Faith and Freedom: Women’s Human Rights in the Muslim WorldOver half a billion women live in the Muslim world. Despite the rich complexity of their social, cultural, and ethnic differences, they are often portrayed in monolithic terms. Such stereotyping, fueled by the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, has proved detrimental to Muslim women in their campaign for human rights. This book is the first detailed study to emphasize Muslim women's rights as human rights and to explore the existing patriarchal structures and processes that present women's human rights as contradictory to Islam. Academics and activists, most of whom live in the Muslim world, discuss the major issues facing women of the region as they enter the twenty-first century. They demonstrate how the cultural segregation of women, contradictory and conflicting legal codes, and the monopoly on the interpretation of religious texts held by a select group of male theologians, have resulted in domestic and political violence against women and the suppression of their rights. The contributors focus on ways and means of empowering Muslim women to participate in the general socialization process as well as in implementing and evaluating public policy. |
Contents
Introduction Mahnaz Afkhami | 1 |
Reflections on the Politics of Gender in Muslim | 19 |
Arab Womens Rights and the Muslim State in | 33 |
The Dichotomy Between Religious and Secular | 51 |
The Muted Voices of Women Interpreters | 61 |
The Role of Womens | 78 |
Rhetorical Strategies and Official Policies | 104 |
The Ambiguity of Sharia and the Politics | 135 |
Rape and Power in Pakistan | 161 |
They Insult Us and We Elect Them | 232 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activists Afghan agenda al-Ghazali Algerian women Algiers Amman apostasy Arab Benazir Bhutto CEDAW challenge conflict context cultural debate democracy democratic discourse discrimination against women divorce economic Egypt El Watan elections equal rights ethnic Faisal Fatima Mernissi feminist forces fundamentalist gender hadith hijab honor human rights husband Ibid ibn Baz identity interpretation interview Islamic Action Front Islamic law Islamist issues Jordan Jordanian liberal Living Under Muslim male Middle East modern Muslim countries Muslim Laws Muslim societies Muslim women Muslim world organizations Pakistan parliament participation personal status law policies political practices Qur'an rape reform refugee women regime religion religious reservations rights of women Saudi Arabia scholars secular shari'a law Shaykh Shi'a Sindh social status law strategies tion Toujan al-Faisal tradition Vatican veil violence Western woman women's equality women's groups women's human rights women's rights Zin al-Din