Charrad, Mounira M. 2011. “Gender in the Middle East: Islam, State, Agency.” Annual Review of Sociology. Vol.37, pp.417-437.
This post will be a summarization of “Gender in the Middle East: Islam, State, Agency” by Mounira Charrad
This article is an analysis of the issues that make up the core of the discourse among intellectuals in regards to gender in the Middle East.
Orientalism is criticized by most scholars.
Orientalist representations depict the orient as a mysterious culture. It is these representations that support the western superiority.
Colonizers used women as symbols of “cultural separatenss”
Family and Islamic law has always been the heart of Islamic tradition.
The codification of Islamic law occurs as nation states are developed in the middle east.
Women in court have shaped the law.
Israelis are proponants of birth control among Palestinian women.
Family law is strong foundation of Islam and is a major factor in the determination of women’s legal status
War and conflicts have increased the need to define group boundaries
Due to the expansion of education towards the end of colonialism women’s groups developed
Political parties with a set Islamic identity include women.
The resourcefulness of women has allowed them to thrive in Islamic society over the years
According to Islamic feminists, the religion of Islam was not the cause of gender inequalities in the Middle East.
