Feminism

An Overview
Husna Munirah Bt Ahmad Kamil Wan Atika Bt Wan Asri Syafa Sakinah Bt Mohd Mustaffa Wan Nur Amaleena Bt Wan Mohd Affendi

Definition
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights. Feminism is mainly focused on women's issues, but because feminism seeks gender equality, some feminists argue that men's liberation is therefore a necessary part of feminism, and that men are also harmed by sexism and gender roles. Feminists are "person[s] whose beliefs and behavior[s] are based on feminism."

 Feminist theory emerged from these feminist movements and includes general theories and theories about the origins of inequality, and, in some cases, about the social construction of sex and gender, in a variety of disciplines. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's rights such as in contract, property, and voting while also promoting women's rights to bodily integrity and autonomy and reproductive rights. They have opposed domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. In economics, they have advocated for workplace rights, including equal pay and opportunities for careers and to start businesses.

 Some of the earlier forms of feminism have been criticized for being geared towards white, middle-class, educated perspectives. This led to the creation of ethnically-specific or multiculturalists forms of feminism.

HISTORY OF FEMINISM

 Feminists and scholars have divided the movement's history into three "waves". The first wave refers mainly to women's suffrage movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (mainly concerned with women's right to vote). The second wave refers to the ideas and actions associated with the women's liberation movement beginning in the 1960s (which campaigned for legal and social equality for women). The third wave refers to a continuation of, and a reaction to, the perceived failures of second-wave feminism, beginning in the 1990s.

FEMINISM MOVEMENTS AND IDEOLOGIES

Political and economic Liberal feminism seeks individualistic equality of men and women through political and legal reform without altering the structure of society. Radical feminism considers the malecontrolled capitalist hierarchy as the defining feature of women's oppression and the total uprooting and reconstruction of society as necessary. Socialist feminism connects oppression of women to exploitation, oppression, and labor.

 Marxist feminists feel that overcoming class oppression overcomes gender oppression; some socialist feminists disagree. and has branched into such as anti-pornography feminism, opposed by sex-positive feminism. Anarcha-feminists believe that class struggle and anarchy against the state require struggling against patriarchy, which comes from involuntary hierarchy. Separatist feminism does not support heterosexual relationships. Lesbian feminism is thus closely related. Other feminists criticize separatist feminism as sexist.

 Conservative feminism is conservative relative to the society in which it resides. Libertarian feminism conceives of people as selfowners and therefore as entitled to freedom from coercive interference.[ Individualist feminism or ifeminism, opposing socalled gender feminism, draws on anarchocapitalism. Ecofeminists see men's control of land as responsible for the oppression of women and destruction of the natural environment, but a criticism is that ecofeminism focuses too much on a mystical connection between women and nature.

CULTURAL

 Cultural feminism attempts to revalidate undervalued "female nature" or "female essence";its critics assert that it has led feminists to retreat from politics to lifestyle. Womanism emerged after early feminist movements were largely white and middle-class. Black feminism argues that sexism, class oppression, and racism are inextricably bound together. Chicana feminism focuses on Mexican American, Chicana, and Hispanic women in the United States. Multiracial or "women of colour" feminism is related. Postmodern feminists argue that sex and gender are socially constructed, that it is impossible to generalize women's experiences across cultures and histories, and that dualisms and traditional gender, feminism, and politics are too limiting. Poststructural feminism uses various intellectual currents for feminist concerns. Many post-structural feminists maintain that difference is one of the most powerful tools that women possess. Contemporary psychoanalytic French feminism is more philosophical and literary than is Anglophone feminism.

 Riot grrrl (or riot grrl) is an underground feminist punk movement that started in the 1990s and is often associated with third-wave feminism (it is sometimes seen as its starting point). It was grounded in the DIY philosophy of punk values. Riot grrls took an anticorporate stance of self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Riot grrrl's emphasis on universal female identity and separatism often appears more closely allied with second-wave feminism than with the third wave. The movement encouraged and made "adolescent girls standpoints central," allowing them to express themselves fully. Lipstick feminism is a cultural feminist movement that attempts to respond to the backlash of second-wave radical feminism of the 1960s and 1970s by reclaiming symbols of "feminine" identity such as make-up, suggestive clothing and having a sexual allure as valid and empowering personal choices.

Do you know what is

ISLAMIC FEMINISM

DEFINITION
form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. Islamic feminists promote women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. aim for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. aim to recover the idea of gender equality, radical in its day, that the Qur'anic revelation introduced.

 Different - encourage a questioning of the interpretation of Islamic teaching through the Qur'an (holy book), hadith (sayings of Muhammad) and sharia (law) towards the creation of a more equal and just society.

