The Rise of the Islamic Feminists

[A'isha]

The latest issue of The Nation has an article about the recent upswing in "Islamic feminism", Muslim women and organizations who are working towards gender equality from within Islamic tradition, rather than from outside. It talks about two organizations I've often mentioned in my posts here, the Malaysia-based Sisters in Islam and its international offshoot Musawah. The article also points out some of the potential problems with this sort of approach, as well as why "Islamic feminism" has long been seen (and still is seen) as a contradiction in terms by many Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

 

[IllegalArgument]

I think them good luck and success.

 

[Belz...]

I think them good luck and success.

+10000

Crush those mysoginistic cavemen.

 

[Unabogie]

+10000

Crush those mysoginistic cavemen.

Don't you also think it's inevitable with the way the global economy is going? It's not possible for men to be the sole earners anymore, and therefore women have to go to work too. And if they work, it's better for everyone if they make as much as possible. And if they want to do that, they need school. And to drive. And to not be hampered by irrational prejudice. In short, other cultures will experience the same awakening as we did here in the 1970's. Mainly by necessity.

 

[Belz...]

Inevitable and desirable.

 

[Frozenwolf150]

I saw this in the first article and was curious:

"Over the past twenty-five years, Sisters in Islam has seen a change in the culture, as more women speak up against their oppression by appealing to Islamic law. I heard stories from Malaysian women influenced by the organization’s work who now deploy religious arguments to curb injustice in their marriages. When their husbands beat them, have affairs or neglect to provide for them, they assert their agency by arguing that this behavior goes against Islam."​

How exactly can they do this? Which specific Islamic laws can they cite when faced with abuse?

 

[A'isha]

I saw this in the first article and was curious:

"Over the past twenty-five years, Sisters in Islam has seen a change in the culture, as more women speak up against their oppression by appealing to Islamic law. I heard stories from Malaysian women influenced by the organization’s work who now deploy religious arguments to curb injustice in their marriages. When their husbands beat them, have affairs or neglect to provide for them, they assert their agency by arguing that this behavior goes against Islam."​

How exactly can they do this? Which specific Islamic laws can they cite when faced with abuse?

http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/news.php?item.1117.12

 

[geni]

Don't you also think it's inevitable with the way the global economy is going? It's not possible for men to be the sole earners anymore, and therefore women have to go to work too.

Doesn't really hold. Men as sole earners has always been limited to a fairly narrow class.

 

[Frozenwolf150]

All right, I found the PDF.
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/files/downloads/are_muslim_men_allow_to_beat_their_wives_v12-1.pdf

 

[Kahalachan]

It'll go over well. The same mental gymnastics used in America with its Christians who ignore verses like 1 Timothy 2:12.

If Christians in America can be for women having equal rights despite what the Bible says, I don't see why Muslims in other nations can't also work within their religion to treat women better.