Hosseini independent consultant, researcher and writer on middle eastern issues, based at the london middle east institute and the centre for middle eastern and islamic law, both at soas, university of london. Iranian scholar ziba mirhosseini exposed the rise and use of the term islamic feminism by some women, as well as men, writing in the teheran womens journal. The american university in cairo school of global affairs. Islamic feminism is defined by islamic scholars as being more radical than secular feminism, and as being anchored within the discourse of islam with the quran as its central text. Through a series of lively interviews with clerics in the iranian religious centre of qom, ziba mirhosseini explores the issue of gender with islamic jurisprudence and examines how clerics today perpetuate and modify these notions. The group includes shahla sherkat, ziba mirhosseini, afsaneh najmabadi and val moghadam, as well as a number of. Books on islamic feminism freedom from the forbidden. Islam and gender in the thought of a criticalprogressive.
Abstract islamic feminism has gained currency since the 1990s and has become the label for a new brand of feminist scholarship and activism. Following the islamic revolution of 1979 and the reintroduction of. More palatable to muslim women is an islamic feminist movement that seeks to marginalize cultural and tribal influence and grant women rights guaranteed in the quran. Iranian scholar ziba mirhosseini exposed the rise and use of the term islamic feminism by some women, as well as men, writing in the teheran. Between islamic law and feminism, critical inquiry 32, summer 2006, pp. This disjunction is a central problem that permeates debates and struggles for an. Challenges and complicities ziba mirhosseini in iran at the beginning of the twentyfirst century, the woman question masalehyezan continues to be a contested issue between the. Islamic feminism emerged as a new discourse of women, gender and equality in islam. Feminism ziba mirhosseini abstract islamic feminism has gained currency since the 1990s and has become the label for a new brand of feminist scholarship and activism that is.
Musawah, the global movement for equality in muslim family law based in kuala lumpur. Nor is it evident that those who first used it were aware of the explosive impact that the juxtaposition of these two words was to have. Toward a resolution of the debate f ew debates among expatriate iranian feminists and leftists have been as contentious as those centered on islamic feminism. Between islamic law and feminism holds that such readings and interpretations of the sacred. Asma barlas pakistani, riffat hassan pakistani, amina wadud africanamerican, ziba mirhosseini iranian, qudsiyya mirza. Iranian scholar ziba mirhosseini exposed the rise and use of the term islamic feminism by some women, as well as men, writing in the teheran womens journal zanan, founded by shahla sherkat in 1992. Following the islamic revolution of 1979 and the reintroduction of sharica law relating to gender and the family, womens rights in iran suffered a major setback. The emergence of islamic feminism muslimwomen,likeotherwomenintheworld,havealwaysbeenaware ofandresistedgenderinequality. A professorial research associate at the centre for islamic and middle eastern law, soas, university of london, she is founding member of musawah. In fall 2006, she will be hauser global law visiting professor at the school of law, new york university. International congress on islamic feminism, barcelona, spain, pp. Download islamicfeminismandthelaw ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. Some observations on women in saudi arabia mai yamani. Ziba mirhosseini et al eds gender and equality in muslim family law 20 ziba mirhosseini et al eds men in charge.
Global movement for equality in muslim family laws, and the convenor of its knowledgebuilding initiative to rethink the notion of male authority in muslim family laws. She is an iranian anthropologist and one of the founding members of the global network musawah, which strives for equality and justice in the muslim family. She received her phd in anthropology from cambridge university and is the author of several books on islam, gender, and the family she has also directed two documentary films, runaway and divorce iranian style. Ziba mirhosseini, lena larsen, christian moe, kari vogt islamic family law has an immediate and direct impact on the lives of muslim men, women and children, whose personal status continues to be defined by understandings of islamic law codified and adapted by modern nationstates. Ziba mirhosseini is a central voice in discussions around gender relations in islam today and a valued maslaha advisor. The new islamic feminist theorists and interpreters include. Begin unit ii part a ziba mirhosseini and sadiyyah shaikh ziba mirhosseini, beyond islam vs. Discoursing islamic feminism into a way of being in 1999, badran predicted islamic feminism was necessary for muslim women in part due to the conundrum muslim women face in naming their gender activism, to which feminism, she explained, provides a common language, and so for analytical reasons, the term islamic feminism. Criminalizing sexuality ziba mir hosseini certain schools. It was born of the intimate combination of womens existential knowledge. But this article argues that the composite term islamic feminism has become so loaded with disputed meanings and implications, so enmeshed in local and global political struggles, that it is no longer useful in any kind of descriptive or analytical sense. Men in charge rethinking authority in muslim legal.
