Open AccessCivil Society and Women Activists in the Middle East
Author(s) -
Turan Kayaoğlu
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of islam and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2690-3741
pISSN - 2690-3733
DOI - 10.35632/ajis.v30i2.1134
Subject(s) - democratization , middle east , civil society , grassroots , politics , public sphere , gender studies , mainstream , state (computer science) , sociology , democracy , government (linguistics) , neglect , political science , law , psychology , linguistics , algorithm , psychiatry , computer science , philosophy
While much of the literature related to women and democratization in the MiddleEast neglects the role of women in this process, Wanda Krause persuasivelyargues that the grassroots activism of Middle Eastern women plays a vital rolein democratizing the region. Krause contends that this scholarly neglect is aresult of the literature’s (1) prioritizing the state (over civil society) and secularism(over religious groups), (2) ignoring the feminine (at the expense of thefeminist) and the practical (at the expense of the political), and (3) relegatingwomen’s concerns, like family issues, to “the private sphere and overlookedas having any meaning to the public” (p. 49). She further criticizes this literaturefor what she considers its orientalist attitude, which often manifests itself asexcessive attention to women’s dress, segregation, polygamy, and female genitalmutilation (FGM) and thus constructs a passive and oppressed image ofMuslim women. To fully understand the role of Middle Eastern women, Krauseurges scholars to focus not just on the government’s formal structures, but alsoto pay attention to civil society and investigate how beliefs, values, and everydaypractices both expand it and advance democratic values ...