ISSUES
There are several main issues for Islamic Feminists: - Dress Code - Sex & Sexuality - Personal Law - Equality in the Mosque - Equality in Prayer

 As for equality in the Mosque - A survey showed that two of three mosques in 2000 required women to pray in a separate area, up from one of two in 1994. Islamic feminists have begun to protest this, advocating for women to be allowed to pray beside men without a partition as they do in Mecca. As for equality in Prayer - According to currently existing traditional schools of Islam, a woman cannot lead a mixed gender congregation in salat (prayer). Some schools make exceptions for Tarawih (optional Ramadan prayers) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives.

HISTORY

 Early reforms under Islam - William Montgomery Watt a non-Muslim interpreters of Islam in the West - portrayed Muhammad-granted women rights and privileges in the sphere of family life, marriage, education, and economic endeavors, rights that helped to improve women's status in society. -The seventh century affected women's rights in marriage, divorce and inheritance. Women were given the right to inherit property in a society .

 Medieval period
- A number of important figures argued for improving women's rights. - Ibn Arabi, Nana Asma u, Usman Dan Fodio, Fatima al-Fihri.

- Twelfth century
Women could earn academic degrees and qualify as scholars and teachers Inspired by Muhammad's wives: -Khadijah, a successful businesswoman, and -Aisha, a renowned hadith scholar and military leader. According to a hadith attributed to Muhammad, he praised the women of Medina because of their desire for religious knowledge. No legal restrictions attended informal lectures Women were employed in a wide range

 Nineteenth century - Egyptian jurist Qasim Amin(father of the Egyptian feminist) - wrote 1899 pioneering book Women's Liberation -touch on polygyny, the veil, and purdah ( sex segregation in Islam) - condemned them as unIslamic and contradictory to the true spirit of Islam Twentieth century - Aisha Abd al-Rahman(Bint al-Shati) - first modern woman to undertake Qur'anic exegesis. -She wrote biographies of early women in Islam, including the mother, wives and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as literary criticism.

 The term Islamic feminism began to be visible in the 1990s in various global locations from the writings of Muslims. Iranian scholars -Afsaneh Najmabadeh and Ziba MirHosseini- Teheran women's journal Zanan writen by women of iran founded by Shahla Sherkat 1992. Saudi Arabian scholar-Mai Yamani used the term in her 1996 book Feminism and Islam. Turkish scholars-Yesim Arat and Feride Acar in their articles, and Nilufer Gole in her book The Forbidden Modern 1990s South African activist-Shamima Shaikh employed the term Islamic feminism in her speeches and articles in the 1990s By the mid-1990s, there was growing evidence of Islamic feminism as a term created and circulated by Muslims.

INFLUENTIAL ISLAMIC FEMINISM MOVEMENTS

Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Ni Putes Ni Soumises means (Neither Whores Nor Submissives) is a powerful French Islamic feminist Founded in 2002 Founder is Fadela Amara assisted by a famous journalist (from Le monde) Slyvia zappi

Pic; group logo

Issues
Fights against mental and physical violence targeting women Marry early without being able to choose the husband. Take action to Gang-rapes cases
refer to: 1. Samira Bellil who published a book called Dans l'enfer des tournantes ("In Gang Rape Hell") she was gang raped on more than one occasion, the being alienated and shunned by her family and some of her friends. She called this society punishement as la loi des cits (the law of the housing estates) 2.that of 17-year-old Sohanne Benziane who was burned alive by an alleged small-time gang leader.

Sosial pressure. Some have claimed that Muslim French girls face pressures to wear the hijab , drop out of school
refer to: 1. The Qur'an does state that both men and women should be dressed modestly (33:59-60, 24:30-31; in translation by Ali, 1988, 1126 27) 2. The Qur'an, 2:256, states "Let there be no compulsion in religion"
does not use the words veil, hijab, burka, chador, or abaya. It uses the words jilbab meaning cloak and khumur meaning shawl. These do not specifically cover the face, hair, hands or feet. Furthermore until the third to the ninth century women prayed in the mosques unveiled.

Sister In Islam
Sisters in Islam (SIS) is an organization of Muslim women in Malaysia Founded in 1987 Founder Zainah Anwar (hold for two decades) cofounder is Amina Wudud

Pic; SIS logo

Issues and goals

Does not support polygyny refer to :
1. 2. 3. impact of polygyny to the family external social pressure How can it called ibadah or following sunnah when the niyah is differents

the right to guardianship public voice to women to air their concerns about their rights under Syariah law Woman as judge Woman have the right to speak Achievement
At one point, SIS was taken more seriously abroad than at home in Malaysia. Women from Iran who listened incredulously to Malaysian Muslim officialdom defend polygamy, Islamic Family Law, and justice for women found common ground with SIS on this issue.

