A ‘Minority’ on the Move: Boundary Work among Filipina Muslim Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East

This article analyses the migration of a religious ‘minority’ that is largely invisible within migration studies, namely Muslim Filipina domestic workers. More specifically, this research shows that the category of ‘minority’ is not fixed and is always negotiated through transnational spaces and boundary work. In doing so, the article highlights how religious belonging, the status of minority and migration intersect and are negotiated during the period prior to these women leaving their country, during their time in the country of destination, and when they return to the Philippines. How boundary work affects the religious belonging of this Muslim ‘minority’ is underlined by presenting the Middle East as an opportunity to perform norms of ‘Muslimness’. The performance of these norms as an opportunity for these women to challenge the status of being a ‘minority’ in the Philippines is also examined. Finally, this article shows how these Muslim ‘minorities’ gain access to a certain symbolic capital by becoming hajji and balikbayan (returnees) when they return home.     

‘Women from the catacombs of the city’: gender notions in Dutch culturist discourse

The current discourse on minorities in the Netherlands has two striking features: (1) it has been narrowed down to Muslim immigrants with Moroccan or Turkish backgrounds; (2) it focuses largely on gender-related issues. In this article, we suggest that there has been a historical switch in the focus of discourse on immigrants from structural factors such as employment and crime rates to cultural factors related mainly to the Islamic background of the immigrants concerned. We argue that currently the focus on gender-issues and integration in practice has the dual effects of excluding the minorities in question and of discursively counteracting the emancipation of Muslim women. Both points become apparent when reviewing the practical effects of the institutionalization of the gendered discourse on integration in policy efforts currently being undertaken. These effects are a negation of the autonomy of Muslim women and a form of ‘new racism’ that bears all the characteristics of Orientalism.     

Doing gender,modestly: Conceptualizing workplace experiences of Pakistani women doctors

Using the theoretical framework of inequality regimes, this article offers a reconceptualization of purdah as it is practised, lived and experienced by women doctors of Pakistan. Based on an ethnographic study of Pakistani women doctors, this research indicates that practising purdah in the workplace is perceived as doing femininity within the hegemonic masculine workplace culture of Pakistan. In Pakistani organizations, individual and institutionalized practices of purdah create a gendered substructure which marginalizes women doctors by dictating the norms of conduct, international ethics, organization of physical space and work allocation. Patriarchal interpretations of religious doctrines of modesty provide legitimacy to the existence of these inequality regimes. Based on this, the article argues for a system‐level theorization of purdah that accounts for both individual and institutional norms of veil. Such conceptualization contributes to our understanding of how religion intersects with gender, class and race to create complex systemic inequities in organizational structure.     

Muslim women between secular state and religion

The main thesis of this paper assumes that, while we are not arguing for a full-fledged personal law system in Italy (which provides Muslims with different legal systems), we assume that diversity-conscious respect for difference and its legal recognition is a better strategy for achieving justice than a blindfolded Eurocentric vision, based on uniformising secular methods. This paper suggests the adoption of a model of legal intervention for integrating Muslims into Italian liberal democracy. I will call this model a ‘pluralistic institutional approach to integration’, based on a ‘a joint governance approach’. It requires a conceptual break with absolute, unlimited and undivided sovereignty and jurisdiction. Such a pluralistic institutional approach to integration encourages the accommodation of some of the most pressing minority demands in some limited areas. In family law – as we will see – there can be different possible solutions available to conduct their private relationship compatible with their understanding of Islam. However, any policy of accommodation needs to pay special attention to the fact that traditional religious Muslim norms contain practices that may cause harm to vulnerable subjects. Therefore the advocacy and introduction of a plural legal order must be based on respect for key liberal values. In this paper I will not use the generic term sharia (Islamic law) but the term Muslim norms, because I would like to underline the fact that some Muslims are calling for accommodation of norms that derive from their understanding of their religion, including not only standards based on or derived from sharia or fiqh (jurisprudence) but also general ethical principles derived from Islamic religious culture (see Nasir 2002). The focus on religious norms or values makes it clear that the main motivation for the accommodation of Muslim norms would be to maximise individual autonomy and minority protection. In this sense, the accommodation of Muslim norms is subject to the ultimate regulation of the Italian constitutional and legal system. The paper is structured in the following way. Section I of the paper deals with the ‘myth of legal centralism’ and presents a general overview of the empirical situation created by the troublesome Muslim integration in Italy. We will provide some quantitative data on Muslim immigration in Italy. Since ‘Muslim’ is a broad category, it needs to be given as much specificity as possible in order to avoid producing images of a monolithic and undifferentiated religious community. Section II sets out the model of what I have labelled ‘a pluralistic institutional approach to integration’. The substantive claim is that this pluralistic institutional approach to integration provides promising options for the incorporation of cultural and religious minorities, challenging the assumption that it is impossible to grant consideration to religious diversity and gender equality at the same time. Of special interest here are those situations in which claims for so-called ‘Muslim Sharia Arbitration Councils’, religious-based arbitration tribunals, interact with public concerns about power disparities between men and women in the resolution of family law disputes. We will demonstrate the possibility of implementing such a vision by reference to a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, Bruker v. Marcovitz (2007), which breaks new ground.     

