Islam and Its Impact on Women's Status and Role in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract:Gender relations in Islam has been the subject of serious debates among scholars in Egypt for many decades. One of the central questions was whether the status and role of women in Egypt were and are primarily influenced by Islam, or they should also be attributed to other social, economic, cultural and political factors. This study will look at the status and role of women in modern Egypt. It is commonly known that traditions based largely on religion (including Islam) and superstition are strong elements in the Egyptian culture. However, this study will show that the inequity in gender relations in modern Egypt should be more attributed to socioeconomic factors than to those religious or theological beliefs. On the other hand, one cannot overlook the formative influence of Islam on the roles of women and men in the country both in the past and in the present. The study suggests that attempts to reinterpret, reassess and re-actualize Islamic doctrines and practices pertaining to the equal status and roles of women in the context of Egyptian culture should also be considered in order to alter the women and men's perception on gender relations.Islam and its impact on women's status and role in Egypt

Mapping gendered spaces and women’s rights in the modern egyptian public sphere

“…The central question is whether Islam primarily influences women's participation in the modern Egyptian public sphere or should be ascribed to other socio-economic, cultural or political factors. For instance, Barsoum et al (2009) and Halim (2015) attribute Egyptian women's low participation in the public sphere to deep-rooted cultural and religious values that support relegating women to the domestic sphere. However, other studies defend Islam but blame cultural traditions as the cause of gender inequality and encouraging female domesticity (El-Safty 2004;Abdel-Latif 2008).…”