Maryam, Assiya, Balquis, & Khadija:

THE “F” WORD

Anwar Omeish

What Feminism IS NOT:

Hating men

Blaming everything bad on men

Being a lesbian

White people “saving” Muslim/non-white women

A Western movement

A result of “daddy issues”

The idea that men and women are the same

What Feminism IS:

A general term for something that can take many forms

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”

bell hooks: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” – patriarchy

“it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult.”

An ideology that “opposes the political, economic, and cultural relegation of women to positions of

inferiority.”

Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women,

especially in terms of their social, political, and economic inequalities.

Tess Lantos: “Feminism is a movement that includes women and men who wish to see a world where

discrimination based on gender and the idea that men are superior to women is abolished.”

What is Patriarchy?

“the rule of men as a social group over women as a social group”

“a system based on sexual hierarchy,” with men at the top and women below

A structure in which men dominate positions of power and influence, usually at the expense of women

Institutionalized sexism (whether done consciously or unconsciously)

A system in which males and their needs are the norm, while women and their needs are often stereotyped or ignored

Patriarchy is harmful to both men AND women.

Patriarchy in Our Societies

Male dominance in political representation

Cultural restrictions on movement

Disparity in education rates

Gaslighting/emotional dismissal

Stereotypical portrayals of women

Violence against women & lack of safety

Standards of hypermasculinity

What Do Feminists Want?

To replace patriarchal structures with structures that include the

contributions of both genders equally

To recognize the individuality of each woman and the differences in

personality – basically, to reject stereotypes

To ensure that women have the freedom to choose how to live their lives

without double standards or baseless concepts of what is “improper”

(عيب)

To combat economic, political, and cultural forms of violence against

and exploitation of women

To understand and confront the thought processes that maintain the

survival of patriarchy in our cultures

FEMINISM IS FUNDAMENNTALLY

ABOUT CHOICE.

“Not all liberation looks the same.”

A Brief History of Feminism (the term)

Coined in France in the 1880s

Appeared in English in the early 20th century

American feminism had three waves:

First wave: confronting de jure/apparent discrimination

This wave was incredibly white-women-centered and exclusive of women of color

Second wave: confronting de facto/hidden discrimination

This wave was more inclusive than the first, but still relatively exclusive

Third wave: analyzing the intersections of women’s rights and a plethora of other factors

By 1920s spread in Egypt as “nisa’iyya”

Because of widespread imperialism in the Muslim world at the time, as well as French relationship to secularism, it was widely seen as a Western, anti-Islamic construct

A Brief History of Feminism (the idea)

It’s literally impossible for this history to be brief.

Almost every society, at almost every point in time, has had some sort of feminist thought.

These forms of thought are indigenous to their regions and often differ from each other in

priorities and application.

Using the umbrella term is unspecific, but it does allow for global solidarity and for analysis

of trends

For this reason, feminism is a GENERAL TERM that necessitates subsets of nationality,

political ideology, and value systems (which includes religion)

Feminism is NOT a secular, Western phenomenon. It is universal.

How Do Feminist Subsets Differ?

The way that they define “liberation” (or if they don’t define it at all)

The method that they think is best for improving society (chipping

away at institutions, completely dismantling them, etc.)

The factors that they think contribute to oppression of women

Equality vs. Equity (whether or not they emphasize the difference

between men and women)

Liberal (“White”) Feminism

Emphasizes equality of women and men

Does not consider external factors (racial, economic, etc. oppression)

Wants to work within the system to change it from the inside

Idealizes the Western classical liberal value system (and often fails to

consider others)

We need to “save” them!!11!!ONE!!

Dominated 1st and 2nd wave – now generally rejected

e.g. FEMEN and the American government

Radical Feminism

Emphasizes the difference between women and men and promotes separatism

Calls for a dismantling of structures and rebuilding them all over again (radical

change)

Often go to the extreme (and constitute many people’s view of feminism)

“Womyn” instead of women, “herstory” instead of history

Various types:

Marxist/Socialist feminism – believes that capitalism is the source of oppression

Lesbian feminism – argues against heteronormativity and advocates sexual exploration

Anti-pornography feminism – believes that porn contributes to violence against and

oppression of women (in contrast to liberal feminism which believes it is a matter of

freedom of speech)

Intersectional/Diverse Feminism

The needs and perspectives of non-Anglo, non-Western, and non-affluent women must be

considered. (Liberal feminism ignores different perspectives.)

