Muslim Women Research Articles

Mapping fertility rates at national, sub-national, and local levels in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2019.

Fertility rates are key indicators of population health and demographic change, influencing economic development, healthcare planning, and social policies. Understanding subnational variation in fertility rate is important for effective geographical targeting and policy prioritization. This study aimed to identify geographic variation, trends, and determinants of fertility rates in Ethiopia over the past two decades. We estimated total fertility rates (TFRs) and age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) using five nationally representative cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys collected in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2019. ASFRs represent the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 during the 3 years before each survey, while TFRs indicate the average number of children a woman would have by the end of her reproductive years, calculated as the sum of ASFRs over five-year intervals. We developed model-based geostatistics by incorporating demographic and healthcare access data with spatial random fields to produce high-resolution fertility rate maps. These results were then aggregated to produce fertility rate estimates at local, sub-national, and national levels in Ethiopia. The national TFR gradually declined from 4.8 live births in 2000 to 4.2 live births in 2019, but it is still above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. There were sub-national and local variations in TFR, ranging from 5.7 live births in Somalia and 5.3 Oromia regions to 2.7 live births in Addis Ababa and 3.6 live births Dire Dawa cities. Geographical areas with high TFR were mostly associated with a high proportion of Muslim women and low access to health facilities. Despite a decline in fertility rates among women of reproductive age over the past two decades, marked spatial variation persists at sub-national and local levels in Ethiopia, with demographic factors determining the spatial distribution and rate of decline, highlighting the need for tailored programs and strategies in high-fertility areas to increase access to family planning.

Perceived Discrimination among Muslim, Muslim Feminist, and Feminist Women in Türkiye

The current study aims to explore the perceived discrimination among three women groups in Türkiye: Muslims, Muslim feminists, and feminists. Four hundred fifteen women aged 18-76 (M = 40.6, SD = 16.5) participated in the study. The sample included 177 Muslim women, 92 Muslim feminists, and 146 feminist women. We found significant differences in perceived individual and group discrimination in three women groups. While at the individual level, all groups differed from each other, at the group level discrimination, self-labeling feminists did not differ, yet Muslim women perceived the lower levels of discrimination. Feminists indicated experiencing discrimination mostly from their close ones and outgroups/others. At the same time, Muslim women specified discrimination mostly from religious people, and Muslim feminist women indicated discrimination mostly from outgroups/others and school/work environments. The findings were discussed in terms of the literature on the subject. Future research is encouraged on the authentic identities of women in Türkiye and their discrimination experiences.

“My Parents Rejected all these Employment Opportunities”: An Intersectionality Perspective on Minoritized Gender Ideology

In the case of conservative minority women who are dependent on their families, selecting a field of study can be clarified by understanding it from an intersectionality approach underscoring their minority status, living within a family in a way that changes and manifests itself in different ways along their life-course. The weight of dependency on parents who are more conservative, a weight allowing for the inter-generational gap in conservatism to predominate the selection of field of study, is often neglected, receiving less attention. In this article we focus on Arab-Palestinian women in Israel, minority graduates of a teacher education college, as an opportunity to investigate possible inter-generational discrepancies. More specifically, the weight of these discrepancies in the development of a minoritized gender ideology; namely, the process in which a field of study and the institution of study were selected, selections that are currently reflected upon vis-â-vis employability considerations and family obligations. By studying minoritized gender ideology, we contribute the voice of an additional social location to the repertoire of diverse Muslim women’s voices. Further, we elaborate on the notion of minoritized gender ideology together with embedded agency, pointing out the salience of the temporal dimension of intersecting religion, ethnicity and gender.

