Islamic Feminism
7
'...there are significant reasons why feminists might benefit from drawing upon Islam when attempting to address the particular subordination of Muslim women. At an individual level, Muslim women will be unlikely to subscribe to a Western notion of feminism...'[1]
The above quote sums up a lot of what Haleh Afshar talks about in Islam and Feminism: An Analysis of Political Strategies. She describes Western feminism as a 'poor example' for Muslim women, an 'instrument of colonialism', consisting of 'an analysis which is all but irrelevant to the lives of the majority of women the world over' and has 'made women into permanent second-class citizens, not a model that most women...choose to follow.[2]
This notion of Islamic Feminisms vs. Western Feminism is further developed by Leila Ahmed who states, 'An American feminist said to me... that women, according to Islam, had no souls and were thought of simply as animals...she was able to cite detailed, although incorrect, information in support of her belief. Most American women who "know" that Muslim women in particular are oppressed, know it simply because it is one of those "facts" lying around in this culture, and most freely admit that actually they know nothing about Islam or Middle Eastern societies.'[3] Similar to the 'Men and Feminisms' week, this raises the question of not only who can speak for women, but who can speak for Muslim women? As Ahmed states, the American women she spoke to, had based her perceptions of Muslim women from incorrect facts and then regurgitated this information to others, pretending to be experts on the experiences of Eastern women.
Similarly, Afshar later goes on to the talk about the veil; an important part of a Muslim women's life. Unlike Western perceptions of the veil as oppressive, Muslim women find 'the veil is a liberating and not an oppressive force...it liberates them from the dictates of the fashion industry and the demands of the beauty myth.'[4] Again, as we have seen from Week One, the beauty myth is often a Western construct, which many Western feminists can relate to but Muslim women aim to avoid through the veil.
This week has taught me that Islamic Feminism isn't just about Muslim women fighting against patriarchy in their own countries, but also fighting against white feminists. Feminism to Muslim women is about a doubly oppressive force from both men and women that they need to fight against.