Considers race, culture, socioeconomic status, etc.

For this reason, intersectional feminism often includes other movements like racial justice, anti-war,

etc.

Women’s issues change across cultures and across time; no single feminist voice or

viewpoint.

Allows for development of indigenous feminisms as stated before

Women experience oppression differently

Answer of equality vs. equity becomes culture specific

People have the right to define what they believe is liberation – stringently against the

idea of “freeing the women”

Example is black feminism in the US – Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Angela Davis, etc.

!عيب

Postcolonial Feminism

Analyzes the role of imperialist and colonialist structures on women’s rights

Considers colonialism a large source of oppression and works to dismantle

its effects

A large part of this is analyzing the way exporting Western feminism has

adversely affected women’s rights

Postcolonial studies include physical and cultural imperialism

Often goes hand-in-hand with intersectional feminism in rejecting the

“white savior complex”

Notes About Feminist Terminology

Subsets can and often do overlap

Rejecting parts of an ideology does not necessitate

rejecting it as a whole

Rejecting “feminism” as a label if you believe in the

fundamental principles but disagree with the history is

OKAY

For example, black feminists in the United States rejected the title of “feminist” because of its racist history in the US and instead embraced “womanism”

THE ISLAMIC “F” WORD(Just kidding; good Muslims don’t use bad words.)

What is Islamic Feminism?

“It is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur'an,

seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.”

“Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of

equality in the religion, and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Qur'an, hadith,

and sharia towards the creation of a more equal and just society.”

“"Islamic feminism" is not simply a feminism that is born from Muslim cultures, but

one that engages Islamic theology through the text and canonical traditions. A

distinctly "Islamic" feminism, at its core, draws on the Quranic concept of equality of all human beings, and insists on the application of this theology to everyday

life.”

IMPORTANT NOTES

Islamic feminists question interpretations of Islam,

not Islam itself

They believe that Islam is fundamentally feminist, but our

understanding of it may not be

Islamic feminists deal with today’s realities of

Muslim societies, not ideals of the Prophet’s

So don’t try the “Islam gave women their rights 1500 years ago” thing

What do Islamic Feminists Want?

To use the Quran and the Sunnah to dismantle sexist and

misogynistic structures that exist in current Muslim societies

i.e. to differentiate between culture and religion

To promote female scholarship in Islamic topics,

particularly in issues of jurisprudence (fiqh)

You can’t regulate what you don’t understand

How Does Islam Approach Patriarchy?

Islam’s approach to patriarchy is two-fold:

Protecting women from patriarchal structures

Working to dismantle these patriarchal

structures

Protecting Women from Patriarchy

Hijab

Husbands provide fully for their wives because of the lack of economic freedom

for women in patriarchy

Orphaned girls are provided for by their guardians and guaranteed an

inheritance just as “useful” orphaned boys

Women have the option of being supplied provisions by their ex-husbands three

months after divorce (also lack of economic freedom) in the event they are

pregnant

Giving women the last word in allegations of adultery and discrediting the

testimony of a false man for the rest of his life

Forbidding burying girls alive

Safe spaces in prayer

Working to Dismantle Patriarchy

Women’s full personhood

Property and inheritance rights

Rights to education and work (Khadija)

Right to be Islamic scholars and teachers (Aisha)

Rights in initiating marriage and divorce (Khadija)

Sexual rights

Limitation of polygamy

Basically EVERYTHING

So… What’s the Point?

You can be a Muslim and a feminist!

You can be an Arab and a feminist!

You can be religious and be a feminist!

In fact, you should be a feminist if you’re religious.

You can love your culture and be a feminist!

You can be pretty much anything and be a feminist as long as you believe in

justice and dismantling structures of oppression!

Islam is fundamentally feminist and feminism is fundamentally Islamic!

Feminism is not a bad word, it just gets a bad rap!

Feminism is for everybody!