Television series, identity of contemporary Muslim women and socio-cultural contestations: the case of Arewa 24’s ‘Mata A Yau’ (contemporary women)

ABSTRACT This study delves into the social and cultural challenges Muslim women face in the TV series Mata A Yau, which airs on Arewa 24, a Hausa-language channel catering to Hausa-speaking audiences in Northern Nigeria. The show premiered in August 2023, sparking debates about the media’s portrayal of contemporary Muslim women and their identity. The study employed sociocultural theory, mixed methods of interviews, and focus group discussions to analyse the program and uncover the root causes of these cultural and social disputes. The findings reveal that Islamic popular culture often intersects with religious and cultural practices, leading to debates about women’s identity, particularly within the context of media and Islamic popular culture. The study uncovers society’s unfounded biases and unjustified insults and condemnation against a particular gender as a result of hasty judgments or responding to contentious or religious issues without fully understanding the topic. The conflicts experienced by Muslim women within the series provide a valuable opportunity to delve into the complexities of contemporary Muslim women’s identity.

Awareness of down syndrome screening among educated Muslim women is associated with a favorable attitude toward testing

ObjectiveThere is a general assumption that Muslim women refuse Down syndrome screening, and therefore, many health practitioners do not offer it or briefly discuss it with their participants. This study aims to objectively assess women’s awareness, knowledge, and attitudes toward Down Syndrome screening (D.S.S) in a Muslim-majority population.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among attendees of antenatal clinics at a major university hospital in Saudi Arabia, aiming for a sample size of at least 385 Muslim women. A semi-structured questionnaire assessed awareness of different D.S.S. options and the source of that information (2 items), specific knowledge of D.S.S. (14 items), and attitudes (4 items). The knowledge and attitudes scores were calculated using a five-level agreement Likert-type scale.ResultsAmong 434 participants, with an even distribution among all age groups and a majority of a college degree holder or higher (71%), 178 (41.0%) reported awareness of D.S.S. Factors associated with increased awareness were maternal age above 40 or those under 30, nulliparity, and extended family history of fetal congenital anomalies (P-value = 0.03,0.015, and 0.017, respectively). Recognized tests were ultrasound measurement of nuchal translucency (71.9%) and first-trimester serum screening (58.4%). The sources of knowledge were obstetricians (53.9%), followed by family and friends (27.0%). The overall mean ± SD knowledge score was 53.9 ± 8.7 out of 70, and the mean attitude score was 17.4 ± 2.9 out of 20. Having 1 or 2 children is associated with a higher knowledge score, and most participants who reported awareness of D.S.S. (51.7%) had a favorable attitude toward screening.ConclusionAwareness of D.S.S. among Muslim women is associated with favorable attitudes towards testing, contradicting the general assumption and highlighting the need for systematic education to increase awareness and subsequent testing uptake.

Rethinking gendered anti-Muslim racism in a relational matrix of race and gender

Gendered ideas of Muslims and Islam are one of the central organising principles of anti-Muslim racism. However, discussions around gendered anti-Muslim racism often ignore ‘Muslim men’ as a gendered category despite ideas about ‘Muslim women’ being constructed in direct relation to (often implicitly assumed presence of) their male counterparts. As problematised by Alimahomed-Wilson (2020), historical anti-Muslim racist representations of Muslim men as violent and oppressive have not been often considered in these gendered perspectives, but instead treated as a ‘gender-neutral’ facet of anti-Muslim racism. Developing on previous works, our research findings highlight that anti-Muslim racism is inherently gendered, not only because women are disproportionately targeted in Islamophobic attacks but because of its gendered essence. Informed by feminist scholars, our understanding of gender is a relational matrix between men and women upon which we elaborate this gendered foundation of anti-Muslim racism. Anti-Muslim racist ideologies are premised on myths and stereotypical ideas which claim that: 1) Islam is an inherently misogynistic religion; 2) ‘Muslim men’ are therefore inherently violent and oppressive, primarily towards Muslim women, but also backwards and unable to govern themselves or their communities and, as such, are in need of correction or control (Abu-Lughod, 2013; Farris, 2017; Kumar, 2012; inter alia). In this article, building on the previous analyses of the gendered aspect of anti-Muslim racism and our research findings based on fieldwork with Muslim communities in Ireland (n = 193), we argue that anti-Muslim racism is gendered not only because it affects women more, but also because: 1) its underlying gendered racial ideology constructs Muslim women as the passive Other of assumed ‘violent Muslim masculinity’; 2) ‘Western liberal’ anti-Muslim discourses, claiming to be vying for the liberation of all women, assume it as their ‘duty’ to save ‘Muslim women’; 3) with ‘white feminism’ often providing the moral ground for this saviour image, ignoring Muslim women's emancipatory agency and politics.

