Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2019, 20 (2): 108-122 | DOI: 10.13060/25706578.2019.20.2.486

The Challenges of Islamic Feminism

Ziba Mir-Hosseini
Professorial Research Associate at the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, SOAS, University of London.

By the early 1990s there were clear signs of the emergence of a new gender discourse that came to be labelled ‘Islamic feminism’. In this paper, I first set this new discourse against the backdrop of the global and local politics of Islam and gender in the latter part of the 20th century. Then I introduce the work of feminist scholar-activists who argue for equality and justice from inside the Muslim tradition, outline how they seek to change the terms of traditional Islamic discourses on gender, and consider their prospects of success. I shall focus on Musawah (www.musawah.org), a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family.

Keywords: Islam, Islamic feminism, family law, Musawah

Published: December 30, 2019Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 2019. "The Challenges of Islamic Feminism." Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 20(2):108-122.
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Abou Bakr, O. 2015. 'Interpretive Legacy of Qiwamah as Exegetical Construct.' Pp. 44-64 in Mir-Hosseini, Z., Al-Sharmani, M., Ruminger, J. (eds.). Men in Charge? Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition. London: Oneworld.
    2. Abu-Lughod, L. 2002. 'Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.' American Anthropologist, Vol. 104, No. 3: 783-790. Go to original source...
    3. Ahmed, L. 1984. 'Early Feminist Movements in the Middle East: Turkey and Egypt.' In Hussain, F. (ed.). Muslim Women. London: Croom Helm.
    4. Ahmed, L. 1992. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. New Haven: Yale University Press.
    5. Ali, K. 2003. 'Muslim Sexual Ethics: Understanding a Difficult Verse, Qur'an 4: 34.' [online]. [cit. 23/2/2003]. Available from: http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/muslim/diff-verse.html.
    6. Anwar, Z. (ed). 2009. Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. Kuala Lumpur: Sisters in Islam. Available from: http://www.musawah.org/resources/wanted-equalityandjustice-in-the-muslim-family-en/.
    7. Hoodfar, H. 1997. 'The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women.' Pp. 248-279 in Lloyd, D., Lowe, L. (eds.). Other Circuits: Intersection of Exchange in World Theory and Practice. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Go to original source...
    8. Hoodfar, H. 2003. 'More Than Clothing: Veiling as an Adaptive Strategy.' Pp. 3-40 in Alvi, S., Hoodfar, H., McDonough, S. (eds.). The Muslim Veil in North America: Issues and Debates. Toronto: Women's Press.
    9. Kurzman, C. 1998. Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    10. Lamrabet, A. 2015. 'An Egalitarian Reading of the Concepts of "Khilafah", "Wilayah" and "Qiwamah".' Pp. 65-87 in Mir-Hosseini, Z., Al-Sharmani, M., Ruminger, J. (eds.). Men in Charge? Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition. London: Oneworld.
    11. Masud, M. K. 2013. 'Gender Equality and the Doctrine of Wilaya'. Pp. 127-154 in Mir- Hosseini, Z., Vogt, K., Larsen, L., Moe, C. (eds.). Gender and Equality in Muslim Family Law: Justice and Ethics in the Islamic Legal Tradition. London: I. B. Tauris. Go to original source...
    12. Mernissi, F. 1991. Women and Islam: An Historical and Theological Enquiry. Oxford: Blackwell.
    13. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 1996. 'Stretching the Limits: a Feminist Reading of the Shari'a in Post- Khomeini Iran.' Pp. 285-319 in Yamani, M. (ed.). Islam and Feminism: Legal and Literary Perspectives. London: Ithaca Press.
    14. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2003. 'The Construction of Gender in Islamic Legal Thought: Strategies for Reform.' Hawwa: Journal of Women in the Middle East and the Islamic World, Vol. 1, No. 1: 1-28.
    15. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2006. 'Muslim Women's Quest for Equality: Between Islamic Law and Feminism.' Critical Inquiry, Vol. 32, No. 4: 629-645. Go to original source...
    16. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2009. 'Towards Gender Equality: Muslim Family Laws and the Shari'a.' Pp. 23-63 in Anwar, Z. (ed.). Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. Kuala Lumpur: Musawah: An Initiative of Sisters of Islam. Available from: http://www.musawah.org/wanted-equality-and-justice-muslim-family-english.
    17. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2011a. 'Beyond "Islam" vs "Feminism".' Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, Vol. 42, No. 1: 67-77. Go to original source...
    18. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2011b. 'Hijab and Choice: Between Politics and Theology.' Pp. 190-212 in Kamrava, M. (ed.). Innovation in Islam: Traditions and Contributions. Berkeley: University of California Press.
    19. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2012. 'Women in Search of Common Ground: Between Islamic and International Human Rights Laws'. Pp. 291-303 in Emon, M. A., Ellis, M. S., Glahn, B. (eds.). Islamic Law and International Human Rights Law: Searching for Common Ground? Oxford: Oxford University Press. Go to original source...
    20. Mir-Hosseini, Z. 2016. 'Moral Contestations and Patriarchal Ethics: Women Challenging the Justice of Muslim Family Laws'. Pp. 62-82 in Heffner, R. (ed.). Shari'a and Islamic Ethics in Transition, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
    21. Mir-Hosseini, Z., Al-Sharmani, M., Rumminger, J. (eds.). 2015. Men in charge? Rethinking Male Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition. London: OneWorld.
    22. Said, E. 1978. Orientalism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
    23. Scott, J. W. 2007. The Politics of the Veil. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    24. Spellberg, D. 1991. 'Political Action and Public Example: 'Aisha and the Battle of the Camel.' Pp. 45-57 in Baron, B., Keddie, N. (eds.). Women in Middle Eastern History: Shifting Boundaries of Sex and Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press.
    25. Stowasser, B. 1993. 'Women's Issues in Modern Islamic Thought.' Pp. 3-28 in Tucker, J. E. (ed.). Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
    26. Zangana, H. 2004. 'Quiet, or I'll Call Democracy.' The Guardian, 22 December 2004. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/22/iraq.gender.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content