A Women's Non-Movement: What It Means to Be a Woman Activist in an Islamic State

Feminists have long argued that probably all modern states possess albeit in different degrees patriarchal tendencies. But patriarchy figures especially prominently in those authoritarian regimes and movements that exhibit conservative religious (Islamic Christian Jewish or Hindu) dispositions. Indeed patriarchy is entrenched in religious authoritarian polity. It is known that in many authoritarian Muslim states such as Egypt the Sudan Saudi Arabia or the Islamic Republic of Iran where conservative Islamic laws are in place women have turned into second-class citizens in many domains of public life. Consequently a central question for womens rights activists is how to achieve gender equality under such circumstances. A common strategy proposed consists of organizing strong womens movements to fight for equal rights. Movements are usually perceived in terms of collective activities of a large number of women organized under strong leaderships with effective networks of solidaritiesprocedures of membership mechanisms of framing and communication and publicity-the types of movements that are associated with images of marches banners organizations lobbying and the like. (excerpt)