For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222
Call 1-800-351-0222
ISLAMIC FEMINISM.
Term Paper ID:29641
Essay Subject:
Discusses the role of women in Islamic societies.... More...
9 Pages / 2025 Words
13 sources, 28 Citations,
APA Format
$36.00
More Papers on This Topic
Paper Abstract:
Discusses the role of women in Islamic societies. Modifications of traditional role within the family unit brought about by social and cultural events and changes. Describes how specific social changes affected the Islamic religion and its practices and teachings with respect to women. Religious values in the Qur'an. Differences between Islamic and Western feminist goals.
Paper Introduction:
Islam, Women and Feminism
Islam, like any other great religion, has always been
subject to modification fostered by social and cultural events
and changes. One area in which Islam as a religious institution
has been changed or shaped by recent social events and currents is with respect to the role of women within the family unit, the
religion itself and society at large. Feminism among Islamic women, even in highly conservative and traditional (and fundamentalist) societies such as those of Iran and Afghanistan, has been increasing as women move to obtain the vote, the right to work, to hold public office, and to acquire control of their lives, property and children (Armstrong, 2000: Walther, 1995) This brief essay will describe these social changes and their effect upon the Isla
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
(1991). This suggests that the religious alternativeto secular political structures may be ill-suited to the modern world(Congressional Quarterly, 1991; Kurtz, 2 2). Islam has traditionally proclaimed the divine pattern offamily relations as consisting of the cohabitation of men andwomen, for the purpose of reproduction, under the law; theCreator, according to the Qur'an, constituted humanity into menand women, established mutual affection between them, and prepared them tofind quiescence and love in each other (Qur'an 31:21, quoted in Faruqi &Faruqi, 1986, p. For many Islamic women, especiallythose in extremely conservative and patriarchal societies such asAfghanistan (even absent the Taliban), the right to be free of the fear ofrape, forced marriage as early as age 9, and loss of control of childrenafter a divorce are important issues. Tohidi (2 2) agrees, and notesthat the feminist agenda of Islamic women in Iran and Afghanistan has beenfocused not so much on the goals of the Western women's movement, but onwhat may be more basic rights (such as the right to vote and to control thedisposition of their own bodies).). (1986). It is interesting that in idealized Islam, tradition holdsthat religious men and leaders, those of the 'ulama, should notlink themselves too closely with the government of the world andthat they should keep a certain distance from that world whilepreserving access to secular leaders and exerting their influenceon them (Hourani, 1991). The Islamic revolution in Iran under Khomeini and the MoslemBrotherhood in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and other parts of theIslamic world are the best-known fundamentalist movements (CongressionalQuarterly, 1991). 15 ). Educational access and the right towork autonomously are also important issues in this context. The Cultural Atlas of Islam. The reformmovements that centered upon women in the Middle East have had asignificant impact upon society and culture, but not upon religion per se.In Turkey, however, this movement has resulted in the abolishing of thereligious courts and their laws in the shari'a, and the creation of a civilcode that is more liberal with respect to the treatment and status ofreligion (Walther, 1995). The idealized Muslim woman, particularly in the more conservativeMiddle Eastern countries, is envisioned as focusing her efforts andinterests on the family, its home, her children, and their lives (Al-Farsy,199 ). Other criticshave argued that while the power of the Islamic fundamentalist movementcannot be overlooked, this "back-to-the-roots" movement was largely aresponse to local circumstances and political crises and not a spontaneousrebirth of a messianic nature. 149). The global-local intersection of feminism in Muslim societies: The cases of Iran and Azerbaijan. (1989). History of the Arab Peoples. The growing ranks ofShi'ite fundamentalists in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia are regarded by someanalysts as a potential force that may inhibit urbanization andmodernization in these countries (Kurtz, 2 2; Ryan, 1984). (2 2). Tohidi (2 2) and Kurtz (2 2) caution Westerners that Islamicfeminism is divergent from Western feminism in many ways. Tohidi (2 2)suggested that in Islam, feminism is often equated with fundamentalistrevolutionary movements such as that which took place in Iran in the 197 s;however, the Islamist regime that replaced the Shah began its reign withforced sex segregation and attacks on the freedoms and rights of people,which especially affected women. Mernissi (1987), for example, notes thatuntil relatively recently, Islamic women (particularly those who are"unveiled" or who have rejected the wearing of the jilbah) have beenisolated within their families and homes, prohibited from pursuingeducation or careers, and not regarded as a factor in political or publiclife in Islamic countries. Renewed