance. Those who advocate that feminist projects be conducted within an islamic framework have clearly despaired of secular options for change without considering how have elaborated lilas argument against the possibility of the coexistence of islam and feminism because it explains the anxiety many. Perhaps no other social movement has wrought such profound changes in social morals and attitudes. Islamic feminism and its place within the rise of modern islam theorizing is then shown as a viable. Why feminism is awol on islam online political commentary. The attempts made to end the injustices done to women, particularly when these injustices are institutionalized, may be called womens movements.
This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in educationand employment. Dec 22, 20 a s a person who writes about womens issues, i am constantly being told that islam is the greatest threat to gender equality in this or any other country mostly by white men, who always know. Thats just a small sample of the responses i got on twitter last week when i said i was taking part in a panel discussion about islam and feminism. Islam vs feminism contemporary topics of islamic thought. No matter how much some western muslim women attempt to hijack the creed of feminism to suit their interests blurring the distinction between their islamic values a. The reality and future of islamic feminism afghanistan al. Contemporary islamic feminisms, already quite diverse, deconstruct preceding islamic interpretations, proposing more egalitarian rereadings and reconceptualizations. Legal and literary perspectives is the title of saudi scholar mai yamanis 1996 book comprising the essays of a substantial number of women scholars who are articulating an emerging islamic feminism.
The general perception towards the idea of islamic feminism is that islam is a repressive patriarchal religion, and thus, can never coexist with feminism, since. Islamic feminism in egypt is often associated with the flow of islamism. Talk explores role of islamic feminism the ithacan. Sexual revolution and liberation meant that sexual relations should be freed of the constraints associated with traditional christian virtue. Islam, gender, women group of the american academy of religion. Feminism, she goes on, is mistakenly identified in iran as. Feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of.
Such women have a high degree of tolerance for domestic violence and oppression of. If you are talking about the original feminism that consisted right for a woman to own her stuff when she is married right to vote right to work against wife beating then its ok, because islam allows all these things but modern day femin. In my opinion, there is no ideology more irreconcilable with feminism than islam. Veil and the male elite a feminist interpretation of womens rights in islam by, fatima mernissi. Abstract the discussion in the current debate primarily explores the major areas in islamic discourses that are criticized by scholars and critics. For feminism to accomplish its goal, major social, economic, political and cultural changes in our society must be made. But just as modern sociopolitical models in the muslim world after the colonial period began, in the 20th century, to shift from western models of society and government to islamic models, feminism in the muslim world began to take on islamic forms rather than imitating.
It was not about creating more divide between the sexes. The term islamic feminism began to surface in the 1990s in various global locations. An islamic sarsour style of feminism has to be shariacompliant in the if you cant beat em, join em mode. Dilemmas of islamic and secular feminists and feminisms1 by huma ahmedghosh2 abstract this paper explores ways in which a multifaceted understanding of islamic feminism can contribute to productive dialogue about the future of muslim women in both islamic and secular states. The reality and future of islamic feminism afghanistan. In other words, islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an islamic paradigm badran 2009, 242. Islamic feminism insists on full equality of women and men across the publicprivate spectrum secular feminists historically accepted the idea of equality in the public sphere and the notion of complementarianism in the private sphere.
It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. Thewhywas the beginning of an analysis of patriarchythat is, the power men had accorded themselves. Islamic feminism and feminist theory abstract western feminist theory has developed significantly from its early roots in the suffrage movement. Feminism is a powerful movement, but it has its limits. Feminism in malaysia a historical and present perspective of womens struggles in malaysia. It is a kneejerk response that shows at best ignorance and. They are not foils with which to bash islam or through which sympathetic westerners can congratulate themselves on their cultural superiority. When speaking of islamic feminism, one must take into account the meaning of the two words that make up this term. Islamic feminism argues that women may be heads of state, leaders of congregational prayer, judges, and muftis. As a school of thought, it is said to refer to moroccan sociologist fatema mernissi and. And if there is any reference or analysis to feminism, it is mixed with negative convictions sherkat 1993a.
Islamic feminism is defined by islamic scholars as being more radical than secular feminism and as being anchored within the discourse of islam with the quran as its central text. Islamic feminism the term islamic feminism was first used in the 1990s. Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. Islamic feminism is a relatively recent current of thought being developed by a transnational network of activists in widely contrasting sociopolitical contexts. From the religious right to feminist theology katsuhiro kohara introduction christianity is a religion that has always had a deep involvement with issues relating to women and religion.
It fragmented, became exclusive rather than inclusive. New age islam by bina shah february 20, 2017 ive been reading about australian youth activist yassmin abdelmagied we appeared on an australian show once together and her words to jacqui lambie on an australian broadcasting corporation abc television show that islam is to her the most feminist religion. Secular and religious convergences by margot badran. Feminism, fehm uh nihz uhm,3 is the belief that women should have economic political and social equality with men.
