Five Formation of ‘religious’ identity among British Muslim women
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Masoumeh Velayati
Abstract
This chapter explains how Muslim women are generally disadvantaged in the UK, as reflected in their high unemployment and inactivity rates compared to their male counterparts and other ethnic minority women, despite policies to reduce the diversity gap in the UK labour market based on gender and religious affiliations. Applying feminist theory and questioning Muslim women’s place as a marginalized group at the centre of social inquiry, the chapter aims to understand the ways in which Muslim women negotiate religious and cultural norms and values. Studies indicate a feminist consciousness tapping into the Islamic framework as an enabling means for personal empowering in a rapidly changing world that challenges traditional gender issues.
Abstract
This chapter explains how Muslim women are generally disadvantaged in the UK, as reflected in their high unemployment and inactivity rates compared to their male counterparts and other ethnic minority women, despite policies to reduce the diversity gap in the UK labour market based on gender and religious affiliations. Applying feminist theory and questioning Muslim women’s place as a marginalized group at the centre of social inquiry, the chapter aims to understand the ways in which Muslim women negotiate religious and cultural norms and values. Studies indicate a feminist consciousness tapping into the Islamic framework as an enabling means for personal empowering in a rapidly changing world that challenges traditional gender issues.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and appendices v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Women and religion: contemporary and future challenges: editors’ introduction 1
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Women, gender equality and religion between past and present
- Gender equality in different readings of Islam in post-revolutionary Iran 21
- Religion and gender equality in Catholic Philippines: discourses and practices in the 21st century 41
- A slow march forward: the impact of religious change on gender ideology in the contemporary United States 59
- Divine shadows: Indian Devadasis between religious beliefs and sexual exploitation 79
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Identities, women’s movements and religion
- Formation of ‘religious’ identity among British Muslim women 95
- Christian women’s movements in secularizing and diversifying contexts: a case study from Belgium 117
- Muslim women in contemporary Argentina 135
- The impact of religious unorthodoxy on family choices and women’s well-being in Turkey 157
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Contemporary women’s religious experiences
- ‘Between me and my God’: a life story narrative of conciliating cultural discourses and personalization of Islam 175
- ‘We are all Goddesses’: female sacred paths in Italy 191
- Explorations of spiritual embodiment in belly dance 207
- From exclusion to inclusion: women and interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean area 221
- Index 237
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and appendices v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Women and religion: contemporary and future challenges: editors’ introduction 1
-
Women, gender equality and religion between past and present
- Gender equality in different readings of Islam in post-revolutionary Iran 21
- Religion and gender equality in Catholic Philippines: discourses and practices in the 21st century 41
- A slow march forward: the impact of religious change on gender ideology in the contemporary United States 59
- Divine shadows: Indian Devadasis between religious beliefs and sexual exploitation 79
-
Identities, women’s movements and religion
- Formation of ‘religious’ identity among British Muslim women 95
- Christian women’s movements in secularizing and diversifying contexts: a case study from Belgium 117
- Muslim women in contemporary Argentina 135
- The impact of religious unorthodoxy on family choices and women’s well-being in Turkey 157
-
Contemporary women’s religious experiences
- ‘Between me and my God’: a life story narrative of conciliating cultural discourses and personalization of Islam 175
- ‘We are all Goddesses’: female sacred paths in Italy 191
- Explorations of spiritual embodiment in belly dance 207
- From exclusion to inclusion: women and interfaith dialogue in the Mediterranean area 221
- Index 237