andrevitalized religious fundamentalism represents, in this region, a responseto external and internal forces that are driving toward modernization andchange; it is particularly a response to the perceived dangers ofWesternization. Social Research, 69 (3), 851 - 887. Theyactively seek anreturn to Islamic orthodoxy and Puritanism as the path to salvation andemancipation from internal disarray and externalthreats. Kurtz (2 2)makes it clear that Islamic feminists are as devoted to Islam as the mostconservative members of the Taliban. Beyond The Veil. Now, the hard part. Dehghampisheh (2 2) noted that cruelty toward women - and thetreatment of women as virtual slaves in many Islamic countries - maysupercede concerns among feminists regarding political participation and soforth. New York: The Modern Library.Congressional Quarterly. (1987). Islamic feminism is therefore not the equivalent ofits Western counterpart. What they seek is not the duplicationof Western feminism, but a uniquely Islamic interpretation of women'srights and status based on the tenets of the Qur'an. (1982). One area in which Islam as a religious institutionhas been changed or shaped by recent social events and currents is withrespect to the role of women within the family unit, thereligion itself and society at large. New York: Macmillian.Hourani, A. According to analysts, Islam "regards men and women as absolutelyequal in their religious and civil duties, although it does not understandthis equality as implying equivalence of natural capacities and talents, oras identity of roles. Divorce rights, including the right to retain custody ofchildren and to choose divorce in the first place, are important feministissues for most Islamic women. The Veil and the Male Elite. Many feminists in Islamic societies, says Armstrong (2 ), see suchsuperficially (in their view) repressive requirements as veiling in publicto be both a source of protection and an affirmation of a purely Islamicunderstanding of feminism. Over time, says Tohidi (2 2), theposition of women in Iran has improved. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Middle East. In other words, for some Islamic feminists, thewearing of the veil is less meaningful than the other restrictions thatimpact upon their capacity to participate freely in public life, ineducation, and in professional activities (Armstrong, 2 ). Mernissi (1987) believes that the Islamic Woman's Movement isdisturbing to Islamic religious and political leaders not so much becauseit challenges the past, but rather because it threatens the future andcreates new social and religious conflicts that must be dealt with. Islamic fundamentalism: A questionable concept. New York: Quadrangle.Tohidi, N. At the same time that a call for social and religious reformin the treatment and status of women has come to the forefront inmany Islamic nations, a new and vigorous fundamentalism has alsoemerged. Feminism among Islamic women, even inhighly conservative and traditional (and fundamentalist) societies such asthose of Iran and Afghanistan, has been increasing as women move to obtainthe vote, the right to work, to hold public office, and to acquire controlof their lives, property and children (Armstrong, 2 : Walther, 1995) Thisbrief essay will describe these social changes and their effect upon theIslamic religion and its practices and teachings with respect to theposition and emergent feminism of women, focusing on Islamic feminism inits various manifestations. Newsweek International, October 14, 4 +.Faruqi, I., & Faruqi, L. Islam's view, therefore, is one of equality, notequivalence (Faruqi & Faruqi, 1986, p. This is a fact thatis often overlooked in Western assessments of Islamic feminism, which doesnot deny or reject the idealized vision of women as revealed by Allah tothe Prophet Mohammed. Women in many Islamic societies are still regarded as thedisposable property of their fathers, husbands, or other close malerelatives. Cambridge: Cambridge PressRyan, P. Islam, it has been noted, is a basically traditional andconservative system; it embodies an innate reaction against therapidity of change and a desire to re-establish the ideal societybelieved to have existed in the early days of Islam when judgeswere also religious leaders and courts were not secular in natureor composition (Hourani, 1991; Mernissi, 1987, 1989; Mostyn & Hourani,1988). National Review, 54 (1), 1+.Mernissi, F. Each of these groups, with regional or nationalvariations, share a common goal: the return of the Moslem and Arab statesto a fundamental religious system which includes religious control over thecourts, the government, the military, and the life of the people. America, 151, 437 - 44 .Shimoni, Y., & Levine, E. Fundamental Islam, as a major force for both social and politicalchange, is becoming more and more significant in this region. London: Kegan Paul.Armstrong, K. Most Islamicfeminists do not seek the same goals and objectives that have dominatedWestern feminism for several decades. The Middle East. (199 ). Amongthose conflicts she lists the following: the inescapability ofrenegotiating new sexual, political, economic, and cultural boundaries,thresholds, and limits (Mernissi, 1987). (2 2). In the more democratized countries of theIslamic world - such as Turkey - shar'ia laws permitting polygamy are beingrevised and even eliminated; however, in most Islamic countries a male'sright to