This concept originated with the irish activist frances power cobbein 1884 who shared that movements resemble the tides of the ocean, where each wave obeys one more uniform impetus, and carries the waters onward and upward along the. For example, the most important historiographical source for the origins of islam is the work of altabari. No feminist movement can relate to western feminism because of the way feminists formed their groups. It may include, for instance, earlier authors who did not selfidentify as feminists but have been claimed to have furthered feminist consciousness by a resistance of. Feminist muslim scholars, such as amina wadud and kecia ali, are inevitably situated in conversations on islam and women that are historically entrenched within discourses of power. Islamic feminism gave paramount attention to the islamic modernist strand of secular feminism and, through engaging in new quranic hermeneutic work, articulated an islamic doctrine of the full.
One of the most striking consequences of the contemporary rise of political islam islamism is that it has provided a space in which. Suffering of women created the concept of feminism as a gender based political and social movement. While altabari is considered an excellent historian by the standards of his time and place, he made liberal use of mythical, legendary, stereotyped, distorted, and polemical presentations of. Islamic feminism the term islamic feminism was first used in the 1990s. Janette hassey is professor in church history at asian theological seminary, manila, the philippines, and author of no time for silence. Islamic feminists attempt to counter historical patriarchal interpretations of islamic theology and liturgy, and to reclaim womanhood, gender, and sexuality within islam s sacred texts. Pdf understanding islam, islamism, and islamic feminism. Muslim states provide for equal rights between women and men. By doing so i hope to place at their disposal, a reference which can be used as a guide to dissipate any confusion, answer their questions and help erase any remaining doubts. The study of the earliest periods in islamic history is made difficult by a lack of sources.
The impact of islam as a religion and muslim women on gender equality. The social science scholarship most familiar to the west about. An islamic feminism pigeksplikar kan mga iskolar bilang radikal asin sekular na feminismo. Conferences bringing people together in facetoface encounters form an integral part of the history of islamic feminism and are intimately involved in the shaping and transmitting of islamic feminist discourse and activist work. Islamic feminism dealing with problematic gender thinking and practices checks and rereads religious texts, and offers clarifications in favor of an egalitarian reading and practice of islam.
The reality and future of islamic feminism afghanistan. During recent times, the concept of islamic feminism has grown further with islamic groups looking to garner support from many aspects of society. I want to reassure women, using quranic references and clear argumentation that islam is the only religion that truly cares about. Islam vs feminism contemporary topics of islamic thought. Patriarchy comes in various shapes and affects women as they grow.
The term feminism has a history in english linked with womens activism from the late 19th century to the present, it is useful to distinguish feminist ideas or beliefs from feminist political movements, for even in periods where there has been no. The connection of feminism, islam, and class is explored by juan ricardo cole in feminism, class, and islam in turnofthe century egypt international journal of middle east studies, xiii, 1981, 397407. A combination of islam and feminism has been advocated as a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an islamic paradigm by margot badran in. In the following article i will very briefly outline some of the main determinations of this complex contemporary phenomenon islamic feminism s. Moghadam journal of womens history, volume, number 1, spring 2001, pp. Feminism began to establish itself in areas outside the west through is use by colonial powers to undermine local culture in the areas under their control, and although it has met with some resistance, particularly among muslims, there continues to be a great deal of confusion about what feminism is, about its goals, history and branches. Afteralongpe riodwhenfeministdebatehasbeenmainlyconfinedtoweb. Understanding islam, islamism, and islamic feminism.
These projects, which have been loosely termed as islamic feminism, are undertaken by muslim women scholars from different countries who are committed to. Western feminism is grounded in western values, thought, and ideology and those values differ from those of islam and arab tradition. An islamic feminism is arguably an inherently culturally competent one, since islam in general is a deeply diverse tradition and allows for flexibility depending on contextual realities, so long. Evangelical women in public ministry around the turn of the century zondervan, 1987. Secular feminists reject it because they argue religion generally and. 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. Pdf an analysis of the concept of the theory of feminism. Islamic political thoughtislamic feminism historical. Islam, feminism, and islamic feminism 27 with badran, and eventual unwilling association with feminism. Understanding islam, islamism, and islamic feminism margot badran b ronwyn winters ambitious piece which covers wide ground reminds us of the challenges involved in debating and analyzing the complexities of gender, islam, islamism, fundamentalism, and feminism. 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. This is a list of important participants in muslim feminism, originally sorted by surname within each period. Islamic family law, which addresses marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, has long been a target for reform.
In particular, this school of thought asserted the right to engage in interpretation ijtihad that promoted gender equality, new roles for women in religious ritual and. They identify the existence of inequalities between the sexes in a community. Islamic feminism is a relatively recent current of thought being developed by a transnational network of activists in widely contrasting sociopolitical contexts. The impact of islam as a religion and muslim women on. The economy of a debate andnew fields of research stephanie latte abdallah in the intellectual and academic circles of the 1990s, the expression islamic feminism simultaneously came into use in a number of different places around the globe. Kabaing igdi an mga diskurso sa islam na yaon man sa quran bilang sentral kaining teksto. History, sisters in islam, a model of quranic hermeneutics, islamic perspective introduction in general, the word feminism is associated with women who act, talk and write about womens issues and rights. The iranian revolution past, present and future glittering achievements, the sassanid empire was characterised by extreme oppression of the downtrodden masses. Women have been suffering since the beginning of the history because of patriarchal order. Islamic feminists vary in their ideologies and the identity is not always seamless.
The three waves of feminism the history of feminism is often described in three temporal waves. Unlike secular feminism, which in the muslim world primarily surfaced in the context of social movements. It fragmented, became exclusive rather than inclusive. Islamic feminism and feminist theory abstract western feminist theory has developed significantly from its early roots in the suffrage movement. Pdf islam, muslim feminism and womens rights in malaysia. When speaking of islamic feminism, one must take into account the meaning of the two words that make up this term. Islam in particular is oppressive to women2 and many muslim women reject it because they.
Iranian islamic feminism and the ways in which it differs from the secular feminism dominated by women from the modern and upper middle classes. Feminism is a secular ideology and islam today rests on fundamentalist foundations. Some people do use the arguments of islamic feminism to defend islam from attacks relating to women and gender. I would like to take winters article as an invitation to enter into debate. For additional information about this article access provided at 7 apr 2020 09.
Muslim women focuses disproportionately on the middle east and north africa region. Islamic system, others import them and use them as such, sometimes even from a secular perspective. The sectarian differences in the belief and practice of islam, particularly. To recognize the influence of national, political, and social contexts, particularly nationalism and imperialism, on islamic feminism. Gender, culture, and history women and the state in early malay history adat and islam as ideology and social organization women in party politics, voluntary movements, and the formal construction. Women in almost every muslim society have placed issues of womens rights firmly at the heart of their societies politics. At the same time, conferences help consolidate transnational islamic feminist networks and cement relationships. Modern islamic feminists such as riffat hassan, amina wadud and asma barlas seek to. Umaima abu bakr, a professor of english literature and one of the founders of islamic feminism in egypt, says. 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. 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.
All women, whether or not they are living in religious societies exist in patriarchal realities. The discourse on islamic feminism has generated a language that many young women in the muslim world are able to draw upon while challenging patriarchal. A brief history of christian feminism janette hassey, 1989. Ideology,action,andreform camillepaglia f eminismisback inthenews. Pdf this essay argues for maintaining a critical space between two intellectual paradigms that inform muslim womens anticolonial equality. Feminism, a belief in the political, economic and cultural equality of women, has roots in the earliest eras of human civilization. However, islamic family law as variously manifested in muslim nations poses obstacles to womens equality.