Representation, Identity and Socio-Economic Positioning of Muslim Women in India

Abstract

Islam as a belief system as well as a faith and Muslims on the whole find themselves under a siege-like situation in the existing environment of Islamophobia. They stand accused of being ‘a threat’ to the Western world or to the civilised world itself. At a micro-level, Muslims are considered to be less inclined players to the cause of nation and nationalism and by the extension of the deductive logic, inadequately committed to the politics and values of their host communities and countries.... The case of Muslim women appears all the more precarious for they have to negotiate rigid postures and structures from within the community as well as outside and on many occasions it is intertwined. The epithet—doubly occupied territory—for Muslim women appears very appropriate, for the politics of the times have psychologically battered their territorial configuration as well as their agency. This article reviews literature from various sources and highlights the positioning and socio-economic profile of Muslim Women in India.