multiple wives and his privilege of divorcing any wife for anycause remains unchallenged, whereas women's rights regarding marriage areseverely truncated in comparison. ReferencesAl-Farsy, F. The challenges to Islamic traditions offered by the developing Islamicwomen's movement are of enormous social and religious significance.According to some analysts, since the 195 s a number of rapid changes inthe civic and political rights of Islamic women have taken place; women areformally (if notpractically) equal with respect to civic rights in all MiddleEastern countries except Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and thePersian Gulf and Yemen (Shimoni & Levine, 1982; Walther, 1995). (1991). Islam. Allcurrent debates regarding the correct status for women in Islam, whetherfocused on natural rights or political equality or personal status codes,still tend to take place within the context of Islam as a religious andsocial force and tradition (Armstrong, 2 ; Mostyn & Hourani, 1988;Tohido, 2 2). Islam, Women and Feminism Islam, like any other great religion, has always beensubject to modification fostered by social and cultural eventsand changes. New York: Addison Wesley.Mostyn, T., & Hourani, A. They are now allowed to vote and,while veiled, are moving toward greater political equality. Fundamentalists argue, with varying degrees of success, that theloosening of family and community ties by modernization, urbanization andWesternization can and should be countered by recreating the Islamic umma.Conservative and highly religious Muslim groups are tacitly and overtlyencouraged by several governments (such as those in Iran, Saudi Arabia andKuwait) to offset these social forces. (2 2). The Shi'itetakeover in Iran and the ousting of the Shah and replacement of hismodernization efforts by a return to traditional Islamic society, is justone example in this area (Mernissi, 1987, 1989). In Saudi Arabia and other extremely conservativeIslamic nations, few significant reforms have been introduced in the recentpast and no efforts to relate such reforms as were instituted to Muslim lawto practical applications (Shimoni & Levine, 1982; Walther, 1995). With the funds supplied to suchgroups, financial incentives are often given to those who choose to livestrict religious and personal lives; women, for example, who retain theveil are often provided with such incentives, and people who have fewdemocratic outlets (such as parliaments and political parties) often turnto religious expression (Kurtz, 2 2). Both the Islamic women's movement and the religiousfundamentalist movements, however, have had asignificant impact upon the Islamic religion. This report has examined the feminism of Islamic women. (1984). Islam regardsmarriage as that state of being in which men and women findcontentment and perfection; further, marriage is regarded asproviding legitimacy to children, protection and security forwomen and a center of life to men (Faruqi & Faruqi, 1986).Islamic religious leaders have argued, based upon their reading ofScripture, that Islam accords special status to women and gives to womenfull legal status, the right to own and control property and dispose ofincome, the right of retaining her own name, and the capability ofdivorcing a husband in specific cases when his actions have provided justcause. Their appeal has struck a cord among sectors of theIslamic population that normally shunned fundamentalist approaches, such asthe university students in Egypt and the middle class in Iran. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.Dehghanpisheh, B. (2 ). (1988). Veil of fears: Why they veil. J. Modernity and Tradition: The Saudi Equation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Kurtz, S. In the case of thelatter, new roles for women and new rights for women have becomeliked to the traditions of individual and social justice presented in theQur'an; in the latter case, fundamentalists exert enormous power andauthority in many Middle Eastern national governments. Iran, under Khomeini and his successors, hasdemonstrated that a religiously run regime can be as repressive as asecularly run regime; in the case of Iran, given its antiquated world view,it is no likely to be capable of managing a complex, decentralized andrapidly changing Middle East. According to many modern Islamic women, including FatimaMernissi (1987), Islamic culture, tradition and society have not alwaysreflected the religious values expressed in the Qur'an with respect to thestatus and treatment of women. The Irani experiment notwithstanding,most modern Islamic countries do work to preserve this distancewhile maintaining religious traditions and values as the cornerstone oftheir societies. As women across the globe have sought liberationfrom customs and traditions, both religious and secular, that have renderedthem dependent upon males and, within society itself, second-classcitizens, Islamic women have also begun to question the religious andcultural traditions with which they have lived and are demandingexplanations of why shari'a law has become so divergent from the views ofthe Prophet Mohammed as expressed in the Qur'an (Mernissi, 1987; Tohidi,2 2). Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.Mernissi, F. A Political Dictionary of the Middle East.
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
We can write a Custom Essay just for you.
Browse Essays by Subject