Muslim Women Managing Women's Shelters : Somaya, the Muslimwoman and Religion as Resource

This article focuses on Sisters’ Shelter Somaya in Sweden, an organization unique in its claim to be a women’s shelter by and for Muslim women, and in its combining of Islamic and secular feminisms. Examining the organization’s self-presentations, the author argues that there is, however, an ongoing shift from an emphasis on its Muslim profile to a dissolution of the very same. Looking into potential loss in the process (for clients, activists, allies, and feminism at large), the analysis draws on current research on anti-Muslim intolerance and normative secularism. The concept of the “Muslim woman” is employed to illustrate the stereotyping that continuously associates Muslim women with “victims” inhabiting shelters rather than capable “managers”. Intersectionality is pointed at as an emic strategy adopted by Somaya to overcome division, but also critically analysed as a consensus-creating signifier that hinders diversity. Thus,the article raises the increasingly important issue of the relationship between religion, gender, and feminism in the post-secular turn, and the author calls for critical self-reflection and creative affirmation in the interaction with heterogeneous others.

Hindu and Muslim women at International Women's Year conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Muslim women and sport: participation, consumption, representation

This paper proposes a new framework for approaching Muslim women in sport, beyond the oft-utilised framework of sports development. In preference to a deficit model of sports participation, where marginalized groups and individuals are incorporated into mainstream culture as players of sport, we bring together three domains that remain under-investigated in terms of Muslim women and sport in Australia and internationally – participation, consumption and representation. By shifting the research focus toward the contribution of both active and passive sports participation to fostering pleasure, enjoyment and self-determination for Muslim women, possibilities emerge to expand on the narrow priority formulation and policy fields of ‘ethnicity’ and ‘well-being’ focused on physical health outcomes through which Muslim women and sports-based interventions are commonly framed.

Hindu and Muslim women's everyday relations and agency: Gender and the Ganga-Jamni tehzib in Jaipur

Multireligious syncretism in cities is chiefly upheld by the engagements of everyday life where enduring bonds are formed and sustained. This article studies the feminised dimensions of the 'everyday' in the home and neighbourhood of Jaipur city in India, which it sees as spaces of everyday activities and encounters between communities in multireligious Indian cities. Women's mutual engagements and agency in these spaces are vital to support cohesive multireligious community development in Indian cities. However, patriarchal political Hindu injunctions against Hindu women engaging with the 'Muslim other' are strong, and they consciously and/or subconsciously influence the degree to which Hindu women allow themselves to engage with Muslim women in everyday interactions. It concludes that feminised multi-faith engagement is vital for communal peace and stability, and must be consciously invoked for community development in Indian cities.

Disrupting (gendered) Islamophobia: the practice of feminist ijtihad to support the agency of young Muslim women

Muslim feminist scholars highlight, and seek to transform, racist, sexist and Islamophobic discourses through feminist interpretations of their religion. This paper reports on data gathered from an interview-based study involving four young Muslim women from the same Brisbane (Queensland) community. The focus is on how these young women are understanding, and finding spaces of agency, within these discourses with reference to their faith. The Islamic principle of ijtihad (jurisprudential interpretation of religious text) and the practice of feminist ijtihad are theorized as powerful tools in supporting the young women to counter the Islamophobia and gendered Islamophobia in their lives. Using these tools, however, as this paper argues, is not unproblematic and can reinscribe disempowering gender and ethno-cultural relations. Amid unprecedented gendered Islamophobia and the clear imperative of supporting Muslim women to access the tools of feminist ijtihad, the paper provides important insight into the possibilities and problematics of these tools.

Food and nutrient consumption patterns in third trimester Thai-Muslim pregnant women in rural Southern Thailand

The aims of this study were to determine food and nutrient intakes and the socio-economic factors influencing food and nutrient intakes of rural Thai-Muslim women in the third trimester of pregnancy. The study was conducted in Pattani province, Thailand, where 166 women were interviewed between 32 and 40 weeks gestation. A questionnaire. including a Food Frequency Questionnaire was used. Data on food items were compiled into the five basic Thai food groups, and food intakes were computed into macro and micro-nutrients. Mean weight intake of each of the five groups was below the recommended level for pregnant Thai women. Mean intake of niacin, vitamin A (RE) and vitamin C were above the recommended Thai level. Thiamin, calcium. phosphorus and iron intakes were lower than 50% of recommended levels. Intakes of the five food groups were not associated with socio-economic status, although total non-haem iron intake was associated with level of education. Under-consumption of food and nutrients among pregnant women in the study area was due to poor education. poverty and food availability. Integrated strategies should be considered to promote increased intakes to meet nutrient recommendations.

Women's human rights and the Muslim question : Iran's one million signatures campaign

Women's Human Rights and the Muslim Question shows how Muslim women have made meaningful contributions to the development of the international framework on gender equality and women's rights. An investigation into the women's movement of Iran offers a practical grounding for this argument, and presents unprecedented findings on how ideological divisions along secular and religious lines have been worked in favour of a rights-based framework for change.The book presents a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the campaign material of the women's movement 'Change for Equality Campaign'—one of the most progressive and sophisticated movements in the Middle East/Central Asia.

South Asian Women's Identities: A Media and Personal Narrative Analysis

This study examines issues of racism and sexism through the lens of Critical Race Theory and the interaction of personal and composite narratives. Specifically, the study explores how mainstream media’s hegemonic portrayal of South Asian culture and the 2007 socalled honour killing of Aqsa Parvez contribute to post-9/11 Islamophobia. The researcher presents a personal narrative that draws upon her experiences growing up in Dubai, U.A.E., and in Ontario, Canada and critically analyzes majoritarian stories related to Parvez as well as “counter-perspectives” that challenge such views. Study findings highlight the impact of 9/11 and Parvez’s murder on the researcher’s identity formation, and how media portray Muslim women as oppressed beings who live under the yoke of patriarchy. Results also indicate that although certain articles offer a counter-perspective that challenge dominant narratives, most recent media representations of the Parvez story equate Islam with honour killings and thus foster continued Islamophobia.

Giving young Emirati women a voice : participatory action research on physical activity

International evidence on health promotion indicates the importance of regular physical activity for preventing and reducing the incidence of obesity and chronic diseases. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity and the social milieu of young Muslim women in the United Arab Emirates. This participatory action research project included semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups and yielded qualitative data. Set within a context of rapid social change, perceived barriers to daily exercise influenced participants’ physical activity levels and overall well-being. Results indicated a lack of physical exercise and strategies were proposed for implementation by college staff and students.

Researching the relationship between physical activity and motherhood in older Somali women

This thesis explores participation in physical activity by a group of older Somali women living in Melbourne, Australia. First, it describes the methodological challenges faced by a white researcher conducting cross-cultural research; second, it explores how participants' experiences of motherhood and physical activity in Somalia and Australia influence their participation in physical activity. This research contributes data to address the scarcity of knowledge and research on physical activity amongst older African and Muslim women.