Women and Gender in ME
female leaders of muslim countries
- Benazir Bhutto, PM of Pakistan 1988-90 and 1993-96 - Megawati Sukarnoputri, President of Indonesia, 2001-2004 -Tansu Ciller, PM of Turkey, 1993-1996 --women at head of their state which had not happened in the US yet
Iran- reza shah on veil
banned veil in 1936
Leila Ahmends book women and gender in islam
challenges ideas about islams treatment of women and what feminism has meant in the region
Zainab al Ghazali (1917-2005)
Broke from egyptian feminist union to found muslim womens association -Worked with muslim brotherhood but didnt accept al banna's call to create muslim sisterhood -Although she emphasized domesticity for women, she led a public life with stay at home husband -Lived her life differently from what she was advocating
Malak Hifni Nassef 1886-1918
Egyptian feminist who rejected the idea that women had to unveil but not for traditional reasons -Saw education, marriage reform, and moral improvement as more important than veil -Viewed veil debate as males dictating to women or upper class women interest in fashion -Problem was with men not women in society
Lord Cromer, British Consul-General of Egypt, 1883-1907
Felt islamic society inferior -Felt the veil restricted them from being modern and civilized -Imperialisms way of "civilizing" other cultures -Opposed women's suffrage at home in britain -Europeans reforms were not new or unique -liberation of women necessary
Quranic views on Veiling
Has little to say about veiling Says not to display their beauty.. Up to interpretation What is the beauty Breasts must be covered, and men cover as well Veil entered when muslims conquered ME Sign of upper class woman→ veiled, not working
Veil and kemalist turkey
Headscarf banned for public sector workers: - Teachers, government lawyers, members of parliament, civil service worker • Ban later extended to non-state public institutions - Lawyers, journalists, students barred entry into public institutions such as schools and courts • Total ban in universities in 1997 • Attempt to lift ban annulled by judiciary in 2008
Qasim Amin
Influenced by Western ideas and Islamic modernism, Amin wrote about the need for greater rights for women in Egypt He called for better education and the end of veiling -Westernizers liked this text, conservatives against -Arab world's first femenist - really just to enhance patriarchal society -sees egyptian women as holding back modernization she argued that his ideas weren't new and had elitest bias Abduh- Veil wasn't part of quran but a cultural practice
COMPULSORY VEILING
Iran - after the 1979 revolution Islamic dress was introduced - women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a veil in public Saudi women face arrest for not wearing veil In both countries morality police will enforce these dress codes
Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?
Lila Abu-Lughod, argues that saving women's rights have been used as justification for military intervention throughout history and that "saving" conveys superiority. - Afghan women wear burqas or other head coverings in order to fit into the community, not just because of Taliban rule. Women did not throw off burqas after the Taliban was forced out of Afghanistan. - Also burqas are seen as a symbol of class, women who do not need to be in the public working sphere. - other issues more important like poverty, war, etc
The best way forward
Respect for difference Western powers largely contribute to the repressive regimes in ME history
Huda Sha'arawi 1879-1947
Shaarawi famously took off her veil when she arrived back in egypt -Famous and caused a stir (spearheaded attention to veil) -founded egyptian feminist union in 1923 -Elite and upper middle class began getting rid of veil -Greater nationalists rights and for women -Ahmeds sees her as elitist and not as agreeing with her western feminists -Criticizes her for not speaking good arabic
