ISLA 210 Lecture 19: ISLA210- Women, Islam, Feminists (N)
9 May 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Monday, March 20, 2017
Women, Islam, Feminists
ISLA210
Introduction
-Quebec Charter of Values: banned ostentatious religious symbols in public
government offices
-This bill did not pass, but had it passed, it would have arguably had the greatest
effect on Muslim women
-Do Muslim women need saving?
-Historical context: post-9/11 United States
-Justification for war
-Misunderstanding of women's dress (why are people so interested in what women
are wearing?)
-George Bush: "women of cover" need help; again, justification for war in
Afghanistan and later, Iraq
"Saving Muslim Women": Main Problems
-Danger of reifying culture
-History and political realities ignored
-Cultural-ist explanations are reductive and don't explain specific situations
-"It's just their culture"
-Rhetoric of equality, freedom, and rights
-Resonance in colonial/missionary histories
-Colonizer justified their actions by claiming they were bringing freedom and rights
to native peoples
-Missionary groups took a similar stance
What should we work towards?
-Appreciation of differences between women - different histories, circumstances,
desires, and so on
-Not "saving" people who are different - Saving implies superiority and often requires
violence
-Responsibilities to address global injustice
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