Women as Agents of Social Change and Disruptors of Normative Structures

Real and imagined spaces are inherently gendered. This relates to widely accepted heteronormative and patriarchal ways of living, and affects how buildings and cities are accessed, used, and experienced. The imposition of traditional gender roles in architecture from patriarchal and heteronormative views impacts urban policy making, architectural education, and decision making in the building of cities. Even the word architect had and may still have gendered associations in historical and contemporary perceptions, as architectural practice continues to be a male-dominated professional field despite the involvement and contributions of women in the transformation of the built environment over centuries. Yet, women and marginalized peoples build alternative communities based on embodied creative design ideas and practices. They have found innovative ways to claim their right to experience and shape cities. Against these complex yet urgent ongoing questions, the contributors to this special issue of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture interrogate the past and present relationship between gender and architecture through an interdisciplinary approach.