Gender, Governance and Islam - (Exploring Muslim Contexts) by Deniz Kandiyoti & Nadje Al-Ali & Kathryn Spellman Poots (Paperback)

About the Book

Following a period of rapid political change, both globally and in relation to the Middle East and South Asia, this collection sets new terms of reference for an analysis of the intersections between global, state, non-state and popular actors and their contradictory effects on the politics of gender.

Book Synopsis

Following a period of rapid political change, both globally and in relation to the Middle East and South Asia, this collection sets new terms of reference for an analysis of the intersections between global, state, non-state and popular actors and their contradictory effects on the politics of gender.
The volume charts the shifts in academic discourse and global development practice that shape our understanding of gender both as an object of policy and as a terrain for activism. Nine individual case studies systematically explore how struggles for political control and legitimacy determine both the ways in which dominant gender orders are safeguarded and the diverse forms of resistance against them.

From the Back Cover

Analyses the links between gender and governance in contemporary Muslim majority countries and diaspora contexts Following a period of rapid political change, both globally and in relation to the Middle East and South Asia, this collection sets new terms of reference for an analysis of the intersections between global, state, non-state and popular actors and their contradictory effects on the politics of gender. The volume charts the shifts in academic discourse and global development practice that shape our understanding of gender both as an object of policy and as a terrain for activism. Nine individual case studies systematically explore how struggles for political control and legitimacy determine both the ways in which dominant gender orders are safeguarded and the diverse forms of resistance against them. Key Features  Highlights the centrality of gender politics in understanding political changes and new forms of governance in Muslim majority contexts  Explores gender politics in Muslim majority countries as well as Muslim diasporas in Europe and the US  Critically discusses the transformations of the role of religion in intersecting layers of local, national and transnational governance  Presents nine case studies: Egypt; Iran; Turkey; Saudi Arabia; Afghanistan; Palestine; Iraq; Pakistan; and diasporic communities in Europe and North America Deniz Kandiyoti is Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. Nadje Al-Ali is Robert Family Professor of Middle East Studies at Brown University. Kathryn Spellman Poots is Visiting Professor at the Middle East Institute at Columbia University and Associate Professor at the Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations.

Review Quotes

Nearly two decades after her path breaking Women, Islam and the State, Deniz Kandiyoti is back with another seminal volume reflecting on a similar set of problematics. Edited with two of her gifted students, Nadye Ali and Kathryn Poots,​ themselves leaders in the field, this spectacular collection of articles captures the intensity of debates in the social sciences and complexity of gender in our times. With its theoretical insights and carefully grounded empirical research, the volume will stand the test of time and become a classic.

-- "Beth Baron, CUNY"

What makes the book unique is the breadth of the historical narrative in each chapter. The contributors to the book offer a genealogy of the evolvement of women's activism in most countries since the early 20th century until the present. The book shows, as Deniz Kandiyoti reflects in her concluding remarks, that the politics of gender remains at the core of the struggle for democracy and human rights.

--Zainab Saleh, Haverford College "International Journal of Middle East Studies"

About the Author

Deniz Kandiyoti is Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London. She pioneered new research into comparative perspectives on patriarchy and on the implications of global governance, Islam and state policies for the politics of gender in Turkey, post-Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan. 2011-2015 she monitored the effects of the Arab uprisings (as guest editor for 50.50 Open Democracy) analysing new forms of gender-based violence and grass-roots mobilization.

Nadje Al-Ali is Robert Family Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at Brown University. Her main research interests and publications revolve around feminist activism in the Middle East; transnational migration and diaspora mobilization; war, conflict and reconstruction; art & cultural studies and food. Her publications include Iraqi Women: Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present (2007, Zed Books); What kind of liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq (2009, with Nicola Pratt, University of California Press) and Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian women's movement (2000, CUP). Her co-edited book with Deborah al-Najjar entitled We are Iraqis: Aesthetics & Politics in a Time of War (Syracuse University Press) won the 2014 Arab-American book prize for non-fiction. Her more recent research and publications focus on the Turkish-Kurdish conflict and the Kurdish women's movement. She has been a member of the Feminist Review Collective, and is on the editorial board of Kohl: a journal of body and gender research. Prof Al-Ali has been involved in several feminist organizations and campaigns, including being a founding member of Act Together: Women's Action for Iraq, in addition to her involvement in trade union activism.

Kathryn Spellman Poots is Associate Professor at Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations in London and Visiting Associate Professor at Columbia University and Academic Program Director for the MA in Islamic Studies. Her research interests include Muslims in Europe and North America, the Iranian diaspora, transnational migration and gender studies.