Download - Feminism & Muslims
Maryam, Assiya, Balquis, & Khadija:
THE “F” WORD
Anwar Omeish
What Feminism IS NOT:
Hating men
Blaming everything bad on men
Being a lesbian
White people “saving” Muslim/non-white women
A Western movement
A result of “daddy issues”
The idea that men and women are the same
What Feminism IS:
A general term for something that can take many forms
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”
bell hooks: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” – patriarchy
“it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult.”
An ideology that “opposes the political, economic, and cultural relegation of women to positions of
inferiority.”
Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women,
especially in terms of their social, political, and economic inequalities.
Tess Lantos: “Feminism is a movement that includes women and men who wish to see a world where
discrimination based on gender and the idea that men are superior to women is abolished.”
What is Patriarchy?
“the rule of men as a social group over women as a social group”
“a system based on sexual hierarchy,” with men at the top and women below
A structure in which men dominate positions of power and influence, usually at the expense of women
Institutionalized sexism (whether done consciously or unconsciously)
A system in which males and their needs are the norm, while women and their needs are often stereotyped or ignored
Patriarchy is harmful to both men AND women.
Patriarchy in Our Societies
Male dominance in political representation
Cultural restrictions on movement
Disparity in education rates
Gaslighting/emotional dismissal
Stereotypical portrayals of women
Violence against women & lack of safety
Standards of hypermasculinity
What Do Feminists Want?
To replace patriarchal structures with structures that include the
contributions of both genders equally
To recognize the individuality of each woman and the differences in
personality – basically, to reject stereotypes
To ensure that women have the freedom to choose how to live their lives
without double standards or baseless concepts of what is “improper”
(عيب)
To combat economic, political, and cultural forms of violence against
and exploitation of women
To understand and confront the thought processes that maintain the
survival of patriarchy in our cultures
FEMINISM IS FUNDAMENNTALLY
ABOUT CHOICE.
“Not all liberation looks the same.”
A Brief History of Feminism (the term)
Coined in France in the 1880s
Appeared in English in the early 20th century
American feminism had three waves:
First wave: confronting de jure/apparent discrimination
This wave was incredibly white-women-centered and exclusive of women of color
Second wave: confronting de facto/hidden discrimination
This wave was more inclusive than the first, but still relatively exclusive
Third wave: analyzing the intersections of women’s rights and a plethora of other factors
By 1920s spread in Egypt as “nisa’iyya”
Because of widespread imperialism in the Muslim world at the time, as well as French relationship to secularism, it was widely seen as a Western, anti-Islamic construct
A Brief History of Feminism (the idea)
It’s literally impossible for this history to be brief.
Almost every society, at almost every point in time, has had some sort of feminist thought.
These forms of thought are indigenous to their regions and often differ from each other in
priorities and application.
Using the umbrella term is unspecific, but it does allow for global solidarity and for analysis
of trends
For this reason, feminism is a GENERAL TERM that necessitates subsets of nationality,
political ideology, and value systems (which includes religion)
Feminism is NOT a secular, Western phenomenon. It is universal.
How Do Feminist Subsets Differ?
The way that they define “liberation” (or if they don’t define it at all)
The method that they think is best for improving society (chipping
away at institutions, completely dismantling them, etc.)
The factors that they think contribute to oppression of women
Equality vs. Equity (whether or not they emphasize the difference
between men and women)
Liberal (“White”) Feminism
Emphasizes equality of women and men
Does not consider external factors (racial, economic, etc. oppression)
Wants to work within the system to change it from the inside
Idealizes the Western classical liberal value system (and often fails to
consider others)
We need to “save” them!!11!!ONE!!
Dominated 1st and 2nd wave – now generally rejected
e.g. FEMEN and the American government
Radical Feminism
Emphasizes the difference between women and men and promotes separatism
Calls for a dismantling of structures and rebuilding them all over again (radical
change)
Often go to the extreme (and constitute many people’s view of feminism)
“Womyn” instead of women, “herstory” instead of history
Various types:
Marxist/Socialist feminism – believes that capitalism is the source of oppression
Lesbian feminism – argues against heteronormativity and advocates sexual exploration
Anti-pornography feminism – believes that porn contributes to violence against and
oppression of women (in contrast to liberal feminism which believes it is a matter of
freedom of speech)
Intersectional/Diverse Feminism
The needs and perspectives of non-Anglo, non-Western, and non-affluent women must be
considered. (Liberal feminism ignores different perspectives.)