Women s right in Saudi Arabia

There is no specific movement is this country as it is dangerous as this feminism is considered as sensitive issue there. Male empowered woman and are the dominant to give thought and speak out. However there s few that are brave and take risk to give an idea such as Journalist Maha Akeel is a frequent critic of her country's patriarchal customs . Nonetheless, she agrees that Westerners criticize what they do not understand.
"Look, we are not asking for women's rights according to Western values or lifestyles . We want things according to what Islam says. Look at our history, our role models.

Said one female journalist,

here If the Qur an does not address the subject, then the clerics will on the side of caution and make it haram(forbidden). The driving ban for women is the best example .

Issues for Saudis woman

Woman are not allowed to drive not allowed to vote for election and cannot hold any high position cannot being employed (unless woman is a widow) few educational opportunities guardianship. If a divorce takes place, women may be granted custody of their young children until they reach the age of seven. Older children are often awarded to the father or the paternal grandparents. In rapes cases ,rapist will be punished . However , if the woman is the first to enter the room,office,etc the woman will also be punish.

Male fighting for women s right

Male Critics reject the ban on driving on the grounds that

1. it is not supported by the Qu'ran, 2. it causes violation of gender segregation customs, by needlessly forcing women to take taxis with male drivers, 3. it is an inordinate financial burden on families, causing the average woman to spend 30 percent of her income on taxis, 4. it impedes the education and employment of women, both of which tend to require commuting. In addition, male drivers are a frequent source of complaints of sexual harassment, and the public transport system is widely regarded as unreliable and dangerous. King Abdullah has said that he wants women to drive when the society is ready for it:
I believe strongly in the rights of women. My mother is a woman. My sister is a woman. My daughter is a woman. My wife is a woman. I believe the day will come when women will drive. In fact if you look at the areas of Saudi Arabia, the desert, and in the rural areas, you will find that women do drive. The issue will require patience. In time I believe that it will be possible. I believe that patience is a virtue.

HIGH-RANKING ISLAMIC FEMINIST LEADER

Shirin Ebadi
born 21 June 1947) an Iranian lawyer a former judge Founder non-governmental organizations in Iran with western funding, the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child (SPRC) On October 10, 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's, children's, and refugee rights. She was the first ever Iranian, and the first Muslim woman to have received the prize. From Tehran lives in UK Criticism on her based on criticized Ebadi for defending homosexuals, appearing without the Islamic headscarf abroad, questioning Islamic punishments

Raheel Raza
Raheel Raza Born 1949 Board member of Muslim Canadian Congress Religion Islam Awards Constance Hamilton Award of the City of Toronto Canadian Ethnic Journalists & Writer s Club award for excellence in journalism She is the author of Their Jihad, Not My Jihad: a Muslim Canadian woman speaks out. In this book she agreed part of islam is a terrorist but not all in cluding her. As a result, she has received death threats.
"I have been sued for calling extremists, 'extremist,' and I am listed on the 10 'World's Most Hated Muslims' list. I'm No. 6. I hope to be No. 1.Obviously I'm doing something right.

Pic; imam of mixed congregational

She became the first woman to lead mixedgender Muslim prayers in Toronto,Canada, in 2005,

Amina Wudud
born September 25, 1952 is an Islamic feminist, imam, and scholar with a progressive, feminist focus on Qur'an exegesis Wadud was born as Mary Teasley contracted for a period of 3 years (1989-92)as Assistant Professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia (iium) in the field of Quranic Studies in Malaysia, IRKHS and currently profesor at Gadjah Mada University of indonesia Wadud was the subject of controversy, debate and Muslim juristic discourse after leading a Friday prayer(salat) of over 100 male and female Muslims sponsored by the Progressive Muslim Union and held in the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on March 18, 2005, breaking with the tradition of having only male imams (prayer leaders). Three mosques had refused to host the service and the Sundaram Tagore Gallery withdrew its acceptance of the event after a bomb threat Wadud also delivered a Friday khutbah (sermon) on "Islam as Engaged Surrender" at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa her book Inside the Gender Jihad On her defend I learned Qur an and studied it for 30 years

Asra Nomani
Nomani was born in Bombay, India and when she was 4 years old moved to the United States with her older brother to join their parents in New Jersey, (reform and Islamiborn 1965) is an Indian-American journalist, author, and feminist, known as an activist involved in the Muslim c feminist movement first woman in her mosque in West Virginia to insist on the right to pray in the male-only main hall. Her effort brought front-page attention in a New York Times article entitled Muslim Women Seeking a Place in the Mosque she organized the first public woman-led prayer of a mixed-gender congregation in the United States, with Amina Wadud leading the prayer she is descended from Indian Muslim scholar Mawlana Shibli Nomani, known for writing a biography of Muhammad

