Mobilizing Muslim Women: Multiple Voices, the Sharia, and the State

Abstract

C o m p a r a t i v e S t u d i e s o f S o u t h A s i a , A f r i c a a n d t h e M i d d l e E a s t V o l . 2 8 , N o . 1 , 2 0 0 8 d o i 1 0 .1 2 1 5 / 1 0 8 9 2 0 1 x -2 0 0 7 -0 6 5 © 2 0 0 8 b y D u k e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s 2 0 0 Mobilizing Muslim Women: Multiple Voices, the Sharia, and the State 1. Craig Calhoun, ed., Social Theory and the Politics of Identity

Women’s Agency in Gender‐Traditional Religions: A Review of Four Approaches

“…Research on women's involvement in gender-traditional religions frequently reproduces this notion of agency by focusing on instances when women challenge or attempt to change religious beliefs A Pentecostal woman who feels empowered by God's love, when her own father abandoned her as a child (Griffith 1997 Mormon women who view acts of submission as necessary to become goddesses in heaven after death (Hoyt 2007). and practices (Arthur 1998;Bayes and Tohidi 2001;Brink and Mencher 1997;Gerami and Lehnerer 2001;Hartman 2007;Katzenstein 1998;Salime 2008;Weaver 1995). Women's non-compliance has been documented for many gender-traditional faiths.…”

“…In addition to research on women involved in Christian religions, there is a large body of popular and academic literature on Muslim women's resistance to gender-traditional Islam. Scholars studying Muslim women's groups document the ways in which these groups gain visibility within their communities, including how they encourage women to pursue higher education and professional careers, and advocate for women's civil rights related to divorce, alimony, and child custody laws (Bayes and Tohidi 2001; Salime 2008). Accounts of Muslim women in the Middle East refusing to veil were popularized after 9 ⁄ 11.…”

“…Resistance agency focuses on the agency of women participating in gender‐traditional religions who attempt to challenge or change some aspect of the religion (see Arthur 1998; Bayes and Tohidi 2001; Brink and Mencher 1997; Gerami and Lehnerer 2001; Hartman 2007; Katzenstein 1998; Salime 2008; Weaver 1995). The empowerment agency approach focuses on how women participating in gender‐traditional religions reinterpret religious doctrine or practices in ways that make them feel empowered in their everyday life (see Beaman 2001; Brasher 1998; Brink and Mencher 1997; Elson 2007; Franks 2001; Griffith 1997; Ozorak 1996; Pevey et al.…”

“…2005). Research on women’s involvement in gender‐traditional religions frequently reproduces this notion of agency by focusing on instances when women challenge or attempt to change religious beliefs and practices (Arthur 1998; Bayes and Tohidi 2001; Brink and Mencher 1997; Gerami and Lehnerer 2001; Hartman 2007; Katzenstein 1998; Salime 2008; Weaver 1995).…”

Listening to Marginalized Women's Expressions of Anger (A Communication Study on the Use of Women's Language for Resistance in the Prostitution Boarding Quarter at Sunan Kuning, Semarang)

“…There were several previous studies that focused on the emergence of marginalized women's language or voices. A research conducted by Zakia Salime in 2008, for example, suggested that the veil can be used as a way to communicate the resistance to materialistic values and the objectification of women's bodies [5]. Ziba MirHosseini's research, on the other hand, focused on Muslim women's quest for equality of power.…”