WUNRN
Call
for Papers
Muslim Women’s Activism
Last date for submission of abstracts: 4th April 2014
Conference: 26th June 2014, Enterprise Centre, University of Derby
A
Conference hosted by the Centre for Society, Religion or Belief, University of
Derby & New Horizons in British Islam
http://www.derby.ac.uk/education/centre-for-society-religion-and-belief/
Across the globe, Muslim
women’s activisms are gaining visibility and range from participation in
protest marches about women’s choice and anti-war campaigns, to more literary
forms of protest such as blogs and poetry. Establishing women’s refuges,
improving girls’ education and engaging in inter-faith dialogue are other forms
of activism. In the West, public debate around the niqab (face veil)
demonstrates the delicate balance that Muslim women must establish between the
secular and sacred, between religious choice, dogma and public liberties. In
religious, academic and popular discourses the hijab and other ‘modesty
issues’ have become over-signified as symbols of Muslim women’s identity,
however many Muslim women (both those who wear the hijab and those who
do not) assert that there is much more complexity and variety in their lives
and activisms. The so-called Arab Spring saw women gain social visibility
unprecedented in the Middle East. Yet a focus on clothing and modesty represent
the ironies, contradictions and delicate negotiations that Muslim women
constantly undertake. In most contexts, their visibility enhances and hinders
the impact of their work. Like all women, Muslim women in Britain are
constantly redefining their hopes and ambitions, for themselves, their careers,
their children and their communities.
Despite the success and
set-backs they experience, Muslim women are challenging patriarchy within the
contexts of Islam (and beyond) and are developing new ‘women-friendly’
religious paradigms and spaces. In doing so, they demystify their faith,
interrogate misconceptions about Islam, challenge Islamophobia, engage in
inter-community dialogue and also raise important questions about reform in
Islamic thought and practice. Although Muslims women’s activisms usually take
place within the feminist legacy of rights and respect for women, the
relationship between feminism and Muslim women is by no means straightforward,
with some women embracing feminism and others eschewing it - a reflection of
the different ways through which women choose to articulate their struggles.
This conference will
examine:
1.
social,
religious and historical contexts of Muslim women’s social and political
activism
2.
the
impacts of Muslim women’s agency
3.
challenges
and strategies for the future
4.
current
academic and grassroots level experience
5.
forms
that their activism takes, e.g. textual production, intellectual or academic
writing, street protests, online campaigning, dialogue work, etc.
Proposals for papers, panel
discussions, workshops and poster presentations that focus on one, or more, of
the above themes are invited from scholars, community activists and policy
makers. For the purposes of the conference, we do not define the term ‘Muslim
women’s activism’, but rather envisage that contributions will broaden our
understanding of what activism means and involves amongst Muslim women today.
Please submit a title and
abstract of no more than 300 words, indicating whether it is a paper / panel /
workshop / poster presentation, plus a name and short biography (150 words
maximum) of the presenter/s, institutional affiliation/s (if relevant), and contact
details to Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor (s.contractor@derby.ac.uk)
by 5pm on Wednesday 4th April 2014. Successful participants
will be notified by 25th April 2014. A registration fee of
£30 will apply for all speakers and delegates. A reduced fee of £15 will apply
for students, representatives of voluntary organisations and those not in paid
employment. A few travel bursaries are available for post-graduate students and
for those not in paid employment – please enquire about these by e-mail.
Further details about the registration process will be circulated and posted on
our website (http://www.derby.ac.uk/education/centre-for-society-religion-and-belief/) in late March 2014.
Dr Kristin Aune, Director,
Prof Alison Scott-Baumann, Dr Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Rabiha Hannan and
Dilwar Hussain
Centre for Society,
Religion and Belief, University of Derby & New Horizons in British Islam