Islamic Feminisms: Rights and Interpretations Across Generations in Iran

This book explores the contentious topic of women's rights in Muslim-majority countries, with a specific focus on Iran and the Iranian women's movement from 1906 to the present. The work contextualizes the authorial self through the use of personal narrative and interviews. A new critique of Islamic law is produced through an in-depth study of the Iranian Constitution, civil and criminal codes. The work presents a novel reconceptualization of the term "Islamic feminism" by revisiting the arguments of various scholars and through analysis of interviews with Iranian women's rights activists. It is contended that the feminist movements can play a critical role in Islamic law reform and consequently the eventual implementation of international human rights law in Muslim-majority countries. What emerges from this study is not only a feminist critique of two major regimes of law, but also the identification of possibilities for reform in the future. The study transitions from the Iranian national context to the international by way of a comparative legal study of international human rights laws and Islamic laws. The book will appeal both to academics and human rights practitioners.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Situating the Self

Memories

Chapter 1. Iranian Women's Movement: Narratives of Dissent

Overview

The Iranian Women's Movement: A Brief Historical Account 1872-2012

Iranian Women's Movement through: Offline and Online Media

Pahlavi Period (1925-1979)

1979- 2009: the Rise and the Fall of Women's Print Media

Chapter II. Contemporary Feminism in Iran: Definitions, Narratives and Identity

Introduction

The Struggle to Define "Islamic Feminism"

Chapter III. Women's Rights in Islam: An Iranian Case Study Introduction

Divorce

Conclusion

Chapter IV. Human Rights, Islam and the debate around CEDAW

Introduction

A Brief Background to CEDAW

International Debate: CEDAW and Muslim-majority countries

Iranian Debates on CEDAW

Conclusion: A Personal Account

INDEX