Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt
About: This article is published in History: Reviews of New Books.The article was published on 1995-06-01. It has received 133 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Islam.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the intersections between postcolonialism, feminism and development, and explore the ways in which postcolonial feminist approaches might continue to make significant advancement in rethinking development.
Abstract: In recent years, postcolonial and feminist theories have had enormous consequences for how development is conceptualized. In light of this, the present paper explores the intersections between postcolonialism, feminism and development. It does so by, first, reviewing the primary issues underpinning postcolonial approaches to development. Secondly, the paper reviews the emergence of postcolonial feminisms and explores the key areas of debate generated by these approaches within development studies. Thirdly, the paper examines some of the dilemmas and criticisms provoked by these approaches, and concludes by exploring the ways in which postcolonial feminist approaches might continue to make significant advancement in rethinking development.
201 citations
Cites background from "Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gende..."
...These focused especially on Indian and Egyptian women’s movements (Baron, 1994; Badran, 1995; Jayawardena, 1995; Southard, 1995), but also on countries and cultures having less self-evident (or less well known) relationships to European empires, such as Iran (Kandiyoti, 1991; Shahidian, 1995;…...
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...These focused especially on Indian and Egyptian women’s movements (Baron, 1994; Badran, 1995; Jayawardena, 1995; Southard, 1995), but also on countries and cultures having less self-evident (or...
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01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, Patessio explores the complicated social networks that drew Meiji women together across boundaries of class and region earlier imagined as impermeable, and suggests that a host of other voices, until now largely forgotten, was every bit as significant in contributing to the emerging nation and fomenting the feminist movement in Japan.
Abstract: Winner of the 2nd place in the 2012 European Association for Japanese Studies Book Prize. "In this clear and wonderfully informative study, Mara Patessio steps beyond the more traditional focus on 'great lives' or 'important movements' to explore the complicated social networks that drew Meiji women together across boundaries of class and region earlier imagined as impermeable. While offering affecting portraits of notable female educators, students, writers, and activists, Patessio suggests that a host of other voices, until now largely forgotten, was every bit as significant in contributing to the emerging nation and fomenting the feminist movement in Japan." ?Rebecca Copeland, Washington University in St. Louis
140 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, Afsaneh Najmabadi provides a compelling demonstration of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the shaping of modern culture and politics in Iran and of how changes in ideas about gender and sexual identity affected conceptions of beauty, love, homeland, marriage, education, and citizenship.
Abstract: Drawing from a rich array of visual and literary material from nineteenth-century Iran, this groundbreaking book rereads and rewrites the history of Iranian modernity through the lens of gender and sexuality. Peeling away notions of a rigid pre-modern Islamic gender system, Afsaneh Najmabadi provides a compelling demonstration of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the shaping of modern culture and politics in Iran and of how changes in ideas about gender and sexuality affected conceptions of beauty, love, homeland, marriage, education, and citizenship. She concludes with a provocative discussion of Iranian feminism and its role in that country's current culture wars. In addition to providing an important new perspective on Iranian history, Najmabadi skillfully demonstrates how using gender as an analytic category can provide insight into structures of hierarchy and power and thus into the organization of politics and social life
130 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the changing structures and discourses of Arab women's movements, in the context of a development discourse based in binaries such as West/East and state/civil society.
Abstract: One of the dominant trends in the evolution of the Arab women’s movements is a steady increase in the number of women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dealing with aspects of women’s lives such as health, education, legal literacy, income generation and rights advocacy. This can be seen as a sign of the failure of centralised Arab states to bring about social change and development. Such NGOs are widely viewed as the development of an Arab “civil society”, which can contain the authoritarian state, and as a healthy sign of real, “bottom-up” democracy in the region. On the other hand, they have also been viewed as a new and growing form of dependency on the West. Debates abound concerning the ideology of NGOs, their links both to their own states and to the states that fund them, and their utility for development and social change. These debates are given a new edge by signs that the current American government is giving greater attention than ever before to “democratisation” and “modernisation” of Arab societies and Arab regimes, through increased funding for civil society organisations. The US administration sees the role of women as vital in this respect. This article traces the development of the Arab women’s movements, with special attention to what I call their “NGO-isation”. To shed some light on this trend, I examine the changing structures and discourses of Arab women’s movements, in the context of a development discourse based in binaries such as West/East and state/civil society. The growing number of Arab NGOs in general, and women’s NGOs in particular, must be seen in the context of a broader development trend that views NGOs as a vital vehicle for social change and democratisation. I will argue though that the NGO as a form of organisation is different in critical ways from another kind of organisation aimed at social change, namely the social movement. Analysing this difference is useful in revealing the limitations of NGOs in introducing genuine, comprehensive and sustainable development, and the social changes desired by local populations. This is not to say that the role of NGOs should be explained in terms of “conspiracy theory”, but rather that they should be subjected to a more historical and empirical approach that does not take for granted their equivalence with “healthy” socio-political development.
127 citations
Cites background from "Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gende..."
