Femininity Versus Feminism Contemporary Islamic Perspectives on the Essence of Womanhood

Abstract

This essay shows how the concept of womanhood undergoes a
transformation in the minds of some western females who convert to
the Muslim faith. With respect to the role of women in Islam, three
different groups may be distinguished: “outsiders looking in,” “insiders
looking out;” and “converts to Islam looking around and back.” Within
the first category, a majority see Islam in terms of oppression and
servitude, although for a smaller group the faith represents a return to
all that “hearth and home” signifies. The second major grouping
consists of Muslims, many of whom find Muslim womanhood to be
superior to non-Islamic alternatives. But an increasing number seek to
liberate females from “the tyranny of Islamic Law.” Those in the third
category were originally “outsiders looking in,” but after a transitional
period become “insiders looking out.” The . female converts are
originally attracted to a feminine ideal that is interpreted through their
own culture and experience. Becoming “insiders” brings exposure to
issues of Islamic womanhood which necessitate a re-interpretation
of the essence of femaleness, producing what uninitiated western
observers might call rationalizations but which actually form
apologetical replies to objections from unbelievers.