Topic: Feminism in Islam

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This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie" (image: Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Human rights and Islamism in the Gulf

This Barbie can't go to Kuwait

The recent ban of the Barbie film is part of a growing crackdown on feminism and freedom of expression in Kuwait. Hind Al Ansari argues that instead of tightening controls, the government should focus on developing spaces for open dialogueMore

Gulf region: Women’s empowerment not all it seemsWomen's liberation in the Gulf: Arab women – fighting for their rights for 60 yearsEmancipation in the MENA region: The patriarchy is crumbling
The Khateera media platform is a place for discussing potentially taboo subjects in an open and light-hearted way (image: Khateera)

Equality in the Arab world

Lebanon's 'dangerous' Khateera feminists

A popular Beirut-based media platform is tackling some of Arab society's most sensitive subjects – such as sex, love, desire and gender roles – with distinctive humour. Diana Hodali reportsMore

Sex education: The Arab Spring's greatest success?The Book of Exposition: An archaeology of eroticaLet's talk about sex, habibi! Love and desire from Cairo to Casablanca
A woman walks along a street in Tehran, with her headscarf tied around her neck, 19.04.2023 (image: AFP)

Iran protests

Women defying hijab laws forced into psychiatric treatment

Authorities in Iran are trying to enforce laws obligating women to cover their hair by sending them for psychological treatment.More

Islamic feminism: Evolving gender rightsIran protests: What the Islamic Republic's propaganda tells usIran protests 2022: Tehran fatally oblivious to social change
A veiled Iranian woman looks at young people who are not wearing the mandatory hijab visiting the International Book Fair at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in downtown Tehran, 14 May 2023 (photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/picture alliance)

Iran's authoritarian dress code

Tehran seeks to enforce hijab rules again

The hijab is not just a piece of clothing. This traditional headscarf holds deep cultural and political significance in Iran. The Islamist regime demands that women wear it for the sake of morality and order. Nonetheless, a considerable number of women have stopped doing so entirely. By Shora AzarnoushMore

Iran protests: "Change that goes beyond the moment"Golineh Atai's unsung heroines: In Iran, freedom is femaleIran protests: What the Islamic Republic's propaganda tells us
A women cuts off her hair in autumn 2022, in solidarity with protests in Iran following the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini (image: AFP/Getty Images)

Islamic feminism

Evolving gender rights

In her latest book – "Journeys Toward Gender Equality in Islam" – legal anthropologist and activist Ziba Mir-Hosseini talks to six leading Muslim reformists about gender, women's rights and the latter's evolution over time. Interview by Tugrul von MendeMore

Amina Wadud's "Qur'an and Woman" revisited: "Inequality between men and women is contrary to Islam"Zahra Ali's "Islamic Feminisms": Female emancipation based on the spirit of Sharia Women's rights in North Africa: "The headscarf is losing its religious edge"Iran protests: What the Islamic Republic's propaganda tells us
Iraqi women's rights activists lift a placard reading 'Stop killing women' After Tiba al-Ali's death, women's rights protestors marched in Baghdad (image: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP)

Iraqi YouTube star's murder

How to end domestic violence in Iraq?

In Iraq, the murder of another young woman by a family member has led to renewed calls for the country's government to finally enact a law on domestic violence, one that has been stuck in parliamentary limbo for years. Cathrin Schaer reportsMore

Violence against women: Femicide on the rise in TurkeyFemicide in the Maghreb: Algeria's ongoing war against women – #WeLostOneOfUsYemen’s other war: Female politicians targeted on social mediaQantara photo essay: Pakistani women defy forced marriage abroad
Female students stand outside Kabul University (photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/dpa/picture alliance)

"Not our Islam!"

German imams condemn ban on university education for Afghan women

German imams have publicly expressed their solidarity with the women of Afghanistan. In a letter of protest, the clerics say that the Taliban regime's decree barring women from universities cannot be justified by Islam and is even "in fatal contradiction" to the religionMore

Hussein Mohammadi's novella "Scheherazade's heirs": Keep writing! Literature from AfghanistanTaliban Afghanistan: Afghan girls attend "secret school"Reconstruction in Afghanistan: The strong women of Darul AmanMouhanad Khorchideʹs "Godʹs Revelation in the Word of Men": A Koran for the 21st century
Lebanese activists take part in a demonstration in support of women protesters in Iran, following the death of Mahsa Amini, outside the Lebanese National Museum in Beirut, Lebanon, 2 October 2022 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/Hussam Shbaro)

Protests in Iran

Arab women in solidarity with their Iranian sisters

"You are not my guide... I am the compass. Iranian women have spoken, freed themselves, and unleashed a revolution despite smelling death. They have cut their braids in anger; they have raised the banner of hair set free during an age of servile beards. They are our guides... and more"More

Protests in Iran: Murderous repression by a desperate regimeIran protests: "Change that goes beyond the moment"Qantara photo essay: Iran protests – Graffiti from Tehran to Mexico City How feminist are the protests in Iran? The struggle for self-determination
Nora Al-Jarawi (also Noura, Noora), Yemeni political leader and media activist (photo: private via Twitter + logo of womensolidaritynetwork)

