FEMINISMS - No Boundaries - Produced in particular places with context bound issues - It is a plant which grows in its own soil. - But that does not mean that there can’t be common issues.

ORIGIN Qasim Amin father of Egyptian feminist movement. ‘Women’s Liberation’ 1899 Nisa ‘I ’ – 1920’s Al-Ittihad al-Nisai al Misri (Egyptian feminist union) Malak Hifni Nasif in 1909 – Al-Nisaiyat (About Women) Unthawiyat (womanists) – Nassawiyat (re- makers of women)

Nilufer Gole 1990’s ‘The Forbidden Modern’ & Margot Badran- ‘Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist writing’. Feminists, Islam and Nations, Exploring Islamic Feminism etc Mai Yamani 1996 ‘Feminism and Islam’.

FEMINISTS MAY BE CALLES AS….  Muslim Feminists. - Believe in Islam, gender equality but also tend to use argument outside Islam such as an international human rights agreement to counter gender inequality or secular law of the country. - Focus on Quran rather than of Hadith and Shariah

-  Islamist Feminists - Advocates for a political Islam- that Quran mandates an Islamic govt. - Advocate women rights in public sphere but do not challenge gender inequalities in the private sphere

Islamic Feminists (IF) - Seek full equality of women and men in public as well as private sphere. - Some Alambardars have hijacked Islam & it is damaging - IF call for authentic interpretation of Quran - IF want to restore original Islam - Cultural & political interpretations damaging - Patriarchal laws have damaged the true spirit and equality of Islam - Family laws have been damaged by alien ideologies, distortion and intrusions.

IF want to connect theory and practice- male theorizing not helpful in every day life. IF is based on ONENESS OF GOD TOWHEED- and not to obey “male power”.

Categories of feminist - Economically dependent, uneducated, rural-urban group - Middle class, urban, educated, financially secure group. It also includes academics & researchers-as pressure groups. - Upper middle class and elite women, men whose position allows them to pursue liberation and development stances.

THEORATICAL UNDERPINNINGS Liberal Islamic Feminists: - Basically rebellious of patriarchal society - Women right for education - Equal rights in public space - Right to work - Challenge conventional authority of male, e.g. in marriage, inheritance - Women could be head of state

Modernist & Secular Islamic Feminists; - Liberal theory from within Islam - Self-control in sexual urges instead of dress codes and segregation. - Sometimes they compromise to situations for as women did in Iran and Sudan. - Critique of traditional interpretation of Islam - Fundamental human rights- to develop physical, mental and spiritual potentialities, pro-male structures are problematic and should be eliminated.

Radical Islamic Feminists: - Second and third generation are radical activists. - They are concerned about the technicalities enshrined in legal and Islamic. - They do question male dominance but sometimes accept patriarchal norms as genuine as veil. - Dialogue on issues such as work place, worship place, family intermixing. - They critique male’s politicization of Quranic interpretation and Prophetic Sunnah.

Secular Feminists : - Religion is private affair. - Religion and state should be separate - They are concerned about internal variations of Islam- which has impact on our economic, political, cultural, subordination. - Inherent hostility of women rights and fundamental notion of divine laws are problematic - Human rights should be international and have no cultural boundaries - As Muslims their position itself becomes challenging.

Conservative Islamic Feminists: - Women are equal but different. - Segregation of sexes and purdah necessary to control. - They ask for segregated education, hospitals, business etc - Women at work place is a threat to morality and productivity of the society - They counter the efforts of liberal feminists - The younger generation has a different stance and they look for jobs, state generated discriminatory laws, domestic violence, marriage rights ….