Faith,work, and women in a changing world: the influence of religion in the lives of beedi rollers in West Bengal

In India, religious norms and values play a significant role in regulating the lives of women and girls in many communities. This article looks at how the lives of women and girl beedi (hand rolled cigarette) rollers in a Muslim community in West Bengal are influenced by their religious background, highlighting the complex relationship between gender, faith, and work. Secondly, the article discusses how secular NGOs – which in India are often seen to be hesitant in addressing questions of religious faith and practice – can engage in development work with women and girls in faith-based communities. The article focuses on the experiences of two secular NGOs working with women beedi workers in villages in Murshidabad, as they come to understand that to bring about significant changes in women's lives they must open up discussions around sensitive religious belief, within the community and their own organisations.     

Do values explain the low employment levels of Muslim women around the world? A within‐ and between‐country analysis

Using worldwide data from the World Values Survey (WVS) gathered in 2010–2014, we examine two distinct ways in which Islam may be associated with women's employment. We show that, within their countries, Muslim women are less likely to be employed than women of other religions. We also examine between‐country differences and find that, net of education and family statuses, the employment levels of women living in countries that are 90–100 per cent Muslim are not significantly different than those living in countries that are only 0–20 per cent Muslim. Then we test a prevailing view: that Islam discourages gender egalitarian values, and that these values – held by women themselves or people around them – explain why Muslim women are less likely to be employed than women of other religions within their own countries. Despite the rich measures of values in the WVS and a large sample, we find no evidence that values explain any of the lower employment of Muslim women, mainly because values have little or no effect on women's employment. Thus, we conclude that most of the world's gap in employment between Muslim women and other women is within‐country and is not explained by gender ideology. Future research should examine alternative hypotheses, including ethno‐religious discrimination.     

Negotiating Gender Relations: Muslim Women and Formal Employment in Pakistan's Rural Development Sector

Drawing on evidence from qualitative field research, this article explores how Pakistani female development practitioners experience their work situations as they are shaped both by local sociocultural norms and globalized development agendas. In this context, policies at global and national levels demand that more female development practitioners work in remote rural places in Pakistan, thus creating new employment opportunities for some Pakistani women. This article argues that, in this work environment, these women are exposed to different expectations about their gender behaviour and that they therefore develop physical strategies on the one hand and discursive strategies on the other in order to negotiate gender relations in a way that allows them to engage in formal employment. This article adds to under‐researched debates on gender and work in Muslim countries as well as to debates in critical development and gender studies.     

Muslim women as ‘ambassadors’ of Islam: breaking stereotypes in everyday life

This article explores the efforts of Dutch Muslim women who try to break the ‘oppressed Muslim woman’ stereotype by monitoring their own behaviour in everyday interactions with members of the non-Muslim ethnic majority. In representing themselves as modern and emancipated, they try to change the dominant image of Muslim women in Dutch society, and thus also that of Islam. Based on interviews and archival material, I demonstrate that initially this strategy was mostly adopted by Dutch converts to Islam, and later also by ‘born’ Muslim women. Why do more and more Muslim women turn themselves into ‘ambassadors’ of Islam? And what are the costs of this form of self-essentialization? This article demonstrates the usefulness of studying self-representations of minority groups in the light of existing stereotypes, arguing that Muslim women’s self-representations should be seen as part of a politics of belonging.     