Yemen’s other war

Female politicians targeted on social media

With more than two hundred thousand followers on Facebook and about 54 thousand followers on Twitter, I am one of the most prominent Yemeni politicians on the ground and online. Yet not a day passes without me having to fight in the virtual world because I decided to have a voice. Activist Nora Al-Jarawi gives a personal accountMore

Women entrepreneurs in Yemen: The fight to secure capitalWomen's rights in Yemen: Making the most of the space availableFemale Yemeni artists: Making art in times of war
Women protesting against President Kaïs Saïed's proposed constitution in the run-up to the referendum on 25 July (photo: Zeubair Soussiy/REUTERS)

Referendum on a new constitution for Tunisia

Rolling back the achievements of the revolution

Tunisians are set to vote on a new constitution on 25 July. The prominent lawyer and women's rights activist Yosra Frawes fears the referendum could facilitate a return to dictatorship. This would also endanger progress on women's rights achieved since 2011. Interview by Claudia Mende for qantara.deMore

Kais Saied's creeping coup: Who will save Tunisia's democracy now?Tunisia's political future: Kais Saied's divisive online pollTunisia's ex-president Moncef Marzouki: The conscience of the Arab SpringPresident Saied's power grab: How will the president wield his unprecedented powers?
Saudi women walk past a mural painting showing King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Tahliya street in the capital Riyadh on 5 December 2019 (photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP)

Emancipation in the MENA region

The patriarchy is crumbling

With regard to gender justice, things look bleak in the Arab world. Laws typically discriminate against women, while national legislation all too often does not comply with the international agreements governments have signed. By Mona NaggarMore

Women's rights in the Middle East: Feminists in Tunisia claim civic spaceWomen's rights in Lebanon: Campaign exposes "victim-blaming" attitudes to rapeIranian women's rights activist Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh: ″No woman can be worse than Ahmadinejad″
A Tunisian woman wearing a "burkini", a full-body swimsuit that covers everything except the face, feet and hands, walks in the sea with a young child at Ghar El Melh beach in Tunisia, on 16 August 2016 (photo: Fethi Belaid/AFP)

France and Islam

French mayor reignites burkini row

Burkinis have been a long-standing catalyst for dispute in France, calling societal attitudes towards Islam and feminism into question. Rule changes in Grenoble suggest opposition to the garment could be receding, writes Joanna YorkMore

France and the burkini ban: Lawmakers beware!Qantara photo essay: Belgium: Burkini meets bikini'Burkini' row shuts pools in French town of Grenoble
Muslim woman in a Sufi shrine: The role of female scholars in the transmission of traditional knowledge in Islam has long been underestimated (photo: Imago/Saqib Majeed)

Female scholars in Islam

Unsung guardians of the 'true' tradition

Back in 1995, when The Times asserted Islam was to blame for the poor levels of education among women in the Muslim world, Mohammad Akram Nadwi began scouring ancient Arabic manuscripts for women's names. Looking specifically for female scholars, his hope was to find maybe 20 or 30 women. What he found was astounding. By Julia LeyMore

Aicha 'Lella Saida' Manoubiya: Tunisia's feminist iconAmina Wadud's "Qur'an and Woman" revisited: "Inequality between men and women is contrary to Islam"Dina El Omari on feminism and Islam: "Muslim women need space for critical self-reflection"
In 2020, these Kuwaiti activists founded the first and only platform for women parliamentary candidates – "Mudhawi's List" (photo: Mulhawi's List)

Gulf region

Women’s empowerment not all it seems

Women's empowerment in the Gulf has become a tool of deflection, rather than a genuine effort to promote women’s full and equal participation in society. By Mira Al-HussainMore

Women entrepreneurs in Yemen: The fight to secure capitalWomen's liberation in the Gulf: Arab women – fighting for their rights for 60 yearsWomen in the Gulf: Exploited and patronised
Fighting "white" feminism: Pakistani-American author and lawyer Rafia Zakaria (photo: Jeremy Hogan/Herald-Times)

Anti-racism, anti-discrimination

Rafia Zakaria – feminism is not only white

Pakistani-American author and lawyer Rafia Zakaria advocates for a broad-based feminism that doesn't just address the concerns of white women. By Christine LehnenMore

Asma Jahangir, winner of the Right Livelihood Award: "Every restriction is based on religion"Afghanistan: A brief history of Afghan women's rightsQantara photo essay: The women of Sudan's protests
Young, feminist, Muslim - Toya Zurkuhlen is an editor at the "Datteltäter" and converted to Islam four years ago (photo: Julius Matuschik)

Muslimas on Instagram

The many ways to tie a headscarf

Some German women who’ve converted to Islam are choosing to maintain a public presence on social media such as Instagram, under names such as "Hijabi on Tinder“. In doing so, they’re fending off the cliches and the hate – no matter where it comes from. Julia Ley reportsMore

The image of Muslim women: “We refuse to be hijab-wearing princesses”Non-fiction: Kubra Gumusay's "Sprache und Sein": Beyond the linguistic pigeonhole Converts to Islam: German Islam

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