Sexuality in Muslim Contexts

This groundbreaking book maps sites of women's resistance against the harsh policing of sexuality in Muslim societies. Many Muslim majority countries still use religious discourse to enforce stigmatization and repression of those, especially women, who do not conform to sexual norms promoted by the [...]
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This groundbreaking book maps sites of women's resistance against the harsh policing of sexuality in Muslim societies. Many Muslim majority countries still use religious discourse to enforce stigmatization and repression of those, especially women, who do not conform to sexual norms promoted by the state. In this context, Islam is often stigmatized in Western discourse for being intrinsically restrictive with respect to women's rights and sexuality. This insightful collection shows that conservative Muslim discourse does not necessarily match practices of believers or citizens and that women's empowerment is facilitated where indigenous and culturally appropriate strategies are developed. Using case studies from Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Israel and India, the volume persuasively argues that Muslim religious traditions do not necessarily lead to conservative agendas but can promote emancipatory standpoints. A timely intervention to the construction of 'Muslim women' as uniformly subordinate, this book spearheads an unprecedented wake of organizing around Muslim sexuality issues.