Beware the Bed of Fire: Gender, Democracy, and the Jama'at-i Islami in Bangladesh

Abstract

In recent electoral campaigns in Bangladesh, the Jama'at-i Islami or "party of Islam" has claimed that a vote in its favor is a vote in favor of God and Islam; yet, the party repeatedly has failed to find significant support among what is generally considered a pious Muslim population. The Jama'at has attributed its electoral losses to secularist conspiracies, arguing that without such negative propaganda the "god-fearing people" of the country naturally would vote for its candidates. Through a study of the strategies and ideology the Jama'at has employed in its bid to attract women voters, I assess the extent to which the Jama'at is responsible for its inability to achieve broader support. I conclude that despite its public rhetoric, such as its plans to alleviate poverty and safeguard women's interests, the Jama'at has failed to convince most impoverished, unlettered, village women that it represents their interests.

Female saints and the practice of Islam in Sylhet, Bangladesh

“…Shuli dresses modestly because it is Allah's command: She told us that women who failed to keep their heads covered would be punished on Judgment Day, when scorpions and snakes would bite their brains. Explanations that go beyond the conscious statements of informants interpret the burqa in Bangladesh as conferring high social status and economic security (Gardner 1995:218–219) and making women responsible for the containment of men's sexual passions (Shehabuddin 1999a). Wearing a burqa is polysemic and cannot be reduced to a single explanation.…”

Islamic piety against the family: from ‘traditional’ to ‘pure’ Islam

“…The JI is a politically oriented but also socially conservative religious movement founded in Lahore in the 1940s by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi . It is represented by religiously oriented political parties in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Kashmir (Nasr 1994;Ahmad 2005;Riaz 2004;Shehabuddin 1999Shehabuddin , 2008, and also by a variety of organisations in the UK. In Bangladesh, it has been part of coalition governments with the right-wing Bangladesh National Party, and as such has had a considerable influence on national politics.…”

Gender violence and development discourse in Bangladesh

“…There are other cases where men beat their wives in a tussle over the funds. The religious leaders of the village -the Mullahsare disgruntled about the decline of purdah or veil among women, particularly women who participate in NGO projects or work at jobs with men (Shahabuddin 1999). Always ready to wreak vengeance on this public outpouring of women, the salish or the group village leaders may suggest social boycott, lashes, or even stoning at the slightest pretext, depending on the crime that they allege.…”