Islamic Feminism: An Overview
Arshad Masood Hashmi
Noor Fatma
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16535654
Abstract. In the past few years, Islamic feminism has emerged as a powerful voice against the patriarchal nature of Muslim society. Islam and Feminism, these two words and the concepts they imply, are contradictory to each other, so their very combination is surprising to many intellectuals. Traditions of creating literature in the light of opposition to patriarchy in Muslim society and religious matters exist in every language. Islamic feminism is largely confined to intellectual discourses that have been around for the past two decades. In this sense, it is a breath of fresh air whose effects are not yet fully apparent. The present paper covers the study of the causes and effects, side by side, of the factors that have transformed these sayings into such an effective voice, the echo of which is now being felt in world literature.
Keywords. Islamic Feminism, Islam, religion, Feminism, Feminist Studies, Qurʾān
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Arshad Masood Hashmi is Professor of Urdu at Jai Prakash University, Chapra, India, and the only Indian member of the Global Laozegetics Research Center, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. He has translated the Tao Te Ching into Urdu as Fazāil-e Tark-e ‘Amal, and authored award-winning works on lexicography, literary creation, and criticism. His research interests include translation studies, aesthetic criticism, and classical and comparative literature.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3776-0746
Email: hashmiam68@gmail.com
Noor Fatma completed her postgraduation in Urdu from Jai Prakash University, Chapra in 2009. She was awarded a Ph.D. from the same university in 2022 for her research under the supervision of Prof. Arshad Masood Hashmi on Islamī Tānīsiyat ka Mu’asir Kalāmiya: Asbāb-o-‘Awāmil, focusing on the theoretical aspects of the feminist interpretations of Islamic texts. Her doctoral thesis laid the groundwork for her first book, Islamī Tānīsiyat ke Mobāḥis, published in 2024 by the grant received from Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Memorial Committee, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. This work is recognized as the first comprehensive book on Islamic Feminism in Urdu. She is currently serving as an Urdu Translator at the Thawe Block, Gopalganj, Bihar.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8525-4391
Email: noorsoban@gmail.com
Islamic Feminism: An Overview © 2025 by Arshad Masood Hashmi Noor Fatma is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
