Becoming an Academic Woman: Islam, Religious Identity and Career

Providing a point for comparison between the experiences of women in Malaysia and western feminist literature, this article explores academic careers in an Islamic country. The analysis takes place within a framework that considers and interrogates the ways in which Islamic woman has functioned, and continues to function, as a marker of oppression in feminist discourse and in the global media environment. It addresses key factors that Malaysian academic women consider to be important in the process of establishing themselves within the academic hierarchy at the early to mid stages of their academic careers.