Book Review: Mukaddam F Muslim Women between Community and Individual Rights: Legal Pluralism and Marriage in South Africa (Springer Nature Switzerland 2024)

This review examines the book by Fatima Mudakkam titled Muslim Women between Community and Individual Rights: Legal pluralism and Marriage Rights in South Africa (2024). The book explores the pluralistic nature of South Africa’s national legal system, focusing on the experiences of Muslim women governed by Muslim Personal Law. It provides a critical analysis of how this legal pluralism affects Muslim marriages and the civil rights of women within these marriages. The book is an essential contribution to the ongoing discourse on gender justice and legal pluralism in South Africa.

‘Double vision’ in the interlegal: the situated pluri‐legal consciousness of British Muslim women

‘Double vision’ in the interlegal: the situated pluri‐legal consciousness of British Muslim women

Eyelash Extension Use for Muslim Women from an Islamic Law Perspective

Eyelash Extension Use for Muslim Women from an Islamic Law Perspective

Reclaiming Narratives - Muslim Women Navigating Activism in Educational Research Implications and Recommendations for Educators

This chapter delves into the intricate dynamics of activism within educational research within the context of resistance and justice within settler-colonial states from Turtle Island and beyond. Drawing inspiration from Eve Tuck's (2010) concept of shifting from damage-centered research to desire-based research and Sara Ahmed's (2010) work on embodying what it means to be a killjoy, we endeavour to confront and address prevailing tensions we face as visibly identified Muslim women researchers and educators. We position ourselves to navigate the complexities of our lived experiences and advocate for justice in the current climate. We come together from Pakistani and Palestinian familial lineages to share our lived experiences and specific testimonies of ‘othering’ in educational research and activism. Using an anti-colonial and desire-based framework, we explore the framing and tensions of Orientalism and the struggle against it. We also contemplate our identities, positionalities and stances within educational research. Drawing strength from Indigenous cultures and Islamic philosophies, we seek to advocate for disruption, refusal and subversion, essential to activist research. We conclude with implications for educators, universities, researchers, schools, communities, and beyond. We aim to illuminate the paths we navigate as activist researchers, harnessing our collective experiences and reframing the research approach through a desire-based approach.

Effect of social support on Muslim women's sporting activities: mediating effect of psychological adjustment.

This study explores the relationship between social support and sporting activities of Muslim women and constructs a mediation model through role of psychological adjustment. Using stratified cluster sampling, 301 Muslim women were measured in group psychology using the Social Support Scale and the Sports Activities and Psychological Adjustment Scale. The statistical software SPSS 24.0 and SPSS PROCESS 3.3 were used for statistical processing. The common-method variation test was carried out using the Harman single-factor control test. Finally, the Bootstrap sampling test method and process plug-in were used to test the significance of the intermediary effect. (1) Social support has a significant predictive effect on sports activities (β = 0.32, p < 0.001); (2) psychological adjustment (β = 0.552, p < 0.001) mediates the relationship between social support and sporting activities [social support → psychological adjustment → sporting activities (95% Cl, 0.093, 0.323)]. Social support positively influences sporting participation among Muslim women, and psychological adjustment mediates this relationship. Strengthening social support for Muslim women can enhance their psychological adjustment, thereby improving their participation in sporting activities and offering valuable theoretical and practical guidance.

Muslim women’s identity in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow

ABSTRACT This paper explores hijab as a political discourse and discusses women’s character through a postmodern relationship with Orhan Pamuk’s Snow. In Snow, Pamuk presents Turkish Muslim women characters’ struggle during secular politics and portrays a struggle for their identity with and without hijab. A textual analysis of Pamuk’s Snow applies interdisciplinary approaches to examine Turkish women’s identity, their struggle for hijab, and the failure of secularism. To understand women’s role in politics, scholars like Khamis (2021), Axiarlis (2014), and others are prominent figures to theorize ideas of postmodernity (Muslim women’s alienation, conflict with self vs. other, a perspective of Muslims from east vs. west and Muslim identity with hijab vs. post/modern identity without hijab) and secularism (without hijab) in Muslim women’s context. To conclude, Muslim women’s self-identification and Pamuk’s writing influences under the East, and West ideas create a critical discussion, and questions about the postmodern idea of Muslim women. The hijab is closely concerned with gender targets, and the novel portrays women’s resistance in society. This burning issue catches our attention towards the women’s serious issue of suicide because of hijab politics.

