Feminism in Islam and Muslim Feminists - Essay Example

Islam and Feminism Feminism is comprised of ideologies and movements for economic, political and social equality forwomen and, from this abstract definition, three components can be derived from the concept of feminism. Being a movement, it implies groups that work towards accomplishing specific objectives; the objectives, by virtue of their political and social nature, mean that the groups must engage laws, governments and social beliefs and practices; and, the achievement of the objectives must be facilitated by sufficient access to information that will enable feminists arrive at responsible choices. Clearly, then, feminism is about gender equality, which gives it the broader sense of fighting for equal rights between men and women, an extension that arises from the notion of third-wave feminism. Third-wave feminism has an emphasis on non-structuralism understanding of sexuality and gender. Viewed as a Western ideology, feminism has both differences and similarities between Middle Eastern Muslim feminists and Western feminists, as well as third-wave feminism. Feminism is largely triggered by cultural and traditional factors and may not be fully compatible with Islam, and many groups are split as to whether Muslim feminists are trying to achieve human rights or their feminist rights like Western women. This paper will research and discuss these aspects of feminism by analyzing Duygu Asena, who was a Turkish Muslim feminist, hence the thesis: Feminism is a Western ideology and it is not compatible with Islam. Even though there is a group that understands and advocates the rights of Muslim women, there is another that hates feminism as an ideology of the Western world that is only concerned with female superiority. It is worth noting that feminism, in the sense of a Universalist faith, gained momentum in the 19th century, with the concept emerging from the Western world. It has links with the French Revolution, during which women wanted to be considered as having the full status of citizens. In the Middle East and Muslim world in general, feminist movements appeared as women acquired literacy. Asena become an iconic as well as controversial figure in Turkey following her calls to women to escape from oppression, which she likened to a vicious circle. She urged women to fight for their equal rights with men and seek employment as a step towards freedom (Alemdar 1). In Turkey, being a predominantly Islamic nation, this was perceived by most, particularly the authorities, as a contradiction. Her role in feminism may generally have taken a diversion from what feminism in the Middle East has been focusing on. Feminism in the Middle East has basically had an emphasis on women’s role in Islam, targeting full equality in both private and public life for all Muslim faithful irrespective of gender. The rights they advocate for are founded on Islamic law, also known as Sharia. Feminist ideologies in the Middle East are inspired mainly by faith. Although Islamic feminists in the Middle East are fierce advocates for legislative interpretations and reforms that represent contemporary understanding of gender equality, they also embrace their Islamic faith strongly. However, more recently, Middle East Islamic feminists are also applying secular ideologies in their discourses, albeit strategically, having acknowledged the role played by Islamic feminism as an integral part of the feminist movement globally. This aspect creates the underlying similarity between the ideologies of the Middle East feminism and Western feminism movements. Feminism may be viewed as a global trend, but its uniqueness to every culture must also be appreciated. Western feminist’s ideologies are fundamentally different from those of the Middle East, and indeed most other parts of the world, because of the values on which the movements are formed. Being secular, most of the Western feminist ideologies stem from Western thoughts, principles and traditions. Western attitudes, which are mostly Christian and secular, are perceived in such manner by the Muslim world that they (Muslims) are discouraged from, or see no obligation in, discussing the role of their women in both theological or political context (Mohanty 64). The perception of the role of gender varies even among nations in the Middle East, being different between generations and classes. Turkey, for example, has been more of a secular democracy for about 80 years. However, with the 2007 parliamentary election, the Justice and Development Party, which is an Islamic conservative party, acquired an overwhelming majority and photographs of joyous celebrations went around the world. Noticeably, women participated more in the celebrations (Ozdemir 1). To the West and, in particular, the United States, concerns arose about the mounting of political Islam and harsh Muslim control over a nation that has been secular for long. It was the same Justice and Development Party that had attempted to outlaw adultery and end the ban imposed on headscarves worn by women a few years before the elections. Ironically, Turkish women, unlike those in the West, believed that the Justice and Development Party had favored their rights democratically in spite of its deep Islamic roots (Ozdemir 1). Their argument was that even though the secular regime gave women an 80-year freedom from polygamy and Islamic law that they were subjected to for centuries, they only realized progress when Turkey pursued European Union membership in 2001. What is not known to Western feminist