Islamic feminism is about gender, about women and men. Pdf islam and gender in the thought of a criticalprogressive. Feminism ids bulletin volume 42 number 1 january 2011 beyond islam vs. The term islamic feminism became popular in the 1990s, defining an emerging feminist paradigm by scholars including ziba mirhosseini, mai yamani, nilufer gole and shamima shaikh. Political and social transition in iran since 1979, syracuse university press, 2002, pp 7495. The islamic republics war on women the election of hassan rouhani gave new momentum to irans devout muslim feminists but the mullahs arent having it. The argument i develop here is part of a book project.
B orn in iran and now based in london, ziba mir hosseini, an anthropologist by training, is one of the most wellknown scholars of islamic feminism. In the first part, mirhosseinis thought is positioned within the larger processes of the shifting loci of authority and normativity in contemporary islamic discourses. Pdf on jan 1, 2014, adis duderija and others published islam and gender in the thought of a criticalprogressive muslim scholar activist ziba mir hosseini find, read and cite all the research. Among those who belong to this movement is the group of iranian men and women inside iran who produce zanan magazine, founded in 1992. Rethinking authority in muslim legal tradition 2015 videos making waves. Islamic feminism the term islamic feminism was first used in the 1990s. The potential and promise of feminist voices in islam duration. The paper argues that islamic feminists should engage in a dialogue with the traditional scholars in order for the movement to be acknowledged and intellectually. However, as the implementers of the law have faced the social realities of womens lives and aspirations, positive changes have gradually come about. Islamic feminism, is attentive to the rights islam granted to women that have withheld from them in practice, as well as the rights of any others withheld because of class, race or ethnicity. Similarly, ziba mirhosseini 2006 in her influential essay muslim womens quest for equality. How can justice for women be achieved in an islamic society.
Contestations, issue nr 1 islam and feminism, edited by hania sholkamy, meena sharifyfunks encountering the transnational, the several interesting dossiers published by the network of the women living under muslim laws, margot badrans works on islamic feminism, ziba mirhosseinis control and sexuality and her. Pdf the aim of this paper is to highlight the scholarly contribution of the iranian born muslim scholaractivist ziba mir hosseini to the academic. By the early 1990s there were clear signs of the emergence of a new gender discourse that came to be labelled islamic feminism. Feminism ziba mirhosseini abstract islamic feminism has gained currency since the 1990s and has become the label for a new brand of feminist scholarship and activism that is associated with islam. Here ziba mirhosseini takes us to the heart of the growing debates concerning the ways in which justice for women should be achieved.
Through a series of lively interviews with clerics in the iranian religious center of qom, she seeks to understand the varying notions of gender that inform islamic jurisprudence and to explore how clerics today. In my thesis, i would like to provide a critical analysis of the work conducted by islamic feminists such as amina wadud, azizah al hibri, ziba mirhosseini, kecia ali and asma barles. Zina laws as violence against women in muslim contexts, women living under muslim laws, 2010. In particular, this school of thought asserted the right to engage in interpretation ijtihad that promoted gender equality, new roles for women in religious ritual and. New gender talk and practice in global islam new delhi. Expressions of gender equality in the sacred texts and islamic tradition conference. Criminalizing sexuality ziba mir hosseini 1 introduction islamic legal tradition treats any sexual contact outside a legal marriage as a crime. Ziba mirhosseini is the author of islam and gender 3. Known under the name islamic feminism it later spread to other countries in. Through a series of lively interviews with clerics in the iranian religious centre of qom, ziba mirhosseini explores the issue of gender. Hosseini email protected is an independent consultant, researcher, and writer on middle eastern issues, specializing in gender, family relations, and islamic law and development, and is based at the london middle east institute. This article highlights the scholarly contribution of the iranianborn muslim scholaractivist ziba mirhosseini to the academic field of gender and islam.
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