Muslim American Women in the Post-11 September Era

Political events can serve as an impetus for civic engagement or disengagement. The events of 9/11 have directed attention toward US Muslim communities and occasionally inflamed anti-Islam and anti-Muslim sentiments. This article explores the impact of the 11 September events on hijab-wearing Muslim American women. These events and the negative perception of Islam have paradoxically given rise to Muslim women's public presence and paved the way for their political engagement. Their efforts, however, have been hampered by Orientalist and Islamic fundamentalist ideologies, each advancing its own constructs of Muslim women; one seeking to ‘save’ them and the other to ‘protect’ them. Muslim women have found both ideologies oppressive. As a result, they have been actively challenging these ideologies in American society at large and within their own Muslim communities. Through civic engagement and participation in Muslim organizations, these women have been making efforts to redefine themselves, claim their space, secure their rights and advance the causes of Muslim American communities.     

An intersectional perspective on Muslim women's issues and experiences in employment

Drawing on a qualitative study of second‐generation Pakistani heritage Muslim women in employment in the UK, this article uses and develops an intersectional perspective to explain the interconnected and overlapping factors, such as gender, ethnicity and religion that affect these women at work. It also considers individual strategies and resources these women use to address any obstacles in the way of their employment and careers. The article uses the notions of inequality regimes and intersectionality to explain inequality in the workplace and the complex challenges facing Muslim female employees. The results show that these women continue to face a myriad of challenges in the UK workplace, and that a unilateral focus on gender does not sufficiently explain the work‐related experiences of second‐generation Muslim women in the UK. Therefore, it is important to take into account gender's intersection with ethnicity and religion.     

The Haunting of Shame: Autoethnography and the Multivalent Stigma of Being Queer,Muslim, and Single

Sociology has neglected the terrain of the gay Muslim single as a sociological phenomenon. Produced and managed via meaningful social conduct, the gay Muslim single often holds negative symbolic and cultural worth, one of lacking identification and presence. The stigma of the gay Muslim single is actively reproduced through social and power relations. I examine multiple stigmas and dichotomies by using autoethnography to illustrate the human lived experience of a gay Muslim single, who is silenced, invisibilized, and embodies a social life of “emptiness.” The gay Muslim single, bringing about a “moral panic,” confronts temporal regulations, norms, and values, notably those of heterosexual ones in everyday social life. He is cast as an “outsider,” which reinforces his stigma in everyday social life.     

Radcliffe-Brown And Rivers: a correspondence

This paper focuses on a study of the multi-functional trouser-cord (that ties traditional Pakistani trousers) and its connotations within the Islamic dress tradition as well as local concepts of the body. Comparable to the importance of belts and loincloths in other cultures of the Muslim, Christian, and Hindu world, the apparently simple and unpretentious drawstring plays a central role in the Pakistani discourse of chastity and desire. On the one hand the tying of the trouser-cord stands for the Muslim ideals of modesty and body control, but on the other the untying of the string refers to the dimension of emotion and sexuality where it can be strategically deployed as a medium of erotic play, allurement, and sensuousness. Thus, the trouser-cord is an item of clothing carrying ambiguous meanings, reflecting the tension and moral polarity between ‘nomos’ and ‘eros’.     

Ethno-religious groups work values and ethics: the case of Jews,Muslims and Christians in Israel

This study examines and compares, for the first time, the MOW (Meaning of Work) among Jews and Arabs (Muslims and Christians) in Israel and attempts to explain the similarities and the differences in work ethics among these ethno-religious groups. The MOW questionnaire was conducted on 898 Jewish, 215 Muslim and 103 Christian respondents who were currently working. The MOW dimensions were: economic orientation, entitlement norms, obligation norms, interpersonal relations orientation, intrinsic orientation and work centrality. The findings reveal significant differences in most of the MOW dimensions between the three religious groups. Overall, demographic factors partially explain the MOW differences. The MOW differences among the three groups can be explained mainly by cultural differences. Since there is mass Arab (Muslims and Christians) immigration from the Middle East to Europe this study provides a better understanding of their perceptions about work and their work values and ethics. The applications of the findings for organizations are discussed.     

Culture and the law in Islam

Rather than living in a homogeneous world, Muslim women participate in vastly different cultures. The Women Living Under Muslim Law (WLUML) Network was set up to unite women in Muslim countries across the world and to stimulate them to analyze and reconceptualize the nature of their situation in order to formulate strategies for change. In Muslim countries, the law provides a web of rules which shape every aspect of women's lives. Because these laws have been presented as "Islamic," traditional human rights groups have been loathe to criticize them for fear of trampling religious rights. The WLUML started the "Women and the Law" project, therefore, to chart and conduct action-oriented research in law in 26 countries. This project is based on the conviction that the key to women gaining the power to control their destinies will lie in their ability to master the law that shapes their lives. This project should lay the foundation for the vindication of the human rights of Muslim women.     