In recent times, islamic feminism has emerged as a challenge to patriarchy in muslim societies. A combination of islam and feminism has been advocated as a feminist discourse and practice. The debate over womens rights and islam is often politicized and riddled with stereotypes. Feminists in the west may fiddle while muslim women are burning, but in the muslim world itself there is a burgeoning movement to address the miserable predicament of the second sexwithout simply adopting a philosophy whose higher cultural products include sex and the city, rosie odonnell, and the powersuited female executive. Thats like saying you can be a ku klux klan member and an antifascist. Archived pdf from the original on 21 december 2018. Pdf veil and the male elite a feminist interpretation. The term feminism also refers to a political movement that works to gain such equality. These laws were especially discriminatory of married women. It was women of the christian world who started to insist that women should have equal rights to men. Islamic feminism is defined by islamic scholars as being more radical than secular feminism, and as being anchored within the discourse of islam with the quran as its central text. Mar 08, 2018 islamic feminism is a relatively recent current of thought being developed by a transnational network of activists in widely contrasting sociopolitical contexts. Woman in islam in the divine scheme of regulation of the relationship between men and women, islam has assigned a position of dignity and honour to woman. Muslim women vary in race, social class, culture, and as people, and may range considerably from those following islam in a typically conservative way to women with a more.
Compared to todays mainstream western feminism, islamic feminism is less discussed and less visible in feminist conversations. Iranian scholar ziba mirhosseini exposed the rise and use of the term islamic feminism by some women, as well as men, writing in the teheran womens journal. Islamic feminism and feminist theory by catherine williams. Sources of the tradition before engaging in any meaningful discussion of feminism in islam, it is useful to refer to the sources of the islamic tradition, since much confusion surrounds the use of the term islam. Thus began my lifelong love affair with islamic feminism. A s a person who writes about womens issues, i am constantly being told that islam is the greatest threat to gender equality in this or any other country mostly by white men, who always know. The most confusing thing for the nonmuslims particularly in the western world is the position of women in islam. Given the varieties of islam and feminisms that exist, a fixed. Feminism is a secular ideology and islam today rests on fundamentalist foundations. She writes that the long domination of patriarchy has led to a lack of awareness about feminism. Nor is it evident that those who first used it were aware of the explosive impact that the juxtaposition of these two words was to have. Feminism is a social movement whose goal is to do away with the subjugation of women in every way. To some extend muslim feminists are reluctant to even use the term feminism, as feminism in muslim context often is regarded as an extensive part of.
Feminism was supposed to be about gender equality, not about promoting and pushing the rights of women above and beyond those of men. Sep 07, 2016 if you are talking about the original feminism that consisted right for a woman to own her stuff when she is married right to vote right to work against wife beating then its ok, because islam allows all these things but modern day femin. Contextualizing equality of gender in islam kamran shahid. As such, it challenges both the more westerncentric conceptions. Islam, patriarchy, and feminism in the middle east margot badran the study of women in the middle east, now well into its second decade, has produced an impressive corpus of papers and periodical articles. Introduction feminism has radically altered western culture in the latter half of the twentieth century. Jul, 2017 an islamic sarsour style of feminism has to be shariacompliant in the if you cant beat em, join em mode. The success of transnational religious and feminist movements throughout the globe is simultaneously endorsing the tension between essentialised notions of islam and the west and directing the move towards reinterpreting modernity and redefining. Feminism distinguished from other womens movements women have been oppressed ever since the invention of human sin, and for nearly as long they have been engaged in the attempt to free themselves from oppression. Pdf islam, muslim feminism and womens rights in malaysia. The basic idea behind the feminism is that womens position in society is unequal to. Badran carefully balances attention to major thinkers and writers with her grasp of the issues feminists faced and addressed, along with the opponents and. Oct 02, 2017 feminism was supposed to be about gender equality, not about promoting and pushing the rights of women above and beyond those of men. According to western perspective feminism is a history of struggles for womens rights and freedoms and emphasizes that religion is one of the chief enemies of its progress.
Religion, inevitably, was to play a major role in this enterprise. The islamic traditionlike other major religious traditionsdoes not consist of, or derive from, a single source. Dilemmas of islamic and secular feminists and feminisms. Islam doesnt mandate the superiority of one sex over the other, but strives to achieve balance between the sexes. The term islamic feminism became popular in the 1990s, defining an emerging feminist paradigm by scholars including ziba mirhosseini, mai yamani, nilufer gole and shamima shaikh. It is in this context that questions about the possibility and desirability of islamic feminism arise. The first part is devoted to feminism in egypt, and the second traces the spread of feminism in the broader muslim world. Feminism ids bulletin volume 42 number 1 january 2011 beyond islam vs. Muslim women are not all victims, renegades or standardbearers for religious or cultural authenticity. Islamic feminism in postmodern egypt reclaiming women. Quotes tagged as islamicfeminism showing 12 of 2 if you ask muslim women why they cover up, ninetynine percent of them will say its to avoid arousing men. As it grew to encompass those women who were not white and middle class it was caught in the trap that ensnares most social movements. Feminism among muslim women, like feminism among nonmuslim women, is hugely varied and. Islamic feminism is a transnational movement that seeks to reinscribe questions of gender and womens rights into islamic thought and practice.
973 648 1170 1047 323 157 992 1209 1072 38 759 106 807 1043 855 660 1504 1386 1124 294 1039 1193 1082 91 1304 1450 856 1142 541 915 1265