01/05/2009 1:45 pm

POV

Egyptian Women Take Mosques By Storm – In a Good Way

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Women in Egypt are raising their profiles in what has traditionally been a man’s lair – the mosques.

In the past, few Egyptian women came to mosques, but those that did mostly came to pray in sectioned-off corners (to be separate from the men), or to make appeals at the shrines of holy figures. Now, the Associated Press reports, women are organizing religious lectures on why women should wear the hijab (head scarf) and Koran lessons and – just like the men – increasingly using the house of worship as social outlets.

For many housewives, that’s a big change from practicing at home while taking care of the husband and kids in this society.

But don’t be mistaken. This is not necessarily a case of Egyptian women trying to break free of their religion, but rather them trying to worship and practice more publicly.

From the AP:

Now, with religiosity increasing in Egypt overall, more women want to engage in public prayer, increase their knowledge of Islam and do volunteer work in the community. Many Egyptian women already have had to balance their traditional place in the home with public roles at universities and jobs, so they tend to ask, "Why not a place in the mosque as well?" These women aren’t Western-style feminists seeking to change the faith’s teachings on women. But their presence is challenging assumptions on women’s place and turning some mosques into women-friendly social hubs.

But, unfortunately, like most women movements, this one is meeting some criticism, despite the fact that Egypt is one of the most progressive nations in the Middle East on women in mosques.

"The best place for a woman to pray remains her house," female Islamic thinker, Souad Saleh, who teaches at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, told AP. "It is better spiritually and generally more appropriate, since she will always be distracted by her children. There is really no need for women to go to the mosque."

If you think keeping men and women separate in places of worship only happens in the Middle East, think again. It’s even happening here in the United States.

One Muslim woman, Asra Nomani, took on a mosque in Morgantown, WV, a few years ago, demanding that women be allowed to pray with men in the main sanctuary, instead of being segregated in an upstairs balcony where their view of the imam was blocked.

"Intolerance toward women is like the canary in the coal mine for intolerance toward other people," Nomani told Mother Jones in 2006. "When you allow sexism to go unchallenged, you allow bin Laden-type mentalities to go unchallenged. That’s why it’s so vital that the expression of Islam in the world be one that is completely affirming of women’s rights."

12 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

fp1
Right> Good try that in Iran will you. The intolerance these women are fighting is exemplary but Egypt is relatively tame religiously compared with Iran and the other extremist states of the middle east.
By fp1 on 01/05/2009 6:05 pm
Cjay
But, please check the Iranian stats on women in political power, and those with PhDs (provided by Iran), access to higher education for Iranian women, and the laws of Islam for financial support for women, and their children, in divorce. We need to know the truth. As in every society, the status of women is not good but, comparatively, it is far worse in the USA when it comes to women in leadership, and access to higher education. It wasn’t long ago that women entered the convent to obtain higher degrees. I well-remember in 1959 the dean of a well know medical school denying 2 of their 3 female students “any more scholarship funds because you two will probably get married and not use your education.” Granted, “those two” were attractive young women, and he brought that up to defend his actions. The 3rd one, the “plain-Jane” went on, and married 5 times by 1971, and looked far different (in her micro-mini skirt at the APA national conference in NYC) than she did in 1959.
By Cjay on 01/06/2009 6:13 am
fp1
Carol I remember that crap from the 50’s very clearly. As for Iran— look at the case of the leading outspoken woman for women’s rights in Iran who won the Nobel, Shirin Ebadi, who has been treated like dirt by the Iranian conservative gov’t. Her office was invaded this last week and her files and computers taken by the ‘authorities’ in an effort to silence her. There have been many attempts to silence her, this being only the latest in a long line by the fundamentalists in Iran. There is the truth of this intolerant religious woman-subjugating regime. No different in many respects from the fundamentalists in this country IMO. As for the US many many more women go on to higher degrees now than back in the “good old days” of the 50’s and are encouraged to do so. Yet there are still some TA’s and profs today that discourage women from going for advanced degrees esp in scientific fields. It’s BS that has to stop and will. Look at Obama’s cabinet: many highly qualified women are now in his cabinet and he just picked two top female legal scholars for posts in his gov’t: Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School for Solicitor General (next step for her the Supreme Court possible) and Cass Sunstein of the U of Chicago to head the Office of Legal Council. So professional positions for women in this country are a damn sight better than in Iran.
By fp1 on 01/06/2009 6:58 am
Cjay
Right you are, fp - I saw a new world open up to me (as a science/med major) once I “landed” in Cambridge. What a bloomin’ difference in education, and equity for women. In fact … when I had my 2nd child in August one year in the early 60s, I took him to lectures, and we could nurse our babies without being chastised. Good thing, too - the most utilitarian parts of a women’s body are still denied by the U.S. populace, over all. La Leche League must have given up!
By Cjay on 01/08/2009 3:19 am
Dabado
yep, so right fb. You know what I just thought of? When my mom was pregnant with my youngest brother, she wouldn’t go to church once she had to wear maternity clothes. I had to take my other brother with me and watch him. Mom told me when I was a adult that the men would look at her with disapproval for showing herself in that condition at church. That was 54 years ago. That was in the south and it slowly changed as the culture has changed. I wish those women well. My mom would not have been locked up or harmed but would have felt the wrath of her “friends” which was not desirable.
By Dabado on 01/05/2009 7:17 pm
DeBrcaobj
The only religion that I can think of that has ever really done anything for women, without having to be grudgingly forced to, are the Quakers.
By DeBrcaobj on 01/05/2009 9:25 pm
fp1
Yep—have to agree.
By fp1 on 01/06/2009 5:32 am
Cjay
(Check that out, DeBurca … )
By Cjay on 01/08/2009 3:16 am
DeBrcaobj
Check what out Carol?
By DeBrcaobj on 01/08/2009 10:54 am
Cjay
I became lost in that mass of threads - the Quakers, and women. ;-))
By Cjay on 01/08/2009 4:10 pm
Cjay
Correction: “but those that did mostly came to pray in sectioned-off corners (to be separate from the men)” ~ because, in Islam, when one is able, kneeling and prostration for prayer the women prefer to be in a location so they are not bending forward in front of men; they may take a position on the side, in fact. They are not “sectioned-off,” etc. in Islam. Equity rules. It is wise to learn about others religions before writing about them. Ask, perhaps. Most Islamic women would be honored to share accurate information with anyone. I know an expert, professional woman in Dallas, who is a 2nd generation America who would be pleased to speak to anyone. Contact me for her cell phone number. Thank you.
By Cjay on 01/06/2009 6:02 am