groups is that under the Justice and Development Party, more feminist organizations, than was the case under the 80-year secular rule, have been formed. Strategically, women have slipped their grievances into the national agenda as Turkey fought to prove to the European Union that progress was being achieved regarding human rights. This brought about equality of rights between men and women concerning property, divorce and marriage rights (Ozdemir 1). On the other hand, Western feminism is characterized by a struggle against the historical models of inferiority they have experienced. Like their Middle East counterparts, their grievances stem from patriarchal pasts that accorded men more power (Alemdar 1). However, female identity in the West differs across their diverse cultures depending on their customs. This gives Western feminism an ambiguous meaning since it is found on varying factions. It can be noticed that, for example, the United States has had more than two different uprisings of feminist movements. For instance, the suffrage movement may not exactly be identified with feminism since the term was not existent when the movement emerged but, all the same, its focus was on equal rights in voting among men and women. Some feminist movements have also been fronted by Black women throughout history as they fought against racial oppression. Later, there was the 1960s movement in the wake of the civil rights movement. From these three examples, it can first be seen that Black women did not believe that feminism in the West was started for their sake. In fact, it excluded them and they later formed the womanist (as opposed to feminist) movement to address the issues of women of color. In the West, feminism has historically and discriminately addressed the grievances of White women. Western feminism has always appeared as an ideology that intends to impress Western cultures and beliefs onto others. Conversely, modern feminism, particularly after the advent of the third-wave feminism, attempts to unify the diversities of all cultures. Therefore, the main factor that seems to stand between Western feminism and Muslim feminism is the difference in cultures. Feminism and culture are linked by the fact that all societies are ruled under patriarchal principles. Any form of feminism is driven by the belief that gender should not disadvantage women and every culture must accord them the same dignity as men. They must be given access to liberty and fulfilling lives in the same way men are treated. Religion, also deeply engraved in culture, separates Western and Muslim feminist ideologies as a source of direction. Perhaps the only commonality would be that no religion has historically been known to empower women explicitly. Both practically and theoretically, most religions have made attempts to suppress women, leaving them the only option of fighting for equality. Ideally, the fight is often directed at the religious notions of their culture. Islam may be blamed for having regarded women as the property of their husbands or male relatives, but can also be credited for being the first religion that empowered women systematically. It is true that women are empowered by the Quran and accorded equal status as men, but the problem lies in the interpretation, or misinterpretation, implying a parity that the Arab culture is still too patriarchal to embrace. The teachings of equality by the Quran make feminism intrinsically a part of Islam. However, the interpretations presented to the pagan Arabs were designed in a manner they would grasp, which was largely male-centric. Therefore, the laws are influenced by patriarchy, and not the Quran (Hirchkind & Mahmood 347). From the perspective of misinterpretation, the jurists of patriarchy made it prevail over the injunctions of the Quran. It is from this angle that the literate and elite women of the Muslim feminism demand a different understanding of the spirit and guidelines of the Quran, to which they believe the Muslim world is not prepared to accept. This group believes that majority of Muslim women are unaware of their rights as stipulated by the Quran because of ignorance, illiteracy and poverty. According to them, state actors and the authorities, rather than Islam, are the inherent root of gender discrimination. The culprits are the manipulative leaders who misuse religion for political gains, causing imbalances. This is perhaps what Western feminists fail to recognize. Feminism can go by many definitions depending on the cultural context under which it is addressed. For example, it can variably be seen as liberal, radical, global or even postmodern. Such perceptions serve to show that it cannot readily become a monolithic phenomenon. Hence, the differences arising between Western feminism and Muslim feminism must be accepted as a necessary variation. Regardless of the doctrines used to enforce it, there should be a general consensus that the place of women in different cultures is shaped through history by handed-down ideologies. Even though all feminist groups are continuously viewing themselves as more than a biological gender, it is imperative to understand that their social groupings will necessarily differ. Openly, White feminism has not been founded on the same careful manner of identifying their cause and reducing the stigma that is linked with abandoning cultural values (Mohanty 66). To avoid misconceptions of integrating foreign cultures into their own, Muslim feminists demonstrate their legitimacy by a demonstration of their deeply rooted culture, distinguishing themselves