Considers race, culture, socioeconomic status, etc.
For this reason, intersectional feminism often includes other movements like racial justice, anti-war,
etc.
Women’s issues change across cultures and across time; no single feminist voice or
viewpoint.
Allows for development of indigenous feminisms as stated before
Women experience oppression differently
Answer of equality vs. equity becomes culture specific
People have the right to define what they believe is liberation – stringently against the
idea of “freeing the women”
Example is black feminism in the US – Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Angela Davis, etc.
!عيب
Postcolonial Feminism
Analyzes the role of imperialist and colonialist structures on women’s rights
Considers colonialism a large source of oppression and works to dismantle
its effects
A large part of this is analyzing the way exporting Western feminism has
adversely affected women’s rights
Postcolonial studies include physical and cultural imperialism
Often goes hand-in-hand with intersectional feminism in rejecting the
“white savior complex”
Notes About Feminist Terminology
Subsets can and often do overlap
Rejecting parts of an ideology does not necessitate
rejecting it as a whole
Rejecting “feminism” as a label if you believe in the
fundamental principles but disagree with the history is
OKAY
For example, black feminists in the United States rejected the title of “feminist” because of its racist history in the US and instead embraced “womanism”
THE ISLAMIC “F” WORD(Just kidding; good Muslims don’t use bad words.)
What is Islamic Feminism?
“It is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur'an,
seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.”
“Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of
equality in the religion, and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Qur'an, hadith,
and sharia towards the creation of a more equal and just society.”
“"Islamic feminism" is not simply a feminism that is born from Muslim cultures, but
one that engages Islamic theology through the text and canonical traditions. A
distinctly "Islamic" feminism, at its core, draws on the Quranic concept of equality of all human beings, and insists on the application of this theology to everyday
life.”
IMPORTANT NOTES
Islamic feminists question interpretations of Islam,
not Islam itself
They believe that Islam is fundamentally feminist, but our
understanding of it may not be
Islamic feminists deal with today’s realities of
Muslim societies, not ideals of the Prophet’s
So don’t try the “Islam gave women their rights 1500 years ago” thing
What do Islamic Feminists Want?
To use the Quran and the Sunnah to dismantle sexist and
misogynistic structures that exist in current Muslim societies
i.e. to differentiate between culture and religion
To promote female scholarship in Islamic topics,
particularly in issues of jurisprudence (fiqh)
You can’t regulate what you don’t understand
How Does Islam Approach Patriarchy?
Islam’s approach to patriarchy is two-fold:
Protecting women from patriarchal structures
Working to dismantle these patriarchal
structures
Protecting Women from Patriarchy
Hijab
Husbands provide fully for their wives because of the lack of economic freedom
for women in patriarchy
Orphaned girls are provided for by their guardians and guaranteed an
inheritance just as “useful” orphaned boys
Women have the option of being supplied provisions by their ex-husbands three
months after divorce (also lack of economic freedom) in the event they are
pregnant
Giving women the last word in allegations of adultery and discrediting the
testimony of a false man for the rest of his life
Forbidding burying girls alive
Safe spaces in prayer
Working to Dismantle Patriarchy
Women’s full personhood
Property and inheritance rights
Rights to education and work (Khadija)
Right to be Islamic scholars and teachers (Aisha)
Rights in initiating marriage and divorce (Khadija)
Sexual rights
Limitation of polygamy
Basically EVERYTHING
So… What’s the Point?
You can be a Muslim and a feminist!
You can be an Arab and a feminist!
You can be religious and be a feminist!
In fact, you should be a feminist if you’re religious.
You can love your culture and be a feminist!
You can be pretty much anything and be a feminist as long as you believe in
justice and dismantling structures of oppression!
Islam is fundamentally feminist and feminism is fundamentally Islamic!
Feminism is not a bad word, it just gets a bad rap!
Feminism is for everybody!