Prevent and post-16 education: the implications for Muslim women

ABSTRACT The “Prevent Duty” requires that UK public sector bodies have a statutory responsibility to stop individuals from supporting terrorism or becoming terrorists, including within education settings. Despite existing research that highlights the experiences of Prevent for Muslim students, the topic of Muslim women students appears to have been largely neglected. This paper addresses the lack of empirical research that focuses on Muslim women in the post-16 education sector and the impact of the Prevent Duty. I add to existing research on Prevent within education by focusing upon Muslim women’s experiences concerning the strategy, by utilising Critical Race Feminism’s counter stories. The research draws on counter stories deriving from focus group and interview data to demonstrate the lived experiences of Prevent for young Muslim women in further and higher education within England. Within the empirical data collected, three themes were identified: 1) self-censoring; 2) the “visible Other”; and 3) the responsibilisation of Muslim women. The findings of this research demonstrate that there is a gendered impact of the Prevent strategy within post-16 education and it occurs in different avenues. Accordingly, I call for a concerted effort to draw further attention to the future of Prevent, particularly within the education sector.

Examining the access to benefits and quality sterilization services among Muslim women in India

BackgroundThis research article examines the efficiency with which the Indian family planning programme provides care to Muslim women who opt to undergo tubectomies from public health facilities in terms of access to benefits/compensation as well as quality of services. The research subsequently intends to suggest suitable policies of affirmative action if required.MethodsThe research uses data from the women’s file from the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019–21). Adjusted odds ratios are used to examine the likelihood of Muslim women (i) receiving compensations offered for undergoing tubectomies in public health facilities by the government, (ii) receiving comprehensive information prior to their tubectomies and (iii) reporting a good quality of care during their procedures, in comparison with non-Muslim women.ResultsThe findings from the research indicate that Muslim women in India have lower odds of receiving state sponsored compensations in comparison with non-Muslim women in India (AOR = 0.67; CI: 0.60—0.76). Consequently, a lesser proportion of Muslim women reported receiving compensations in comparison with non-Muslim women. The difference in the receipt of compensations was 18 percentage points between both cohorts. Critically, despite their challenges in obtaining compensations, the findings from this research also indicate how Muslim women in India have higher odds of receiving comprehensive family planning information prior to their operation in comparison with non-Muslim women (AOR = 1.15; CI: 1.02—1.29).DiscussionGiven the existing dearth of evidence in family planning literature on the issue, this research article calls for greater attention and investments in understanding the reproductive health vulnerabilities of Indian Muslims, especially in the context of increasing social hostilities towards the community in India. In this regard, to promote the equitable delivery of family planning services, the findings from this research highlight the urgent need for institutional reforms that facilitate an easier access to public benefits among Indian Muslims.

Changes in the lives of Muslim women infected with HIV by their husbands in Thailand’s southernmost border provinces

ABSTRACT The study aimed to investigate the stories of Muslim women living with HIV/AIDS after their marriage. The data was derived from in-depth interviews with 10 women infected with HIV as well as a focus group discussion and non-participatory observation of 10 public health officers and medical professionals and 10 people from their community. Analytic induction was used for data analysis. The results revealed that the informants were infected with HIV from their husbands after marriage because the husbands had been addicted to injectable drugs before marriage. Moreover, the study revealed that the women’s mental state wasn’t significantly affected. Some women experienced regret or ideas of committing suicide because of the death of their husbands as well as the lack of mental support, but not because of the diagnosis of the HIV/AIDS infection. The informants believed that it was a test by God and revealed no anger against their husbands who carried and transmitted the infection. Some of the informants, recognized as HIV carriers, could join hospital activities to get HIV drug resistance. Gaining acceptance from others encouraged these women to continue living. The subjects explained that they did not feel depressed by the infection or disappointed with those who did not accept them. Some of the women mentioned plans to move out to new communities in search of greater acceptance once they achieved better economic status. Moreover, the study confirmed that Thai people in the southernmost border provinces were overall still repulsed by and biased against those infected with HIV/AIDS.

