Research Guides: Middle East and North Africa: Women Activism & Islam

Women Activism

Middle East Women's Activism
information about women's activism and how it has changed over time and the impact of/their involvement in major national events, amongst other details
The Middle East Women's Initiative (MEWI)
The Middle East Women's Initiative (MEWI) promotes the empowerment of women in the region through an open and inclusive dialogue with women leaders from the Middle East and continuous research.
Middle East Women’s Activism Digital Archive
Middle East Women’s Activism digital archive is a collection of interviews with women of different generations in Egypt, Jordan etc. as well as maps.
Women in Iraq
MERIP provides critical, alternative reporting and analysis, focusing on state power, political economy and social hierarchies as well as popular struggles and the role of US policy in the region.

Social Matters

Sharia Laws are applied differently, and Islamic views vary in MENA region. These are selected examples:

Islam, Women and Me

Dating: Muslim Style

Divorce Sharia Style

Divorce: Iranian Style

Honor Killings

Life in Iran vs in Saudi Arabia

Female Genital Mutilation in Islam (FGM)

End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Iran's War on Women

Iran's War on Women

Women & Feminism

Feminist critique and Islamic feminism: the question of intersectionality
Islam and Feminism
This resource explores the relationship between Islam and feminism.
Islamic Feminism
Al-Raida Journal
Men and Women's Rights in Islam: Equal or Equally Balanced?
www.call-to-monotheism.com.
The reality and future of Islamic feminism
[Report and videos from Al Jazeera, January 2013.]
The Rise of the Islamic Feminists

Databases at Gelman

Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures This link opens in a new window
The Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures crosses history, geographic borders and disciplines to create a reference work reflecting research on gender studies and the Islamic world. Useful for researchers in the fields of gender studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, as well as scholars of religion, history, politics, anthropology, geography and related disciplines.

Topics on Modern Muslim Women Database
Compiled by: Rubina Ramji, Lucy MacDonald and Alyssa MacDougall. This research database offers articles and media dealing with topics on Muslim women. [Religion and Diversity Project, hosted at the University of Ottawa,]

Women and the Islamic Veil

Women and the Islamic Veil: Deconstructing implications of Orientalism, state, and feminism through an understanding of performativity, cultivation of piety and identity, and fashion ((Thesis, Hofstra 2014).

An Islamic perspective on Women's Dress by Muslim Women's League. December 1997.

Islam and Hijab BBC.

Muslim Women, Dress Codes and Human Rights

Muslim Veils- from Hijab to Burqa

Freedom, Norms and the Ban of the Muslim Veil in France: 1830- Present

NiqaBitch and Princess Hijab: Niqab activism, satire and street art- Journal Article

The French Islamic Headscarf Bill in a Perspective of Sociology of Law

Islam & Feminism (Videos & Streaming)

Feminism and Islam

I am a Muslim Feminist

Islamic Feminism

What is Islamic Feminism

What Does it Mean to Be a Feminist in Islam?

Women Mosque of America: Own Your Faith

Women Mosque of America

Selected Comic Book

That Can Be Arranged by Huda Fahmy
A story about what it can be like to find a husband as an observant Muslim woman in the twenty-first century.

'The Four Hijabs' Animated Short Film

Selected Books

Anti-Veiling Campaigns in the Muslim World by Stephanie Cronin
ISBN: 041571138X
Publication Date: 2014-04-25
Beyond the Veil, Revised Edition by Fatima Mernissi
ISBN: 0253204232
Publication Date: 1987-04-22
From Victims to Suspects by Shakira Hussein
ISBN: 1742247563
Publication Date: 2016-06-10
Muslim Fashion by Reina Lewis
ISBN: 0822359146
Publication Date: 2015-09-25
The Muslim Veil in North America by Sajida Sultana Alvi (Editor); Homa Hoodfar (Editor); Sheila McDonough (Editor)
ISBN: 0889614083
Publication Date: 2003-02-28
Visibly Muslim by Emma Tarlo
ISBN: 1845204328
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Why the French Don't Like Headscarves by John R. Bowen
ISBN: 0691138397
Publication Date: 2008-08-24

Cartoon Script

Addresing Feminism Through Comics
An interview with the first and only feminist comic to discuss the benefits of creatively combating Egypt's endemic sexual harassment and gender inequality issues.