Feminism, Secularism, and the (Im)Possibilities of an Islamic Feminism
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Date
2020-02-27
Authors
Akbar Akhgari, Paria
Journal Title
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This project considers attempts by scholars from within as well as outside Muslim countries to analyze gender and sex equality with a new approach that brings Islam and feminism into one discourse, often called “Islamic feminism.” I will specifically consider works that find Islamic feminism to be a viable solution for advancing the situation of women in Muslim majority countries. My project will challenge the assumption of such works and argue for maintaining a critical space between Islam and feminism, by undertaking a phenomenological study of Muslim women’s lived experience of embodiment, space, and time to offer new insights regarding how specific aspects and practices of Islam and Muslim societies constitute these experiences, with a focus on those that are experienced as oppressive. By having to conform to oppressive treatments of their bodies, by having to live in a world that limits their freedom, and by having to associate with a past and ideals they feel disconnected from, many women (and men) living in Muslim countries are alienated from themselves. This has created a crisis of identity for many women living in Muslim countries. The experiences discussed in this project point to fundamental power structures that perpetuate oppression in Muslim societies, and by not challenging these structures, Islamic feminism provides a merely reactionary response to the problem.