Muslim Women's Choices

This volume counters the prevailing Western views and stereotypes of Muslim women - usually projected through male interpretations - by presenting a cross-cultural perspective of their experiences and choices in contemporary Muslim communities. The main theme running through these papers is the manner in which Muslim women consciously as well as unconsciously manipulate religious belief to negotiate their gender roles within the context of their lives. Introduction, C.F. El-Solh and J. Mabro; separation and reconciliation - marital conflict among the Muslim poor in Cairo, H. Watson; strategies of selection - differing notions of marriage in Iran and Morocco, Z. Mir-Hosseini; Islam and gender - the Nigerian case, G. Thomas-Emeagwali; separate but more than equal - Muslim women at the Cape, R. Ridd; mixed motives - Islam, nationalism and Mevluds in an unstable Yugoslavia, C. Soragbji; guardians of the faith? - gender and religion in an (ex) Soviet Tajik village, G. Tett; Islam in Azerbaijan - the position of women, T. Dragadze; women's labour in the Bangladesh garment industry - choices and constraints, N. Kabeer; gender relations and Islamic resurgence in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, J. Siapno.