Behind the Veil: Feminism, Racism, and the Call for the Liberation of the Muslim Woman

Abstract

In Western discussions of Arab society, the status of the Muslim woman as an oppressed object has emerged as a central aspect of debate concerning the progress and modernization of Arab society as a whole. Drawing on colonial history and post-colonial theory, my research examines the dynamics of Western concepts of feminism and gender in Arab-Muslim society, delving into the ways in which feminism is and has been constructed by and, significantly, for Muslim women. My hope is to shed light on the motivations behind the Western call for the liberation of Muslim women, exploring, for example, the use of feminism in Arab-Muslim society as an instrument of racism on the part of Western powers, and to illuminate some of the implications of this interaction, such as the de-legitimization of Western feminism's potential as an agent of liberation. Additionally, I seek to draw attention to the difficulties of navigating feminism in Arab-Muslim society and the ways in which the implementation of Western feminism has become problematic for Muslim women.