Current Issues Current Issues continued

According to a 2005 Gallup Poll of U.S. households, when asked what they admire least about the Muslim or Islamic world, respondents listed “lack of gender equality” as one of their top three replies.¹ Another study by Gallup, however, revealed that Muslim women themselves viewed the way women are treated and sexually exploited in Western societies critically, while not offering “gender inequality” themselves as one of the greatest problems within their own society.² This does not mean that gender inequality does not exist within Muslim-majority countries; in fact, 20 of the 25 lowest-ranking countries on the World Economic Forum’s 2010 Gender Gap Index, which ranks women’s participation in society, are Muslim-majority countries. However, it does imply that a more nuanced and context-oriented approach is necessary when talking about women’s issues in the Muslim societies around the world. Structural stratification based on socioeconomic class, sexuality, disability, place of origin, education, and official and unofficial caste systems often have as much or even more influence than gender.

In some contexts, gender inequality is promoted by government entities and unjust laws; other times, gender disparities are sustained and promoted through informal practices tied to notions of tradition and religion. Even such systems of classification, however, do not do justice to the diversity of issues facing Muslim women today. What may be viewed as problematic to Muslim women in one country may be irrelevant or even seen as beneficial to Muslim women in another country. For example, some Muslim women in France may define their greatest day-to-day challenge as their inability to cover their hair in public schools, while others in Iran may feel they are chafing under restrictions regarding modest attire and gender segregation in public places. Female genital cutting, banned by governments and condemned by international organizations worldwide, is still practiced openly in 28 African nations, however the tradition is not practiced in many Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia and nations in the Persian Gulf region. Even the same issues may take on different meanings in various Muslim communities around the world as the reasons and roots of problems vary greatly from country to country. For example, honor killings, may be justified as tribal tradition within one country, but may be defended as a religious practice by immigrant communities when they take place in non-Muslim majority societies.

In some countries, like Egypt, economic hardship and patriarchal applications of Islam preclude Muslim women from enjoying liberties set out by judicial and legal frameworks. On the contrary, in countries like Kuwait, women may enjoy high levels of economic participation but face restrictions in other spheres of life under conservative legal systems. Muslim women’s issues have also been influenced by international issues such as conflicts, sanctions, and closed borders. In Iraq, violence against women significantly escalated after the U.S.-led invasion, forcing many women to stay at home. In Palestine, women’s access to health, employment, education, and political and civil liberties is not only restricted by Israeli-occupation but also internal political tensions.

Socioeconomic class can be a considerable factor in defining issues facing Muslim women around the world, making it difficult to generalize matters on the basis of gender alone. In Algeria, for example, a woman belonging to an influential social or political group may wield more power than a man belonging to a less significant group. Similarly, daughters of upper class Muslims have a greater chance of entering professional fields than the sons of economically disadvantaged Muslim families in Turkey. Moreover, even among different Muslim communities within a single country, issues and questions concerning women’s rights differ. For example, Bahrain’s personal status code, adopted in May 2009 after years of lobbying by women’s rights activists and organizations, applies only to the Sunni population; personal status issues that involve Shiites are still left to the discretion of individual judges in Shiite courts.

These complexities make it difficult to speak of “the problems Muslim women face.” What is important to highlight is that Muslim women are often treated unjustly by both government and non-government entities, and that many of the issues they face in the globalized world tend to be cross-cutting. Defining the concerns, strategies, and agenda of Muslim women’s activism is not a simple task, by any means. However, this doesn’t mean that it is beyond reach. A good starting point reflects the objective of WISE, which is to empower Muslim women to fully participate in their communities and nations and to amplify their collective voices. It is important to not forget the rich legacy Muslim women hold as significant political and social leaders, and to recognize the many strides Muslim women are making today in working toward not only attaining personal objectives, but also in establishing new legislation and reform to institutionalize efforts toward gender equality.

1. Americans’ Views of the Islamic World
by Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director, The Gallup Center for Muslim Studies

2. Perspectives of Women in the Muslim World
by Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director, The Gallup Center for Muslim Studies