Muslim Women: Past and Present

Recommend a Muslim Woman

Throughout the ages, from the earliest days of Islam to contemporary times today, Muslim women have been and continue to be active leaders in their communities and countries across the world. This directory is a growing archive of leading Muslim women scholars, activists, writers, politicians, artists, religious and spiritual leaders, civil society leaders and more. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting Muslim women to be featured through our recommendation form.

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Azza Karam

photo of Azza Karam

Known For: Senior Culture Advisor, United Nations Population Fund
Country: United States

About

Dr. Azza Karam serves as the Senior Culture Advisor at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), where she coordinates Fund-wide global activities on Culture and Religion. Prior to joining UNFPA, she was the Senior Policy Research Advisor at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in the Regional Bureau for Arab States where she worked on the Arab Human Development Reports, among other portfolios including Knowledge and youth.

Her programmatic experience spans the fields of global multi-religious collaboration, gender issues, governance, human rights, conflict, and political Islam. Prior to joining the UN, Dr. Karam worked at the World Conference of Religions for Peace where she founded the first Global Women of Faith Network, and advised on issues related to Muslim and Arab affairs. Also during this time, she served as the President of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations.

She was a Senior Program Officer at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) where she set up the Arab world and the Women in Politics programmes. She has served as Lecturer at the School of Politics at the Queens University of Belfast, and in Development, Conflict and Humanitarian issues at the University of Amsterdam, among others. She also served as consultant/trainer to the UNDP, OSCE and other international organizations, in the Arab region, Central Asia and Europe.

She has authored and edited several books and published numerous articles in several languages. Her books include Transnational Political Islam (Pluto, 2004); Islamisms, Women and the State (Macmillan, 1998); Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers (IIDEA, 1998 and 2007); and a Woman’s Place: Religions Women as Public Actors (WCRP: 2002).

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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women alphabetically by their first names. Many Muslim names have alternative spellings once rendered into English so if you cannot find the name you are looking for, please try the general search tab where you can enter keywords of your choice.
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This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women chronologically by the Common Era century. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women by their Country. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women leaders by entering the keyword(s) of your choice. If you cannot find a particular woman that you are looking for, please let us know by completing our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.