Zainah Anwar

Zainah Anwar is a prominent Malaysian nongovernmental organisation leader, activist and Muslim feminist. She was the head of Sisters in Islam for over two decades before stepping down was born in Johor Founder of SIS Said Zainah in an interview with The Star It s as if in Islam, women don t have any rights at all. One woman asked, if the house were on fire, would she then have to seek her husband s permission to flee! Women cannot even use their common sense to save their (own) lives. This cannot be Islam. God is just. Islam is just. the founding sisters turned to the Quran to find out for themselves what the verses say, as opposed to various interpretations. What they discovered was a revelation. On polygamy, the Quran says: If you cannot treat them the same, then marry just the one. That was a moment of epiphany. It was that kind of questioning that made us want to read the Quran with a new lens. It was a liberating process understanding that the Quran speaks to women and is lifting and empowering.

Status of Men and Women

Men and women are equal
And do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of his bounty. Indeed Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing. An-Nisa , verse 32

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. Al-Hujurat, verse 13

In pursuit of education and knowledge

Islam teaches that education of men and women is of equal importance. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has said; "It is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge."

In leadership
Political leadership
Eg; president, prime minister

There is no Quranic verse that prohibits women from being a leader. Women can be a leader of a state or country if there is no other qualified man for the position. If there is a qualified man for the position, priority is given to the man.

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means Surah An-Nisa , verse 34

Religious leadership
Eg; imam for congregational prayer

Specification of being an imam in Islam is he has to be a man if it is a mixed congregational prayer. Furthermore, when a woman is praying in front of a man or beside him, it is very likely that any part of her dressed body may become uncovered after a certain motion of bowing or prostrating. The man's eye may happen to be looking at the uncovered part, with the result that she will be embarrassed and he will be exposed to distraction or possibly evil thoughts. So, it is to avoid any embarrassment and distraction to help concentrate on mediation and pure thoughts, to maintain harmony and order among worshippers, to fulfil the true purposes of prayers.

Inheritance
Women get half of the men s share Men
Solely responsible for the complete maintenance of his wife, family and other needy relations. Maintenance of women (no relation) as responsible of society of whole.

Women
No financial responsibilities except her personal expenses. Financially secured and provided. Eg; for a wife, husband is the provider; for a mother is the son, for a daughter is the father and for a sister is the brother. Money she makes will be hers for herself without responsibilities for maintenance of anybody. If she wishes to work or be selfsupporting and participate in handling the family responsibilities, she is free to do so, provided her integrity and honour are safeguarded.

If we deprive the female completely, it would be unjust to her because she is related to the deceased. Likewise, if we always give her a share equal to the man's, it would be unjust to him. So, instead of doing injustice to either side, Islam gives the man a larger portion of the inherited property to help him to meet his family needs and social responsibilities. At the same time, Islam has not forgotten her altogether, but has given her a portion to satisfy her very personal needs. In fact, Islam in this respect is being more kind to her than to him. Here we can say that when taken as a whole the rights of woman are equal to those of man although not necessarily identical.

The right feminism

The fight for women s rights that revolves around Islamic law and shari ah.

The wrong feminism

Fighting for things that are against Islamic laws and shari ah.

CASE STUDY:
Pamela Taylor
European-American female imam who embraced Islam twenty-five years ago. Taylor led a mixed congregation of 50 men, women and children observing the Eid Al-Adha prayer at All Souls Unitarian Church in Northeast Washington, DC. Men and women praying side-by-side. One of her arguments is; It is an Islamic right based upon a hadith where the Prophet Muhammad asked a woman (Ummu Waraqa) to lead the people of her area in prayer

Prophet exceptionally allowed a Ummu Waraqa, a hafiz of the Quran, to carry out the duty of imam for her own household, which is stated in early hadith sources. Ummu Waraqa s household consisted of two slaves, one man and one woman, whom she set free on condition that they would be free after her death. The male slave was old. Those people whom she led the prayer for were her own household. And it was a specific case.

Benazir Bhutto
Former prime minister of Pakistan. The first woman elected to lead a Muslim state.

Many countries in which Muslims are a majority, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey have been led by women. Nearly one-third of the Parliament of Egypt also consists of women.

Conclusion
Actually, Islam does not need feminism because Islam already protects the rights of women. However, influences from other cultures and religions oppressed women, that resulting in the existence of feminism. Nevertheless, Islam does not prohibits Muslim women from fighting for their right as long as it does not against Islamic laws.

From our survey, we find that;

Half of respondents don t even understand what is feminism. After being briefed about feminism,

Most of them agree that Muslim society does not need feminism and most of them also agree that Islam does not prohibits Muslim women from fighting for their rights.