Snobby people and just plain folks: Social stratification and rural,low‐status,Appalachian women

Ethnographers have noted the coexistence of a social stratification system and egalitarian beliefs in rural Appalachian communities. For most local people, the conflict inherent in these two perspectives is balanced by community norms that call for informality in personal interactions and modesty in displaying one's status. The assignment of social position is thus unspoken but understood. A study of low‐status women in a rural, Appalachian community found that the women strongly believe in the egalitarian ethic. These same women speak, however, of numerous interactions with higher‐status persons, which result in feelings of being put down, ignored, undervalued, or insulted. The low‐status women revealed their strategies for confirming their view of the world and maintaining their self‐esteem in the face of these insults to self. They tell their stories to sympathetic listeners, apply negative labels to the offenders, and seek out higher status champions. The women's search for economic resources for their families does bring them into frequent contact with higher status persons and renders them continually vulnerable to perceived social insults.     

Conceptualising Euro-Islam: managing the societal demand for religious reform

Political, public and academic debates about the need for a ‘Euro-Islam’ as a necessary condition for the full integration of Muslim are widespread and strong. For Muslims and Muslim organisations in particular, Euro-Islam can be understood as subverting the very nature of their religious identity, making change or reform impossible. This raises the question as to how Muslim organisations reject the idea of the need for a Euro-Islam by construing the core of their faith as not being contradictory with Western values, norms and beliefs. The current study examines this question amongst two major Turkish Muslim organisations (Milli Görü? and Fethullah Gülen) in the Netherlands and Germany. The analysis shows that in managing the demand for reform a distinction was made between Islam as a belief system and Muslims as a group of people, between religion and culture as two types of belief systems and between politics and the true nature of the West.     

Gendered expectations of the biographical and social future: young adults’ approaches to short and long-term thinking

Numerous studies have found that although young adults are arguably less constrained by gendered norms and expectations than previous generations, they have nevertheless continued to imagine their biographical futures in highly gendered ways. In this paper I draw on an analysis of 28 in-depth interviews in which 16 women and 12 men (aged 18–34) were asked to discuss their expectations for both the biographical and social future. The results of this study largely confirm the findings of previous scholarship, with young women often viewing childbearing and caring responsibilities as compulsory, while young men largely viewed these commitments as complementary to their chosen careers. This paper extends existing findings in this area by examining, firstly, whether these perceptions of the biographical future are mirrored in the participants’ views of the long-term, social future, and secondly, what implications such views may have when they are extended into this register. In so doing it ultimately finds that the gender norms that shape young adults’ expectations for their own futures are echoed in their outlooks upon the social future.     

Control over female ‘Muslim’ bodies: culture,politics and dress code laws in some Muslim and non-Muslim countries

Control of the female body is a key component of both the formation of Muslim identities and the control of Muslim communities in European countries. I will argue that the regulation of the clothing worn by Muslim women, both the restriction of its use (which occurs mainly in non-Muslim countries) and the requirement to wear a particular item, share the same goal: the control of women’s bodies. In this respect, I will consider both the legal regulations that require women to wear the so-called ‘Muslim’ clothing and those that restrict it as a way of disciplining the population, and will focus on the control of women as a privileged form of political control.     

Women in the American Judiciary

Abstract

This article reviews the women and politics literature on gender and the American judiciary. Specifically, it explores what we know about the behavior of women on the bench: Do women judges behave differently than their male counterparts, or do they blend in and conform to existing norms and institutional cultures? The research in this area largely has gone in two directions. First, there appears to be a great deal of consensus in the literature that in sex-discrimination cases, women judges are more supportive of women's claims than men judges, regardless of their ideology. Second, there is much less consensus over whether or not women employ different methods of reasoning, such as a “difference” jurisprudence.     

Factors influencing nonprofit career choice in faith‐based and secular NGOs in three developing countries

Much of the research on the factors that draw individuals to nonprofit careers is based in Australia, Western Europe, and the United States, and research on the role of faith in career choice focuses largely on Christian organizations. This article examines the factors that draw individuals to work in the nongovernmental organization (NGO) sector in the developing countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. It also looks at whether faith offers similar motivations for NGO workers in Buddhist, Druze, Sunni Muslim, and Shiite Muslim NGOs as it does for workers in Christian NGOs. Much like nonprofit workers in other studies, the individuals interviewed chose their jobs based on their personal commitment to an organization's work.