International: Publication: "Women, Feminism and Fundamentalism"

Source: 
HIVOS/SWP via AWID
"Women, Feminism and Fundamentalism", edited by Ireen Dubel and Karen Vintges (HIVOS: 2007)
This new publication contains a number of articles written by HIVOS partner organisations in various parts of the world.
The issues surrounding women, feminism and fundamentalism are currently being debated throughout the world at every level and by every segment of humanity. In this volume a broad spectrum of views and perspectives are presented.

Several articles explore the lives of orthodox religious women and reflect on the relationship between fundamentalism and feminism in religious contexts, discussing among others Saba Mahmood's path-breaking study on women in the Egyptian Women's Mosque Movement.

On a more concrete level, a diversity of strategies and discourses of women and women's organisations on how to relate to religious fundamentalism is discussed such as the recently emerging movement of 'Islamic feminism' that strives for 'gender justice' within Islamic contexts, and the struggle of women in Latin America who plead for women's rights while at the same time retaining their Catholic faith and beliefs.

As one of the authors concludes, feminists have to be pragmatic about the choice of their strategies, overtly and covertly, anonymous and public, gradual and confronting, and incidental and continuously. The fight against fundamentalism can also mean simply to continue living your own life as a woman.

For further information, please visit http://www.hivos.nl/english and/or http://www.swpbook.com/1000

[Please note: The information above has been adapted from both sources.]