Collective vulnerability between the researcher and the researched: a reflection on researcher positionality and ‘safety’ in the study of Islamophobia in economic Muslim migrants

ABSTRACT This paper reflects on collective vulnerability shared between the researcher and the researched, specifically in relation to studying the impact of Islamophobia in South Asian Muslim women in Britain. I reflect on my PhD study, and explore the tensions within the research space vis-à-vis researcher positionality. Puwar’s ‘Space Invaders’ is employed to explore the possibilities of disrupting power within research. This paper, therefore, reflects on the role of ‘collective vulnerability’ as a key to creating and maintaining a ‘safe’/ ‘counterspace’ to dislodge the trappings of employing a vertical gaze on data.

Accounting for &lt;i&gt;Hijab&lt;/i&gt;: Interrogating the Post-Secular

This article questions the idea of the ‘post-secular’ as a category for understanding Indian women’s experience of religion as an existential practice in neocolonised capitalist patriarchy. The majoritarian state’s manipulation of an identitarian regime of signification to use and control women’s lives is located in a plural, democratic society that is currently riven by the violent politics of conflicting religious and secular constructions of &lt;i&gt;hijab&lt;/i&gt;, a head covering worn by Muslim women. From an engaged ideological perspective that seeks radical transformation, feminist struggle includes the right to practice and profess one’s faith, against a majoritarian norm that bulldozes difference and imposes its prescriptions as ideal. This article aims to show, from a feminist perspective, the manipulation of significatory practices in India, linking women’s ‘dress’ with progress to essentialise and politicise identity. It questions whether redressal against violence wrought on women by religious fundamentalism can be found in a secular state policy, based on the norm of equality of difference. Feminist practice would actively use the guarantees given to the citizen by a pluralist secular constitution to challenge the violence of interlinked discriminations, necessary for the survival of a plural society in which diversities co-exist.

Psychological Factors Affecting Female Entrepreneurship Success: A Case of Chinese Muslim Female WeChat Business Entrepreneurs

This article mainly explores the psychological factors that contribute to women entrepreneur’s success. This study focuses on 10 Chinese Muslim women entrepreneurs on WeChat. This article uses qualitative in-depth interviews. This study reveals the psychological factors that influence the success of female entrepreneurs. This research found that for Muslim female WeChat business entrepreneurs, persistence and patience, courage to face difficulties, bold investment, and the support of faith have become the psychological factors for female entrepreneurial success. Through psychological empowerment, women can improve their self-esteem, which is more conducive to women's active entrepreneurship. For Muslim women, faith empowerment is the most important characteristic of women. Women gain confidence and achieve self-growth through faith.

Pastoral Care for Christian and Muslim Women Regarding Radicalism in Indonesia

Women are known as those who give birth to life and maintain life. However, the conflict that occurred in Indonesia has destroyed lives and made many women victims. In subsequent developments, women are not only victims but also perpetrators or victimizers, particularly in religious-based conflicts because of their involvement in radicalism movements. This happens a lot among Muslim women to defend their religion. The question that arises is whether the same thing also happens among Christian women as a result of the pressure and oppression they experience from the majority group, namely Muslims. Research on this topic was carried out using a mixed method between quantitative and qualitative research. This topic is reviewed from a feminist perspective. This research will be carried out in pastoral care to prevent women from being involved in radical movements and encourage them to become agents of peace who seek positive radicalism or peaceful radicalism.

Embodied Experiences and Islamic Feminist Ethics: Gender Equality and Abortion in US Muslim Women’s Interpretive Communities

Embodied Experiences and Islamic Feminist Ethics: Gender Equality and Abortion in US Muslim Women’s Interpretive Communities