Mahmood-Feminist Theory, Embodiment, Docile Agent

Feminist theory emphasizes the importance of embodiment in understanding the experiences of women, suggesting that the body is not merely a vessel but a site of resistance and agency. This perspective challenges the notion of the docile agent, advocating for a recognition of how women's lived experiences inform their identities and social positions.

Page 2: Feminist Theory and its Intersection with Islam

Key Questions:

• How do historical and cultural specifics shape feminist analytics and politics?

• Importance of integrating sexual, racial, class, and national differences in feminist discourse.

• Unexplored Area: Relationship between feminism and religious traditions, especially Islam.

Challenges Noted:

• Women supporting movements perceived as against their interests (Islamic movements during a crucial historical moment).

• Focus of Essay: To explore conceptual challenges of women's participation in Islamic movements through an ethnographic study of a women’s mosque movement in Cairo.

• Women from varying socioeconomic backgrounds teaching and learning Islamic principles and virtues.

Page 3: Objectives of the Study

Study Focus:

• Exploring concepts of self, moral agency, and discipline in the non-liberal movement.

• Aim to understand the desires and motivations behind such movements.

• Ethnographic studies that challenge normative liberal views on freedom and agency.

Analytical Concepts:

• Critique of traditional feminist analytical frameworks which often limit understanding of women’s experiences within patriarchal traditions.

• Proposing a new model of agency that does not equate it with just resistance, but also acknowledges action forms supported by specific historical relations.

Page 4: Topography of the Mosque Movement

Context of the Mosque Movement:

• First large-scale organization of women in public spaces for the teaching of Islam in Egypt.

• Socioeconomic context: Increased access to education and employment for women in post-colonial Egypt.

Observations:

• Movement represents a paradox: it empowers women yet might uphold traditional structures of authority.

• Emergence due to concerns over secularization and the marginalization of religious knowledge.

• Participants seek to revive beliefs and practices seen as relevant to daily life.

Page 5: Agency, Resistance, and Moral Standards

Challenges Faced by Women's Mosque Movement:

• Women cultivating traits seen as traditionally subordinate (modesty, shyness).

• Exploration of women's choices and participation in practices framed by a broader discourse of Islamic piety.

Theoretical Implications:

• Unpacking feminist scholarship to better understand women's agency amidst power dynamics.

• A re-examination of how these women engage with norms and expectations imposed by both religious and secular societies.

Page 6: Case Study Analysis

Janice Boddy's Insights:

• Engagement with community practices and their meanings for women's identity and resistance.

• Importance of recognizing nuanced forms of agency within the context of oppressive structures.

Claim:

• Agency as both a process of resistance and a practice shaped by the socio-cultural environment.

• Enactment of agency through religious and cultural practices that may challenge our conventional understanding of empowerment.