Revisiting Muslim Women's Activism

Islam, Political Field and Women's Rights
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-032-42046-2
Verlag: Routledge India

Buch, Englisch, 178 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 284 g

This book traces the evolution of organisational activism among Muslim women in India. It deconstructs the 'Muslim woman' as the monolith based on tropes like purdah, polygamy, and tin talaq and compels the reader to revisit the question of Muslim women’s individual and collective agency. The book argues that the political field, along with religion, moulds the nature and scope of Muslim women’s activism in India. It looks at the objectives of four Muslim women’s organisations: the Bazm-e-Niswan, the Awaaz-e-Niswaan, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and the India International Women’s Alliance (IIWA), in close interaction with the political landscape of Mumbai. The book explores the emergence of gender-inclusive interpretation of Muslim women’s rights by Muslim women activists and challenges the dominant and reductionist stereotypes on Muslim women, community, and absolutist ideas of Islam. It argues that Muslim women are not passive victims of their culture and religion, rather they can develop a critique of their marginality and subjugation from within the community.

Revisiting Muslim Women’s Activism traces the evolution of a community-centric approach in women’s activism and records a fragmented view on women’s rights from within the community and religious leadership. It also delineates the distinctiveness of this activism that considers religion and culture as resources for empowerment and as sites of contestations. Moreover, the book documents the narratives of Muslim women’s struggle and resistance from their location and lived experiences. It will be of interest to students and researchers of women’s studies, gender studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, law, and Islamic studies.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sur, Esita

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword by Bonita Aleaz

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Muslim Women, Collective Activism and Politics of the Field: A Theoretical Perspective

1. Politics of an Exclusionary Field, Communal Violence and Muslim Women’s Activism: A Tale of Mumbai

2. Muslim Women’s Organisations: Politics of Strategic and Ideological Differences

3. Muslim Women and a Fragmented Sense of the Community: Roadblocks to Activism

4. Muslim Women and Transformative Impact of their Activism: A Journey from Personal to Collective

5. Dynamics of Muslim Women’s Activism: Critical-Religion-Centric Activism

Conclusion: Decoding Muslim Women: Towards a New Activism?

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Esita Sur teaches political science at Scottish Church College, Kolkata, India. She specialises in gender, women’s studies, minority identity, religion, politics, and political theory. She has completed her PhD in political science from the University of Calcutta in 2019. She has participated in many national and international seminars and conferences and published in esteemed national and international journals. She has recently coordinated a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Administration and Public Policy: Concepts and Theories at Swayam Platform, MHRD (2019).