...…opening up Islam as a vital force in women’s and men’s daily lives, secular nationalism, articulated in the wake of colonial occupation, involved collective self-review as part of a project of national reinvigoration to win independence (Badran 1995; Baron 1994; Radwan 1998; Lazreg 1994)....
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...International feminists were confronted with issues of imperialism that they may have preferred to ignore (Badran 1995: 13)....
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...Egypt, for example, has historically appropriated and absorbed “alien elements” into a highly vital indigenous culture’ (Badran 1995: 31–2)....
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...“Authentic” dress and veiling did not constitute worrying issues at this time, and were not adopted by nationalist women as pressing strategies (Ahmed 1992; Badran 1995; Fleischmann 1999)....
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Journal Article•
103 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the intersections between postcolonialism, feminism and development, and explore the ways in which postcolonial feminist approaches might continue to make significant advancement in rethinking development.
Abstract: In recent years, postcolonial and feminist theories have had enormous consequences for how development is conceptualized. In light of this, the present paper explores the intersections between postcolonialism, feminism and development. It does so by, first, reviewing the primary issues underpinning postcolonial approaches to development. Secondly, the paper reviews the emergence of postcolonial feminisms and explores the key areas of debate generated by these approaches within development studies. Thirdly, the paper examines some of the dilemmas and criticisms provoked by these approaches, and concludes by exploring the ways in which postcolonial feminist approaches might continue to make significant advancement in rethinking development.
201 citations
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, Patessio explores the complicated social networks that drew Meiji women together across boundaries of class and region earlier imagined as impermeable, and suggests that a host of other voices, until now largely forgotten, was every bit as significant in contributing to the emerging nation and fomenting the feminist movement in Japan.
Abstract: Winner of the 2nd place in the 2012 European Association for Japanese Studies Book Prize. "In this clear and wonderfully informative study, Mara Patessio steps beyond the more traditional focus on 'great lives' or 'important movements' to explore the complicated social networks that drew Meiji women together across boundaries of class and region earlier imagined as impermeable. While offering affecting portraits of notable female educators, students, writers, and activists, Patessio suggests that a host of other voices, until now largely forgotten, was every bit as significant in contributing to the emerging nation and fomenting the feminist movement in Japan." ?Rebecca Copeland, Washington University in St. Louis
140 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, Afsaneh Najmabadi provides a compelling demonstration of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the shaping of modern culture and politics in Iran and of how changes in ideas about gender and sexual identity affected conceptions of beauty, love, homeland, marriage, education, and citizenship.
Abstract: Drawing from a rich array of visual and literary material from nineteenth-century Iran, this groundbreaking book rereads and rewrites the history of Iranian modernity through the lens of gender and sexuality. Peeling away notions of a rigid pre-modern Islamic gender system, Afsaneh Najmabadi provides a compelling demonstration of the centrality of gender and sexuality to the shaping of modern culture and politics in Iran and of how changes in ideas about gender and sexuality affected conceptions of beauty, love, homeland, marriage, education, and citizenship. She concludes with a provocative discussion of Iranian feminism and its role in that country's current culture wars. In addition to providing an important new perspective on Iranian history, Najmabadi skillfully demonstrates how using gender as an analytic category can provide insight into structures of hierarchy and power and thus into the organization of politics and social life
130 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the changing structures and discourses of Arab women's movements, in the context of a development discourse based in binaries such as West/East and state/civil society.
Abstract: One of the dominant trends in the evolution of the Arab women’s movements is a steady increase in the number of women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dealing with aspects of women’s lives such as health, education, legal literacy, income generation and rights advocacy. This can be seen as a sign of the failure of centralised Arab states to bring about social change and development. Such NGOs are widely viewed as the development of an Arab “civil society”, which can contain the authoritarian state, and as a healthy sign of real, “bottom-up” democracy in the region. On the other hand, they have also been viewed as a new and growing form of dependency on the West. Debates abound concerning the ideology of NGOs, their links both to their own states and to the states that fund them, and their utility for development and social change. These debates are given a new edge by signs that the current American government is giving greater attention than ever before to “democratisation” and “modernisation” of Arab societies and Arab regimes, through increased funding for civil society organisations. The US administration sees the role of women as vital in this respect. This article traces the development of the Arab women’s movements, with special attention to what I call their “NGO-isation”. To shed some light on this trend, I examine the changing structures and discourses of Arab women’s movements, in the context of a development discourse based in binaries such as West/East and state/civil society. The growing number of Arab NGOs in general, and women’s NGOs in particular, must be seen in the context of a broader development trend that views NGOs as a vital vehicle for social change and democratisation. I will argue though that the NGO as a form of organisation is different in critical ways from another kind of organisation aimed at social change, namely the social movement. Analysing this difference is useful in revealing the limitations of NGOs in introducing genuine, comprehensive and sustainable development, and the social changes desired by local populations. This is not to say that the role of NGOs should be explained in terms of “conspiracy theory”, but rather that they should be subjected to a more historical and empirical approach that does not take for granted their equivalence with “healthy” socio-political development.
127 citations
Journal Article•
103 citations