Islam is not unique in having theological interpretations that centre on men. Christian, Jewish and Buddhist women (and men) have grappled with the overt and covert sexism within their own sacred texts and traditions in numerous ways. This is because where there are people there is often sexism, and sexism within societies is frequently echoed by, and transplanted on to, social institutions: the law, politics and, of course, religion. [...]
Most of the Christian women in this study rejected the label of feminist, but espoused feminist values. In contrast, most of the Muslim women were willing to endorse the label of feminist, and actually identified Islam as a feminist religion.
More tellingly still:
The majority of Muslim women identified as feminist. This finding is in stark contrast to the common perception of Muslim women in American society. [...]
The vast majority of interviewees believed religion was the most effective tool to challenge and change sexism within Muslim communities. Nahida spoke about feminism being one of the key reasons for divine revelation in Islam, and the need to reclaim religious texts previously used for women’s oppression:
No comments:
Post a Comment