from their Western counterparts. On the other hand, Western feminists characteristically seek universal legitimacy and acknowledgement of their concepts by trying to even out internally distinct and complex tenets of cultural reality so as to fit their models. Comparing the two movements, Western feminism is found to put more emphasis on ideological criticism than formulating strategies that will remedy their highlighted grievances. Muslim women have been perceived as a monolithic entity through the eyes of the West without considering the differences that exist in the culture of the Middle East nations, which are more than 20. Generally, all nations in the Middle East are perceived from the single angle of being Islamic and the aspect of individuality of nations is watered down. It must be taken into account that the idea of feminism in the Middle East is framed from extremely sensitive and specific cultural, social, religious and political backgrounds. The use of Western femininity as a modernity yardstick without considering cultural factors specific to unique nations may fail to initiate genuine gender dialogue in the Middle East; an aspect that may negatively affect the compatibility of feminism with Islam. The cultural differences do not allow for comprehensive compatibility of the two movements. For instance, Western feminism has also been linked with Marxist tendencies, creating even more differences between its cultural differences and those of Muslim feminism (Mohanty 65). Marxist feminism has its origins in the dissatisfaction with the absence of an analysis of gender in the Marxist theory, which was considered to be blind to sex. A working body of Marxist feminists later emerged to blame female subjugation on capitalist modes. This created the distinction between private and public aspects of life, with the public sphere represented by the male-dominated workplace and private sphere by the households maintained by women. Women in the West felt oppressed by the way child-bearing was categorized together with the capitalistic production of commodities, likening it to the working class exploitation and from that, the term patriarchy was adopted. The exclusive nature of Western feminism marginalizes and isolates the experiences of both Middle East and the third-wave feminism. Western feminists have for long resisted patriarchal and capitalist domination in ambiguous ways that they believe will be of service to their interests but are ultimately obscured by their attempts to homogenize cross-cultural experiences. Western feminists need to embrace ethnographic data in order to acknowledge that the resistance of patriarchy and capitalism are shaped by their day to day and subjective interpretations. Muslim feminists are not trying to achieve feminist rights as is evident with Western feminists. The approach of Muslim feminists, based on cultural and religious tenets, is holistic and addresses human rights. Muslim feminists root their ideologies in their religion’s scriptures, and that sets them apart from those of the Western ideologies (Mohanty 68). Their target is to offer women positive female scripture readings and discourse from within religious frameworks. Whereas Western feminists tend to adopt a more secular than religious nature because they believe men have manipulated religion to oppress them, Muslim feminists are neither breaking away from Islam nor distorting it. Instead, they are fighting to achieve Islam’s message and objective meaning which preaches honoring both men and women. There is no provision for degrading women. Muslim feminists are attempting to establish a just system in both public and private spheres as a religion. Their objectives are distinguished from those of Western feminists in the way they practice care not to be distorted to represent a religion that is going against equality and the relations between men and women. In conclusion, feminism cannot be viewed as a monolithic notion because of the diverse contexts under which it is applied. Objectively, all forms of feminism may be intending to culminate into liberty for women, but the entities advocating for it are inherently different the world over. It should not be presumed that feminists are all alike and that the term can be given a solidly equivocal definition because all must be understood in their unique context. It is neither the duty of Western feminists nor Muslim feminists to prescribe indiscriminately what either movement should preserve in terms of culture and traditions. Feminism may not be entirely compatible with Islam, but the role of each movement is to humble itself and acknowledge the views, cultural or whatsoever, of the other. Each movement has contentious issues unique to itself. In order for unity to be established between Muslim feminists and others, it must be understood that Islam persuades all aspects of life in Muslim societies ranging from psychological to social, political and economical (Hirchkind & Mahmood 342). Therefore, Muslim culture and traditions are the key factors driving Muslim feminist ideologies. Works Cited Alemdar, Zeynep. “Turkey’s most popular writer a feminist.” The Hour Newspaper, 10 November 1994 1994. Web. Asena, Duygu. The Woman Has No Name. 1987. Print. Hirchkind, C. and Mahmood, S. “Feminism, the Taliban, and Politics of Counter-Insurgency.” Anthropological Quarterly 75.2(2002): 339-354. Print. Mohanty, C. “Under the Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” Feminist Review 30(1988): 61-68. Print. Ozdemir, Senay. Feminism, Turkish Style. 2007. Web. Read More