Delving into the World of Islamic Feminism

Islam and feminism… the misconceptions surrounding both of these words, grouped together or used separately, are innumerable. Beginning this ELI, all I knew is that I wanted to continue to explore a topic which I knew very little about. As I have progressed, however, I have realized that I also want to educate the people around me about a topic that is very foreign to the majority of Westerners. I settled on the topic of the Islamic feminist movement because it is a topic that is extremely relevant today, as feminism is becoming more widely known throughout the world, but it has a deep history that is not known to many people.

It is not common information that the Islamic feminist movement has roots as far back as the end of the 19th century, with women who protested the arranged marriages and pay gaps between men and women. Nabawiyah Musa, an Egyptian feminist, fought to take the State Baccalaureate Exam so the heads of education had no excuse to pay her less than her male colleagues. However, she accomplished this feat at the turn of the twentieth century, a right that many women in Western civilizations are fighting for currently. Malala Yousafzai is a modern day feminist at the young age of 18, not even a year older than me. She has been speaking out for equal education between men and women for many years with her father, a subject that she is very passionate about, as her father owned a school for girls. The Taliban found out about her activism and attempted to kill her; however, she survived. I hope to continue my research on Malala with a case study.

I have learned so much so far, but I know I still have a long ways to go when it comes to learning about the history of the Islamic Feminism and how it is progressed to where it is today. In all honesty, I don’t think that it is possible to ever be done learning about this topic, as it will continue to grow as I learn. However, that excites me, because I will have the ability to continue to learn about such an interesting and relevant topic that is extremely misconceived by Westerners. I also hope to educate the people around me that have fallen prey to believing the wrong stereotypes about the Islamic feminist movement.

~Emma P.